| St. Paul's College, Hong Kong | |
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| School Badge of St. Paul's College
寅畏上主是為智之本
(The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom) |
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| Location | |
|---|---|
| 69 Bonham Road, | |
| Information | |
| Affiliation(s) | Anglican |
| Principal | Dr. John Richard Kennard |
| Type | DSS, Day, All-male Primary & Secondary |
| Grades | Primary 1 - Form 7 |
| Established | 1851 |
| Students | 1300 (Secondary) 600 (Primary) |
| Founder | Revd Vincent John Stanton |
| Medium of Instruction | English |
| Houses | Banyan, Gingko, Oak, Pine, Rosewood, Yew |
| Homepage | http://www.spc.edu.hk |
St. Paul's College (Traditional Chinese: 聖保羅書院) is an Anglican day school for boys in Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong. Established in 1851, it is the oldest secondary school there. The college has an all-boys primary school section (Primary 1-6) and only becomes co-educational in the secondary section from Form 6 and beyond. The current location of the school is at 69 Bonham Road, Hong Kong. Its school council enjoys a special status in Hong Kong, in that it is a statutory body incorporated by a local ordinance, the St. Paul's College Council Ordinance. The aim of the school is, according to the Ordinance, to "provide education to Chinese youths in the English language upon Christian principles". The school opened with one tutor and nine pupils. Today, the school has about 1,250 pupils in the secondary section and around 600 in the primary section.[1]
Contents |
History
St. Paul's College receives special attention from historians as the world's first Anglo-Chinese school. Its founder, the Revd Vincent John Stanton, is also the first Colonial Chaplain of the former Colony of Hong Kong. The Chinese characters in the school motto (寅畏上主是為智之本) are from Proverbs 9:10. They are usually translated in English as "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (KJV) ("Timor Domini Principium Sapientiae" in Latin and can be found in graduation certificates of earlier days). The fact that the motto is in Chinese is significant. While it was more the fashion at that time to use Latin for such a purpose, the far-sighted founders of the school saw St. Paul’s College as a hub to foster bilinguals and to bring together the cultures of the East and the West. After the Japanese Occupation the school was briefly merged with St. Paul's Girl's College, and renamed St. Paul's Co-educational College. The school resumed its individual status in 1949 and went on to be known as St. Paul's College once again when its campus on Bonham Road was completed, while St. Paul's Co-educational College remained, as its name implies, co-educational. During the 1967 riots, F. 5 pupil Tsang Tak-sing was expelled from the school and prosecuted for distributing "inflammatory" anti-colonial leaflets. Tsang was sentenced to two years in prison as a result. He later went on to become a deputy to the Chinese National People's Congress, a member of the Central Policy Unit and, on July 1st 2007,the Secretary for Home Affairs in the Hong Kong Government. Today, St. Paul's College continues its excellent achievements both academically and in extracurricular activities. Students excel in public examinations. Students bring home trophies won in international as well as local music and sports competitions. The school's old boys contribute in the government and as well as in the academic, professional and business areas. The year 2001 marked the 150th Anniversary of the school, and in the same year the school decided to join the Direct Subsidy Scheme, under which the school is given more freedom in the enrolment of students and the design of the curriculum.
The Students' Association
The Executive Council is the decision making body of the Students' Association:
- Affiliated Clubs Committee - helps all clubs in financial need and in other matters such as club registration. There are 53 affiliated clubs under the students' association.
- Audit Committee - monitors the income and expenditure of the Students' Association.
- Chief Duty Officer - is responsible for arrangement of the SA officials' duty. There are around 30 SA officials every year who are under the administration of CDO.
- Programming Committee - is responsible for all the programmes held such as the Form One Day, the Class Overall Championship, etc.
- Public Relations Committee - is responsible for liaison with external bodies or schools.
- Student Publications Council - is responsible for the publication of Scope and Wayfarer.
- Welfare Committee - provides welfare services such as lunch-box service, sale of school sweaters, old books, stationery, etc.
The current president of the students' association is Wong Wai Sum, Vincent.
