Hundreds of secondary school pupils competed for 11 awards across nine categories, including science, languages, sports and performing arts, along with best improvement, best devotion to school, community contributor, plus the top prize.

Fischer, who was awarded HK$25,000 as part of his prize, said he hoped to be able to spread his passion for community work to others. Two initiatives which he set up last year helped deliver protective gear to many of those in need as the pandemic raged.

He said his team, which includes several other students from his school, donated more than 350 face shields, sourced from the Hong Kong 3D Printing Association, to hospitals around the world including in the United States and India.

They also raised more than HK$40,000 last year in just weeks and distributed hundreds of relief care packages to economically disadvantaged families in Hong Kong. The packages included hand sanitiser, masks, rice, canned food and other supplies.

“When the pandemic first hit, I didn’t think I would be raising money for the community, or sourcing and distributing face shields to countries in need. However, when I saw the devastation of the pandemic, I knew I could not stand back and watch,” Fischer said on Saturday via videoconferencing from the United States.

The first runner-up was Aditya Shrisankaraan, of the English Schools Foundation’s West Island School, a tech-savvy pupil passionate about tackling issues such as energy efficiency. The second runner-up was Fahim Hossain, of St Joseph’s College, who strived to advocate for inclusivity and diversity including helping non-Chinese-speaking pupils to integrate in the community.

They were awarded cash prizes of HK$8,000 and HK$4,000, respectively.

At an awards ceremony on Saturday, the city’s No 2 official, Chief Secretary John Lee Ka-chiu, described the pupils’ accomplishments as “exceptional”.

“It underscores the extraordinary challenges that our youth and our community have faced these past two years, from widespread social disturbances to the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said, referring to the civil unrest of 2019. “[Our students’] excellence amid these testing times makes us all proud.”

Gary Liu, CEO of the Post and a member of the awards’ advisory board, also praised the students for their resilience on top of their diligence and academic excellence.

“Learning to meet difficulties with courage and fortitude benefits students beyond their academic careers. By rising above obstacles, we can all develop the perseverance needed to unrelentingly pursue even the grandest of dreams,” Liu said.

Hong Kong Jockey Club CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, also an advisory board member, said he hoped awardees would continue to give back to society and become community leaders in the future.

“As the pandemic has reminded us, we must work together and we must reach out to those in need,” he said.

Other winners:

Best devotion to school: Leung Oi-ching (Bishop Hall Jubilee School); Ma Hiu-lam (Heep Yunn School); Lee Long-ting (Ho Fung College (sponsored by Sik Sik Yuen)), Zareen Tasnim (King George V School); and Lau Tsz-yee (Munsang College).

Best improvement: Allison Chu Nga-man (Bishop Hall Jubilee School); Ko Wing-lam (Buddhist Fat Ho Memorial College); Rachel Yu Pui-hang (Good Hope School); Chui Chun-hung (Ho Dao College (sponsored by Sik Sik Yuen)); and Evan Lo Hong-tik (La Salle College).

Individual categories: Community contributor (Mok Tin-yan, PLK Tang Yuk Tien College); Linguist Cantonese (Chloe Kwan Wei-ling, Diocesan Girls’ School); Linguist English (Nathan Ng Leong-hang); Linguist Mandarin (Jiang Leyi, Singapore International School (Hong Kong)); Performing Artist (Chung On-ching, Heep Yunn School); Scientist and Mathematician (Luo Junhong, Singapore International School (Hong Kong)); Sportsperson (Vincent Capol, German Swiss International School); Visual Artist (Fung Yan-lam, CCC Kei Yuen College).

The winners in the other categories received scholarships ranging from HK$5,000 to HK$10,000.