As a parent with some experience of the local education system, I must take issue with Iris Chan's comments about pressure on students ("Pressure an integral part of school system", January 2).
Positively speaking, local schools are effective at imparting subject knowledge and, as we now know, produce the third-best education attainment results globally. This means a great deal has been done right, and also reflects the importance attached to education in this city.
My son's primary and secondary schools also manage discipline well, with very little bullying, something of which I am very glad.
Most teachers I have encountered are also dedicated professionals who care about their students (and who are also under a great deal of pressure caused by the system).
Attending local schools has also ensured that my son is trilingual, something which English-speaking international schools do not replicate.
However, with the recent release of global Pisa (Programme for International Student Assessment) results, we see that four of the top five places are Asian cultures with high-pressure education systems, Hong Kong being one of them.
What is interesting is Finland - which has a low-pressure education system, as well as a need to learn three languages like we do here - was also among the top.