College song and hymn
The old college song was titled The Old St. Paul's College, composed by John Peel. The current college song is composed in 1970s by Rev. Moses Wu, the music teacher at the time; lyric by C. F. Miles. It was mostly sung during major college events such as the Speech Day, swimming gala and sports days. The song will be played the school orchestra in the Speech Day. The College Hymn, We Build Our School on Thee, O Lord, is also sung during important morning assemblies.
Class structure and curriculum
Currently, there are six classes for each of Forms 1 to 5, and three classes for each of Forms 6 and 7.
House System
The House System was first introduced in 1975. Currently, there are six houses. Each House is led by a House Master, and a number of Assistant House Masters/Mistresses. The House Master will appoint a student to be the House Captain.
| House | Color |
| Banyan | Blue |
| Ginkgo | Green |
| Oak | Orange |
| Pine | Purple |
| Rosewood | Red |
| Yew | Yellow |
List of Principals
- Rev. Vincent John Stanton (founder)
- Bishop George Smith (1849-1864)
- Bishop Charles Richard Alford (1867-1871)
- Bishop John Shaw Burdon (1874-1897)
- Bishop Joseph Charles Hoare (1898-1906)
- Bishop Gerald Heath Lander (1907-1920)
- Rev. Arthur Dudley Stewart (1909-1930)
- Col. Evan George Stewart, DSO, OBE, ED (1930-1958)
- Rev. Geoffrey Lowrey Speak (1959-1967)
- Mr. Timothy Wing-ho Ha, MBE, JP (1968-2006). He was first Chinese principal of the college. He is now the Secretary for Education of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui.
- Dr. John Richard Kennard (2006- ). On 1st March, 2006. Dr. John Kennard (former Principal of St. Andrew's Grammar School in Perth, Western Australia) succeeded Timothy Ha's principalship and became the 11th principal of St. Paul's College. He promised to focus on academic endeavour, leadership and global awareness to equip Paulines to succeed in an increasingly complex world.
Notable alumni
- Wu Tingfang (伍廷芳), a Chinese politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China during the early 1910s, Hong Kong's first Chinese barrister, the first Chinese member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, Hong Kong's first Chinese Justice of the Peace (JP)
- I. M. Pei (貝聿銘), a Pritzker Prize winning and internationally renowned architect whose important works include the Louvre Pyramid of Paris, Honorary Doctor of Letters (Hon DLitt) of the University of Hong Kong (1990)
- Stephen Ip Shu-kwan (葉澍堃), former Secretary for Economic Development and Labour of the Hong Kong Government
- Joseph Yam Chi-kwong (任志剛), Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority
- Lee Wing-tat (李永達), member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and former Chairman of the Democratic Party (DP)
- Jasper Tsang Yok-sing (曾鈺成), member of both the Executive Council of Hong Kong and Legislative Council of Hong Kong, former Chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), National Committee Member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference of the People's Republic of China
- Peter Kwong Kong-kit (鄺廣傑), first Archbishop and Primate of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Province, retired at the end of 2006, now Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, Honorary Doctor of Divinity (Hon DD) of the University of Hong Kong (2000)
- Ching Cheong (程翔), experienced journalist and the correspondent for the Singapore Daily. He has been taken into custody by the Chinese government for spying.
- Lai Man-wai (黎民偉), father of film industry of Hong Kong
- Tsang Tak-sing (曾德成), Secretary for Home Affairs, Hong Kong SAR Government
- Lau Siu-kai (劉兆佳), Head of Central Policy Unit, Hong Kong SAR Government
- Kenneth Ting (丁午壽), Chairman of Federation of Hong Kong Industries, former Legislative Councillor
- Patrick Lau (劉秀成), former President of Hong Kong Institute of Architects and currently Legislative Councillor
- Dr. Lo Wing Lok (勞永樂), former legislative councillor and president of Hong Kong Medical Association
- Lau Kong Wah (劉江華), Legislative Councillor of Hong Kong
- Chung See Yuen, former chief Executive Councillor and Legistlative Councillor
- Prof. Raymond Liang Hin Suen, a world renowned haematologist and currently the Acting Dean of Hong Kong University Faculty of Medicine
- Raymond Lam Fung (林峰), HK Actor for TVB
