The man who was instrumental in dragging local examiners kicking and screaming into the 21st century, yesterday stepped out of his office for the last time and got ready for a life relaxing in the sun in the south of France.
Peter Hill, who retired as secretary-general of the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, said although there were still challenges ahead, he could look back on a job well done.
'I am looking forward to a change but I will miss Hong Kong very much,' Dr Hill said. 'I have been working in education for more than 40 years but I have to say the last three have professionally been the most rewarding in my career.'
Those three years have seen the authority massively upgrade its facilities and procedures, introduce state-of-the-art on-screen marking centres and prepare for the impending change to the senior secondary school system.
'Things within this organisation have changed remarkably,' Dr Hill said. 'When I look back on the three years, the distance we have travelled is quite remarkable. When the will is there you can achieve things very quickly.'
In 2004, Dr Hill was welcomed to an exams authority suffering from a long-term lack of structural investment and struggling in the face of harsh criticism following a series of scandals, including an investigation by the Ombudsman into missing exams scripts.