https://www.scmp.com/rss/10800/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com At 11am Monday, firefighters and police gathered under the burnt-out shell of Grenfell Tower to pay their respects to the victims of last week’s devastating inferno. The minute’s silence was replicated at hundreds of schools, offices and government buildings across the British capital, as Londoners united in sadness and support for survivors and relatives. Yet even as the city mourned those lost five days earlier in the catastrophic blaze, a fresh disaster was unfolding across town. It was... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/2099217/love-london-three-terror-attacks-and-fire-put-britains-capital?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/2099217/love-london-three-terror-attacks-and-fire-put-britains-capital?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jun 2017 11:47:25 +0000 British Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap election a bid to secure a clear mandate for taking Britain out of the European Union. The surprise move caught opponents unawares and she began the campaign confident of victory, with a 20-point lead in the opinion polls. Five weeks later, May’s standing in the polls has slumped, with pollsters variously putting the Conservatives between 11 points and one point ahead of the Labour Party. A slender lead would spell a hung parliament, a prospect... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/2097351/britain-votes-after-election-campaign-darkened-terror?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/2097351/britain-votes-after-election-campaign-darkened-terror?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Jun 2017 18:01:06 +0000 Being raised bilingual is good for you. It can boost your language attainment, enhance overall academic performance and perhaps even protect you against Alzheimer's disease in later life. That is the good news for Hong Kong from one of the world's leading experts on the biological foundations of language learning. Cognitive neuroscientist Dr Laura-Ann Petitto shared the latest scientific findings on bilingualism - including her own discoveries - in a lecture to mark the launch of University of... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1716250/bilingual-children-may-have-lower-alzheimers-risk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1716250/bilingual-children-may-have-lower-alzheimers-risk?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Feb 2015 22:22:00 +0000 What does Shakespeare's Macbeth have to do with Chinese history? This was one of many brain-teasers tackled by teachers at the first conference held in Hong Kong by leaders of Project Zero, Harvard University's renowned education research group. This month's two-day conference, hosted by Victoria Shanghai Academy in Aberdeen, was attended by 254 teachers, including the entire VSA teaching staff, and drew educators from 22 other international schools and six local ones. A separate one-day event... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1600887/hong-kong-teachers-learn-how-give-students-international?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1600887/hong-kong-teachers-learn-how-give-students-international?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Sep 2014 02:30:48 +0000 In just 16 years, East Asia has emerged as the world's third great zone of research and innovation, following Europe and North America. And it is poised to continue this rapid advance over the next decade. That was the message delivered by Simon Marginson, a professor of international higher education at the University of London's Institute of Education. The region is at the leading edge of two major global trends in higher education: rapid expansion of tertiary participation; and greater... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1551985/asian-universities-are-set-improve-world-rankings-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1551985/asian-universities-are-set-improve-world-rankings-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Jul 2014 19:13:59 +0000 The university that pioneered the world's first distance-learning degrees has put the latest trend in online education to the test by offering a selection of e-courses. The University of London launched a suite of four massive open online courses (MOOCs) in June on the platform of educational technology firm Coursera. And after conducting a detailed evaluation of the students' course and survey results, it has declared the trial a success and plans to roll out further subjects. The open online... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1350857/university-london-expand-its-selection-free-online?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1350857/university-london-expand-its-selection-free-online?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Nov 2013 06:54:04 +0000 The heads of the mainland's nine leading research universities have signed a statement that commits them to work together to advance and uphold academic freedom. The Hefei Statement on the 10 characteristics of contemporary research universities was announced at the annual meeting of the Chinese C9 League in Hefei , Anhui province, on Thursday. The statement was jointly drawn up by the C9, the League of European Research Universities (Leru), Australia's Group of Eight universities and the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1331803/nine-chinese-universities-sign-academic-freedom-pact?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1331803/nine-chinese-universities-sign-academic-freedom-pact?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Oct 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The British government has launched an ambitious drive to expand the number of foreign students going to British universities by 20 per cent in the next five years, with China being one of the targeted growth markets. It aims to attract 90,000 extra international students to Britain before 2018 and secure contracts with overseas institutions worth £3 billion (HK$35.6 billion) by 2020. Under the international education strategy launched on Monday, Britain will also double investment in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1293485/chinese-students-targeted-uk-university-growth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1293485/chinese-students-targeted-uk-university-growth?