Under the senior secondary (SS) academic structure introduced in 2009, all students will study a three-year senior secondary curriculum after completing the three-year junior secondary curriculum. They will then sit for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE), which was introduced in 2012 to replace the former Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination and Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination. Subject to satisfactory performance in the HKDSE, students will continue their studies at local universities for four years.
The College adopts English as the medium of instruction. All subjects are to be taught in English with the exception of Chinese Language, Chinese as a Secondary Language, Chinese History and Chinese History for Non-Chinese Speaking Students.
Citizenship and Social Development (for S4 to S5) and Liberal Studies (for S6) are offered to students in either Chinese or English. Students are free to choose their preferred medium of instruction, which will be taken as the language to be used in the public examination.
The College attaches equal importance to both Chinese and English languages, and wherever appropriate and feasible, will use both in its written communications with parents. As the spoken language of Hong Kong is Cantonese, it is understood that Cantonese will predominate as a social language inside and outside of the College. For this reason, it is not always feasible to expect that guest speakers or other parties from outside the College are as comfortable in using English to the extent that we may be. Therefore, it is likely that parent briefing sessions, presentations by guest speakers and other activities hosted by external parties will be conducted in Cantonese, with simultaneous interpretation provided.
Subjects offered to Junior Forms prepare students for the Senior Secondary Curriculum (SS). They include English Language, Chinese Language, Mathematics, Chinese History, Humanities (for S3) / Integrated Humanities (for S1 to S2), Science (for S3)/ Integrated Science (for S1 to S2), Information and Communication Technology, STEM (for S3), Home Economics (for S1 to S2), Music, Visual Arts and Health and Physical Education. Chinese as a Second Language, French and Chinese History for NCS Students are offered as an alternative to Chinese Language and Chinese History for Non-Chinese Speaking (NCS) students.
Students in Senior Forms are required to study four core subjects, viz. English Language, Chinese Language / Chinese as a Second Language, Mathematics and Citizenship and Social Development (for S4 and S5) / Liberal Studies (for S6), plus two to three electives from a fairly wide variety of subjects. These include Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Information and Communication Technology, Economics, Business, Accounting and Financial Studies, Geography, Chinese History, Tourism and Hospitality Studies, Mathematics Extended Part Modules, French, Visual Arts, Physical Education and Music.
The College believes in providing an all-rounded education and has always encouraged students to participate in a wide range of extra-curricular activities so that they can learn beyond the classroom. It also holds Department Days and whole-school co-curricular activities within the formal timetable. These activities have always been an integral part of our school life and will contribute to students’ Other Learning Experiences.
The College has implemented a system of keeping a formal record of students’ achievements in the form of Student Learning Portfolios. To facilitate proper record keeping, we have upgraded our computer system so that we can keep a track record of individual students’ achievements in electronic form.
School-based Assessment (SBA) refers to assessments carried out by schools as part of the teaching and learning process, with students being assessed by their subject teachers. The marks awarded will count towards the results of HKDSE.
The College has, since its inauguration in 2000, been using internal continuous assessment tools to assess students’ academic performance. The experience and skills so acquired have proved very useful in fulfilling the requirement of SBA under the NSS curriculum.
In the past few years, our College focuses on nurturing students to become self-directed learners by promoting Collaborative Learning and Mobile Learning. In order to further enhance students’ learning capacity for lifelong learning, we are dedicated to adopting Enquiry Learning lessons as part of our new three-year school plan starting from the 2021/22 school year.
Enquiry Learning is a pedagogical approach that places emphasis on students’ role throughout the learning process. It focuses on stimulating curiosity, enabling students to develop questions themselves and pitch their question using a constructed response, further enquiry and citation. By using different teaching strategies in lessons, we believes that students can learn effectively and become lifelong learners who are better poised to face the challenges in the new era.
Starting from 2022/23, a newly designed school-based module-study course called “Minds+”is offered to S1 students to enrich their learning experience. Different modules will be taught in the year covering topics such as history, thinking skills, design thinking, global citizenship, STEM and learning skills. The main aim of the course is to equip students with various generic skills (such as creativity, critical thinking and problem solving skills) to prepare them to be active lifelong learners so that they will be better poised to embrace challenges in this fast-changing society.