St. Stephen's College, Hong Kong
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
St. Stephen's College (聖士提反書院) is a secondary school located in Stanley, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The mission of the College is: to provide quality education for the whole person, with a balanced emphasis on physical, intellectual and spiritual development, in a caring and supportive Christian environment.
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[edit] History
The establishment of the College dates back to 1902. A group of prominent Chinese businessmen approached the Church Missionary Society to administer a school for their sons. In 1903, St. Stephen's College was officially established on Bonham Road in Western District. The government granted the school 25 acres (101,000 m²) on the Stanley peninsula in recognition of outstanding contributions to education. The foundation stone was laid in April 1928 by the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Cecil Clementi, and in May 1929, the college was fully functional in its new buildings, many of which are still in use today.
During Japanese occupation of Hong Kong the school building was used for military uses by the occupying forces. In September 1945, the Revd Ernest Martin reopened the doors and by 1948, for the first time ever, the board had to limit intake as the school had reached capacity. Over the years, continued donations from benefactors have provided necessary equipment and new buildings such as Ng Wah Hall and the Wilson Wang Water Sports Complex.
From an inaugural class of just 6 boys, St. Stephen's College became Co-educational in 1968 and now caters for 1500 boys and girls studying in the College and the preparatory section.
[edit] Planning of Direct Subsidised School
Originally a private school, St. Stephen's College became a government-funded public school during the late 1900s.
The College recently announced its intention to become a Direct Subsidised School (DSS), an historic change to the College as it will bring free the school from the centralised funding system that currently administers secondary education in Hong Kong. If the plan is widely accepted by students, parents and alumni, this new plan will be implemented during the 2008-2009 academic year. Pupils enrolled in the 2006 Primary 4 class at St. Stephen's College Preparatory School, also based in Stanley, will be the first group to enter the DSS system. In order to upgrade the school administrative level, this is the first secondary school in Hong Kong employed a Registered Professional Housing Manager as a direct staff to manage and handle all property and facilities related issue for and on behalf of the school.
[edit] Cross Country
Unlike many of the secondary schools in Hong Kong, St. Stephen's College possesses a large campus. Every year, a cross-country competition is held. This annual tradition requires every student to join and to enjoy the concept of sportsmanship. Students are required to run along the campus in a standard duration.
[edit] English Speaking Days (ESD)
As a means to enhance the quality of English communication skills among students, the English Society of the College had strived to hold the English Speaking Days (ESD).
Over an academic year, 3 cycles of the ESD will progress where students are to speak to each other in English. Each cycle comprises 10 days.
Students are required to collect signatures of teachers, peers, relatives or classmates through a booklet. An award scheme is established such that the student with the highest number of signatures for each class receives a prize.
What's more, during the ESD, recordings from the BBC radio is broadcasted through the college in the morning. During Lunch time, programmes related to English are held to raise students' interest and awareness to English.
The concept of ESD was developed jointly by one of College's English teacher Miss Winne Wong and Chairman of the English Society Pierre Lien in the academic year 2005-2006. 3 cycles have been put to practice and the feedback was positive.
The English Society is expecting to further enhance the practice of the ESD in the next academic year.
[edit] The Centenary Celebration
The College Centenary was celebrated in 2003. The main celebration events included the Grand Concert, the Centenary Thanksgiving service, the Centenary Speech Day, the Open Day and Garden Fête and the centenary Dinner. Many guests, parents, alumni, friends, and students of St. Stephen's attended these events and shared the joys and commitments with the College.
The college firstly introduced the live broadcast technology into the Centenary events, including the Centenary Speech Day and Open Day. The video was broadcasted to public through the internal system and the Internet streaming servers provided by the Information Technology Team while the broadcast system was provided by the Campus Channel Television.
In 2005, Dr. Louise Y. S. Law, became the first female principal in the college history. Dr. Law was a former teacher of the St. Stephen but she left St. Stephen in the 90s after she was appointed the principal of a school in Ma On Shan.
Numerous students excel in various fields including academics, sports, music and social services, and graduates have also contributed in various fields to the society.
St. Stephen's has nurtured some of the most famous and influential businessmen, professionals, artists in Hong Kong and Asia.
As for the year 2006, the College is going to perform a Hollywood and Broadway musical: "Annie" as their bi-year concert.
The cast for the concert can be found here
[edit] Alumni
Business Men
- TUNG Chee Chen - younger brother of the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Mr TUNG Chee Hwa) and the Chairman of Orient Overseas Container Line. Mr Tung is also a member of the Collegel's Council.
- Raymond Ch'ien Kuo FUNG - Chairman of MTR Corporation Limited and a member of the College's Council.
- Peter Kwong Ching WOO - Chairman of The Wharf (Holdings) Limited and Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
- Hon Timonthy FOK Tsun-ting, GBS, JP - Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; also a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Vice-President, Olympic Council of Asia.
- Mr. CHUNG Po-yang, OBE, JP - Chairman, DHL Worldwide Express
- The late Sir S.K. Tang
Media
- Sammy (森美) - Popular DJ of Radio Television Hong Kong
