A-levels first and last for man who took it in 1980
Official who took the inaugural exam oversees end of a test that has been taken by 922,000
When Wan Tak-wing took Hong Kong's first University Advanced Level Examination in 1980, he did not expect to become the person in charge of the same exam this year when the final curtain falls on it.
The results will be released today, after which Hong Kong will bid farewell to the A-level exam which has been taken by some 922,400 candidates over 34 years.
A total of 5,322 private candidates registered for the exam this year, including 24 with special needs. Just over 4,500 sat it, making it the smallest group in the exam's history. The eldest candidate was a 64-year-old who took only one subject and the youngest was 14. About 80 per cent of the candidates were repeating it.
Five obtained two As and 63 received one A. About 56 per cent of the candidates passed, obtaining E or above. Almost 70 per cent of those who sat the exam took only one subject, around 18 per cent took two and only one took eight subjects.
The advanced supplementary-level subject in use of English was the most popular, with about 86 per cent of the candidates taking it, and the least popular subject was physics, which had no takers.
Wan, who sat the physics exam when it had just been introduced, said the exam this year was only for private candidates and not comparable with last year, when more than 40,000 private and school pupils took it.
Wan said only about 10,000 candidates took the exam in its first year, and about 2 per cent, including him, scored enough marks to enter university.