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Jul 2013 16:00:00 +0000 A kindergarten that closed last summer is still advertising its services and claiming membership of the American Montessori Society - a claim the society says is false. Until recently, the Montessori School of Hong Kong also had a section on its website for admission applications and purported to be operating from a site on Caine Road, although in fact it was in Pok Fu Lam when it closed. By May 1 the registration and enrolment information and address had been removed from the website and the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1245316/kindergartens-montessori-claim-raises-queries?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1245316/kindergartens-montessori-claim-raises-queries?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Plans to make universities compete for a greater share of research funding and undergraduate places have won acceptance from the chiefs of all eight publicly-funded institutions. But academic staff unions have warned of building discontent among members, while some university heads called for changes to make the new bidding exercises less damaging to smaller institutions. The University Grants Committee (UGC) spelt out its plans to allocate half the cash from universities' research block grant... https://www.scmp.com/article/973239/university-competition-welcomed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/973239/university-competition-welcomed?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Jul 2011 16:00:00 +0000 The government has announced tough new controls on fee increases and financial aid programmes for schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme. The schools will have to provide parents with financial information on their reserves and spending plans, including details of any capital works, before applying for fee increases. And they will have to submit details of how they have consulted with parents and the views that parents have expressed to the Education Bureau for consideration along with their... https://www.scmp.com/article/973170/tighter-controls-fee-increases-73-schools?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/973170/tighter-controls-fee-increases-73-schools?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Jul 2011 16:00:00 +0000 The government's school management reforms have hit another major setback after more than a third of aided schools snubbed the final deadline for submitting the constitutions of the new governing committees the reforms require. Of the city's 842 aided schools - those which are government-subsidised but run by other organisations - 314 had failed to set up an incorporated management committee or to hand in their draft constitution by the end of working hours on Wednesday, the Education Bureau... https://www.scmp.com/article/972261/new-blow-school-reforms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/972261/new-blow-school-reforms?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:00:00 +0000 Long waiting lists for English-medium schooling in Hong Hong could prove an opportunity for one school across the estuary: the International School of Macau is hoping to catch the eye of ambitious parents with its new boarding facilities. TIS was set up nine years ago by two former leaders of Canadian International School to cater for children of expatriates recruited to work in Macau's liberalised gaming industry, and the burgeoning local middle class. The school has already notched up... https://www.scmp.com/article/971805/betting-boarding?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/971805/betting-boarding?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Jun 2011 16:00:00 +0000 A changing educational landscape can make it especially challenging to find the right school for your child, but also brings new opportunities for those who are quick to adapt. Changes are certainly coming thick and fast in Hong Kong's education system. Next year the first students will sit the new Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education in Form Six and universities will switch over to four-year degrees. With these key reforms come a host of related developments, not least the 'double cohort'... https://www.scmp.com/article/971817/keep-ahead-reforms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/971817/keep-ahead-reforms?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Jun 2011 16:00:00 +0000 University chiefs want the government to fund a bigger proportion of the cost of teaching students for an extra year than it previously indicated it would pay. They say the University Grants Committee (UGC) should pay institutions at least 75 per cent of the current cost of educating each student in the first year of four-year courses, which begin in 2012. Undergraduate degrees in Hong Kong currently take three years' study. In 2004, the government proposed that HK$1.8 billion per year - equal... https://www.scmp.com/article/737797/student-funding-increase-urged?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/737797/student-funding-increase-urged?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:00:00 +0000 Senior Hong Kong scholars have won central government backing for a postdoctoral funding programme to bring top young mainland researchers to the city. The Hong Kong Scholars Programme will provide 50 two-year scholarships a year from next year until 2014 for postdoctoral researchers from the mainland to work on research projects at universities in Hong Kong. Under a deal signed between the Society of Hong Kong Scholars and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security in Guangzhou on... https://www.scmp.com/article/733937/top-flight-scholars-heading-hk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/733937/top-flight-scholars-heading-hk?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000 The kindergarten voucher scheme is an 'appropriate mechanism' for funding preschool education and should be extended beyond 2012, the Education Commission says in a report published yesterday. It launched the first major review of the scheme last year after the Legislative Council's education panel twice passed a motion demanding one, following a catalogue of complaints from parents and preschool leaders. The scheme, launched in 2006, was to be reviewed in 2011-2012, but complaints and protests... https://www.scmp.com/article/733525/kindergarten-vouchers-should-continue-report-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/733525/kindergarten-vouchers-should-continue-report-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000 The government's school management reforms suffered a fresh setback yesterday as the Court of Final Appeal gave the Catholic diocese leave to mount a legal challenge to them. The government faces a campaign of defiance from three religious sponsoring bodies and 375 schools against the legislation, which requires all aided schools to set up incorporated school management committees. The 2004 Education Ordinance gave schools until July 1, 2009 to set up the new committees, on which parents,... https://www.scmp.com/article/733307/top-court-allows-new-legal-tilt-catholic-church?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/733307/top-court-allows-new-legal-tilt-catholic-church?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Leaders of the English Schools Foundation will tomorrow launch their first bid for extra government funding since a damning 2004 audit report by asking legislators to back plans for a new school building. ESF chief executive Heather Du Quesnay will explain to the Legislative Council's education panel why the foundation needs HK$169.3 million of government capital funding to put into the rebuilding of Kowloon Junior School - its oldest campus. The ESF plans to put in HK$220.5 million of its own... https://www.scmp.com/article/733199/esf-seek-government-help-plan-replace-school-buildings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/733199/esf-seek-government-help-plan-replace-school-buildings?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000 After a hiatus of more than six years, education chiefs are set to resume talks with the English Schools Foundation over its funding. The Education Bureau says now is 'an appropriate time' for a review of the ESF's subvention, which was withdrawn amid rancour over dysfunctional operational procedures and financial mismanagement. The announcement was welcomed by chief executive Heather Du Quesnay and parents, who said they would fight for the subvention to be restored to its original level of... https://www.scmp.com/article/733174/bureau-restart-esf-funding-talks-after-6-year-pause?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/733174/bureau-restart-esf-funding-talks-after-6-year-pause?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000 English Schools Foundation (ESF) parents with children about to start secondary school have been hit with a demand for cheques totalling HK$41,000 by the end of January in advance fees and levies for the school year starting next August. A letter has gone out to parents asking for a HK$16,000 deposit along with HK$25,000 to cover the new refundable levy by January 28 if they want to secure their children's places in ESF secondary schools. Parents are told in the letters they can send a separate... https://www.scmp.com/article/733054/esf-parents-fume-early-demand-payment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/733054/esf-parents-fume-early-demand-payment?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Students in Shanghai have been ranked best in the world in the leading global study of secondary school performance - ousting their Hong Kong counterparts as the top performing Chinese-speaking region. Shanghai's 15-year-olds swept the board in the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa), which was published yesterday, taking the top scores in reading, maths and science among 65 countries and regions. But Hong Kong students held their position as third in the world in... https://www.scmp.com/article/732716/shanghai-students-rated-best-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/732716/shanghai-students-rated-best-world?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000 A plan to split all community colleges off from their parent universities has been welcomed by leaders of HKU Space, the University of Hong Kong's continuing education arm. Higher education unions also favour the move proposed by the University Grants Committee in its higher education review published last week, which provides a road map for future development. About 80 per cent of self-financing tertiary programmes are provided by continuing education arms of publicly-funded institutions in... https://www.scmp.com/article/732628/educators-back-college-split-plan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/732628/educators-back-college-split-plan?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000 A raft of classroom practices widely considered to promote learning are more likely to be found in small classes, a study of English-language lessons in the city's secondary schools has found. Findings of the three-year study by Gary Harfitt, assistant professor in the University of Hong Kong's faculty of education, were unveiled yesterday at a public lecture at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. The qualitative study compared the teaching and learning processes in small and large... https://www.scmp.com/article/732253/small-classes-promote-best-practices-study-finds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/732253/small-classes-promote-best-practices-study-finds?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000 A plan to bring the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts under the control of the University Grants Committee has sparked shock and alarm among its senior academics. The plan is among key recommendations in a major review of higher education that the UGC announced yesterday. The review provides a road map for the future of universities that the government is expected to broadly follow. It came as a surprise to academy leaders, who were neither consulted nor given advance notice of its... https://www.scmp.com/article/732176/alarm-over-plan-control-apa-funding?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/732176/alarm-over-plan-control-apa-funding?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000 How can the English Schools Foundation's two private independent schools sustain losses of HK$21.3 million without it having any impact on its 14 publicly-funded schools? That is the question angry parents are asking, worried they have been 'indirectly but effectively subsidising' the colleges through fee increases over the past five years. The foundation has opened its books on Renaissance College and Discovery College to explain how the HK$110 million it invested in building the former and... https://www.scmp.com/article/732081/parents-want-answers-over-esf-schools-hk21m-loss?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/732081/parents-want-answers-over-esf-schools-hk21m-loss?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:00:00 +0000 The head of the English Schools Foundation says the HK$25,000 levy being introduced next year could have been avoided if money had not been spent on building two private independent schools. But the foundation denied that hefty fee increases over the past five years are due to late repayments on the HK$278 million investment in the loss-making Renaissance College and Discovery College. Chief executive Heather Du Quesnay said yesterday: 'I guess you could argue that we wouldn't need the... https://www.scmp.com/article/731989/esf-chief-admits-levy-could-have-been-avoided?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/731989/esf-chief-admits-levy-could-have-been-avoided?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Nov 2010 16:00:00 +0000 The Direct Subsidy Scheme was born in 1991 to help schools breathe beyond bureaucracy: to free schools from government control, letting them decide everything from their fee levels and curriculum to admission rules and class sizes. But they must take responsibility to use their funds wisely and to manage their affairs within the rules. The extent to which that did not happen is seen in the recent, damning report from the Director of Audit - a catalogue of unsound financial practices, sloppy... https://www.scmp.com/article/731994/why-we-must-have-checks-and-balances?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/731994/why-we-must-have-checks-and-balances?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Nov 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong's development as a learning society is advancing rapidly. The government is supporting the process and many people are eager to gain additional qualifications, whether for career advancement or personal interest. Education is one of the six new pillars of the economy announced last year by Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen as the focus for Hong Kong's long-term development. The other five - all knowledge-based - will rely on it to provide the required professional expertise. ... https://www.scmp.com/article/731086/graduate-education-goes-global?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/731086/graduate-education-goes-global?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong's universities are offering more places for postgraduate students as the government pours extra cash into higher education in its drive to develop a knowledge economy. More than 170 extra places for research students were opened in September and a further 260 will be created next year as part of a 17 per cent expansion in research postgraduate education over three years. The places include more than 100 PhD fellowships, which carry a monthly stipend of HK$20,000 and an annual... https://www.scmp.com/article/731065/funds-prime-research-pump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/731065/funds-prime-research-pump?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Throughout its proud history dating back to 1875, St Joseph's College has been run by members of the Christian Brothers, an all-male Catholic educational order. But in a radical break with tradition, the elite boys' school has marked its 135th anniversary year by appointing its first female principal. Caroline Chan (pictured), who is not a Catholic, spelt out her vision for St Joseph's future yesterday amid the anniversary celebrations. The top priorities were launching a new extension at the... https://www.scmp.com/article/726177/elite-boys-school-has-woman-head-first-time-its-135-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/726177/elite-boys-school-has-woman-head-first-time-its-135-years?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:00:00 +0000 A parents action group has accused the English Schools Foundation of failing to communicate with parents for two years and ignoring their calls for an end to fee rises. The ESF Concerned Parents Group is today due to meet Cyd Ho Sau-lan, chairwoman of the Legislative Council's education panel, to raise their concerns after writing to the foundation's governing board and parents' committee in June. The move comes after Ron Abbott, chairman of the Overseas Inspectors Association, snubbed an... https://www.scmp.com/article/726069/esf-ignored-calls-end-fee-rises-parents-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/726069/esf-ignored-calls-end-fee-rises-parents-say?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Sep 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong has three more suspected cases of dengue fever after the family members of a 46-year-old Caucasian man confirmed with the disease tested positive for it. This brings the total number of suspected cases to four. The Centre for Health Protection is waiting for the results of further confirmatory tests on a two-year-old girl who is a neighbour of the family and has developed symptoms. The three family members are the man's 47-year-old wife and his sons, aged eight and 18. Their blood... https://www.scmp.com/article/725717/3-more-suspected-dengue-fever-cases-reported?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/725717/3-more-suspected-dengue-fever-cases-reported?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Sep 2010 16:00:00 +0000 A police officers' association is accusing the English Schools Foundation of stifling dissent and communication with parents through a gagging clause on its governing board. The Overseas Inspectors Association has written to legislators asking them to look into the legality of a clause in the code of conduct that members of the ESF's governing board are required to sign. The association says the clause prevents parent members from performing their duty of representing parents. The clause... https://www.scmp.com/article/725511/esf-accused-stifling-dissent-board?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/725511/esf-accused-stifling-dissent-board?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Sep 2010 16:00:00 +0000 A new world university ranking published for the first time today has been boycotted by a prominent Hong Kong university. City University did not take part in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, while Chinese University did not respond to repeated invitations to take part, according to the project's leaders. The British magazine Times Higher Education (THE) teamed up with the global information company Thomson Reuters to produce the new ranking of the world's 200 best... https://www.scmp.com/article/724905/hku-ranks-no-1-asia-edging-ahead-tokyo-cityu-shuns-survey?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/724905/hku-ranks-no-1-asia-edging-ahead-tokyo-cityu-shuns-survey?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Sep 2010 16:00:00 +0000 The education secretary appealed to school leaders to offer support to their teachers as he presided over the 15th annual celebration of Teachers' Day. Michael Suen Ming-yeung led a charm offensive, shaking the hands of hundreds of teachers commended by their schools for the Salute to Teachers 2010. But he refused to rule out secondary school closures over the coming five years, with Form One student numbers projected to fall by 21.9 per cent from 69,000 this year to 53,900 in the 2016-17... https://www.scmp.com/article/724442/education-secretary-salutes-teachers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/724442/education-secretary-salutes-teachers?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong's second-largest teaching union has launched an attempt to unite the education sector behind a battle against the closure of secondary schools due to falling rolls. The Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers yesterday unveiled an 'anti-school closure campaign' and invited 20 educational associations including the Professional Teachers' Union and all secondary school heads associations to join. PTU leaders vowed before the start of term to roll out a series of protest actions to... https://www.scmp.com/article/724355/united-bid-fight-secondary-school-closures?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/724355/united-bid-fight-secondary-school-closures?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Sep 2010 16:00:00 +0000 The University of Hong Kong has overtaken its Japanese rival to become the highest ranking university in Asia, in an international league table released today. HKU is ranked 23rd in the world in the QS World University Rankings, up one place on last year, while the University of Tokyo has fallen from 22nd position to 24th. The 2010 ranking is the first to be published solely by higher education information firm QS Quacquarelli Symonds following a rift with its media partner, Times Higher... https://www.scmp.com/article/724196/hku-ousts-japanese-rival-top-university-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/724196/hku-ousts-japanese-rival-top-university-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Elite boys school La Salle College again has a Christian Brother as its head, ending a six-year experiment with lay principals. Brother Steve Hogan has joined the Kowloon Tong school from De La Salle College in Auckland, New Zealand, following an international search within the Catholic education order. As students resumed class at the high-achieving secondary school last week, they were greeted by their new principal dressed from head to toe in a plain, white cotton robe - a traditional sight... https://www.scmp.com/article/724085/brother-mission-cultivate-leaders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/724085/brother-mission-cultivate-leaders?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Sep 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong's largest teaching union is mobilising teachers for a mass campaign for small classes, as secondary schools brace for closures next year, due to falling rolls. Leaders of the Professional Teachers' Union (PTU) marched to the Central Government Offices yesterday to deliver an open letter to Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen listing 12 demands for action to save schools from closure. More than 300 teachers endorsed the demands at an anti-school-closures meeting held by the union in... https://www.scmp.com/article/723539/teachers-rally-small-classes-closures-loom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/723539/teachers-rally-small-classes-closures-loom?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Scores of pupils across the English Schools Foundation have notched up outstanding results in the British General Certificate of Secondary Education exams, as the proportion of A and A* grades rose by one percentage point. And the German Swiss International School has hit a record for the top grade in GCSEs and International GCSEs, with two-thirds of all exams taken this year resulting in A* - up from 58 per cent last year. Of the 64 pupils in the leading international school's English... https://www.scmp.com/article/723216/more-pupils-hit-top-gcse-results-get-better-and-better?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/723216/more-pupils-hit-top-gcse-results-get-better-and-better?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Admissions requirements for the first six universities in Britain to recognise the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education were announced yesterday by the British Council. The University of Oxford will require students to have Level 5 in three subjects - but will only accept electives and not the core subjects of Chinese, English and liberal studies. For courses that require maths, which is also a core subject, Oxford will require students to attain Level 5* in the core maths paper and... https://www.scmp.com/article/719858/top-british-universities-set-diploma-entry-terms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/719858/top-british-universities-set-diploma-entry-terms?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Two English Schools Foundation pupils who achieved perfect scores in the International Baccalaureate Diploma exams are preparing to fly off to top overseas universities. The number of ESF pupils with outstanding results jumped this year. Of the 726 who took the exams, 76 scored 40 points or above, up from 66 last year, and 15 secured at least 43 points. Two bagged the highest possible score of 45, while just one aced the exams last year. Top scorers Ellen Tung Shue-ting and Alex Yau Yang ... https://www.scmp.com/article/719222/2-esf-pupils-ace-diploma-exams?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/719222/2-esf-pupils-ace-diploma-exams?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:00:00 +0000 English-medium schools have been inundated with last-minute applications for Form One places, after the first secondary school allocations under the government's revised medium-of-instruction policy were announced yesterday. As scores of Chinese-medium schools prepare to switch over to teaching in English or offer more English-medium classes in September, 70 per cent of Primary Six students gained a discretionary place or their first choice of school through central allocation in the admissions... https://www.scmp.com/article/719027/parents-rush-english-medium-places?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/719027/parents-rush-english-medium-places?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:00:00 +0000 More than 60,000 pupils in the final year of primary school will learn today whether they have won a place at their preferred secondary school. This year, 75 per cent of pupils have been allocated a discretionary place or their first choice of school - up five percentage points from last year. Pupils will return to their primary schools to pick up the results. Those who are not satisfied with their allocated place may go to secondary schools with vacancies to apply on the spot. Pupils must... https://www.scmp.com/article/718977/secondary-school-allocations-out-today?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/718977/secondary-school-allocations-out-today?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:00:00 +0000 The Rhodes Scholarship is one of the world's most prestigious international study awards; recipients include former US president Bill Clinton, astronomer Edwin Hubble and Australian Nobel Laureate Howard Florey. It isn't easy to win one: students must display leadership, integrity, community spirit and energy and be outstanding academics. In Hong Kong, Chinese University students have far outpaced their peers in the rigorous selection process, with 11 of the last 16 annual awards going to... https://www.scmp.com/article/718284/questions-over-who-gets-hk-rhodes-scholarships?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/718284/questions-over-who-gets-hk-rhodes-scholarships?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Jun 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong has embarked on the most ambitious education reform programme in its history - ditching the high-stakes A-level exam for a broad-based diploma. And as government and aided schools roll out the three-year curriculum leading to the first Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education exams in 2012, the International Baccalaureate Diploma has eclipsed the British A-level as the main qualification in the international sector. All final-year students across the English Schools Foundation's... https://www.scmp.com/article/716877/diplomas-pave-road-reform?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/716877/diplomas-pave-road-reform?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Debenture A long-term, financial debt instrument that is used to raise funds for capital assets such as school buildings and generally gives priority on the waiting list to a child who has passed the school's admission test and interview. Many are refundable when the child leaves the school. Some are transferable and can be sold on the second-hand market for more than their face value. Second-hand debentures have been sold via membership agencies for up to HK$3.7 million. There are various types... https://www.scmp.com/article/716878/money-matters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/716878/money-matters?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:00:00 +0000 As scores of public-sector secondary schools prepare to switch more classes over to the medium of English in September, a growing band of independent schools have adopted a challenging bilingual approach - teaching in both Putonghua and English. Leading the trend is the Independent Schools Foundation Academy in Pok Fu Lam, which was set up in 2003 by a group of prominent academics and scientists - including celebrated Nobel Laureate Dr Charles Kao Kuen - with the aim of providing top-flight... https://www.scmp.com/article/716880/challenge-bilingual-learning?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/716880/challenge-bilingual-learning?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:00:00 +0000 The independent sector provides a wide range of options, from international schools that give access to education systems around the world to private schools that emphasise Chinese language and culture. The four main types - international schools, English Schools Foundation, Private Independent Schools and Direct Subsidy Scheme - each have their own funding and admission systems, and traditionally catered to the needs of different social groups. But the majority of fee-charging schools now... https://www.scmp.com/article/716879/little-relief-fee-paying-parents?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/716879/little-relief-fee-paying-parents?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:00:00 +0000