Ying Wa Girls' School

Ying Wa Girls' School

寸陰是惜
(Time is Precious, Treasure every Minute)
Location

76 Robinson Road, Central

Hong Kong
Information
Type Grant, Day, All-female secondary
Established 1900
President Revd Ping Kit Wu
Principal Mr. Francis Kwan Hon Cheung
Grades Form 1 – Form 6
Number of students 1,000
Affiliation Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China
Founder Miss Helen Davies (London Missionary Society)
Medium of Instruction English
Houses Davies, Hogben, Hutchinson, Silcocks, Jenkins
Website http://www.ywgs.edu.hk

Ying Wa Girls' School (Chinese: 英華女學校) is an HKCCCC secondary day school for girls in Central, Hong Kong. It is located at 76 Robinson Road, Mid-levels. The campus at Robinson Road is under redevelopment. It will be completed in mid 2018. The decanting site is located at 101 Castle Peak Road, Sham Shui Po. Total enrolment currently stands at slightly under 1,200. YWGS is notable for its excellent results in public examinations, and is one of the most prestigious girls' schools in Hong Kong.

History

Ying Wa Girls' School was founded in February 1900 by Helen Davies of the former London Missionary Society. It started off as a boarding school for girls and expanded to include a secondary section in 1915 and a two-year kindergarten in 1916. It ceased taking on boarders in 1940.[1] In 1930, the first ever YWGS student was admitted into the University of Hong Kong.

In 1967, it became purely a secondary school. It is one of the 22 Grant Schools in Hong Kong. Since 1966, Ying Wa Girls' School has become one of the related schools of the Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China. It was also the first secondary school to have a student association in Hong Kong history. It is also the first organisation in Hong Kong to have the sponsored walk idea. Every year, the school organises Thanksgiving Walkathon, inviting students and parents walking from the school to the Peak.

Relationship with Ying Wa College

The principal of Ying Wa College, Mr. Allan Cheng, is a member of the Incorporated Management Committee of Ying Wa Girls' School, while Mr. Francis Kwan is also a member of the Committee of Ying Wa College.[2]

School Motto

Time is precious, treasure every minute.[3]

Uniform

The school's uniform is a light blue cheongsam, with silver school and house badges right under the hook of the collar.

The school uniform of Ying Wa has a unique design. It is hemmed with wide dark blue lines along the bottom hem, sleeve and collar; and the stiff collar, a bit higher than others, is tailored to allow little slack between the collar and the neck of the students, when it is hooked up. The students sometimes find the strangling feeling around their neck awkward especially when they look downward to read or write at the desk. The tightly-fit stand-up collar permits poor ventilation, keeping perspiration inside the uniform, which becomes soggy when the weather is hot and humid. Yet the school dress code stipulates that the collar must be kept hooked closed at all times, even in the hottest tropical summer. It is uncomfortable to wear and it takes some time for new students until they get used to it. Yet, once they learn to endure these hardships, the uniform turns to the most significant pride and icon of their blissful life in Ying Wa.

Class structure and curriculum

There are altogether 30 classes in the school.
Form 1: 5 classes (A,B,C,D,E)
Form 2: 5 classes
Form 3: 5 classes
Form 4: 5 classes (NSS Curriculum)
Form 5: 5 classes (NSS Curriculum)
Form 6: 5 classes (NSS Curriculum)

Secondary One to Three offer a broad general curriculum with a good balance among languages, arts, science, cultural and practical subjects as well as religious education and physical education.

In Secondary Four to Six (NSS curriculum), students can choose 3 electives from a range of 15 subjects besides the 4 core subjects: Chinese, English, Mathematics and Liberal Studies.

Students will take the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination at the end of Secondary Six for admission to tertiary institutes through the Joint University Programmes Admission System (JUPAS).

As an E.M.I. (English as the Medium of Instruction) school, Ying Wa adopts English as the teaching medium in most subjects with the aim of achieving biliteracy (Chinese and English) and trilingualism with the inclusion of Putonghua.

All subjects, except Chinese Language, Chinese Language and Culture, Chinese Literature, Chinese History, Religious Education, Physical Education and Putonghua, are taught in English.

Lessons are arranged on a 5-day week basis. Toastmaster Leadership Training Programmes, Oral English Classes, Public Speaking Classes and Instrument Classes are offered after school and on Saturdays.

House system

There are five Houses, named after the five early principals of the school:

Each house will have two senior students being the house captain.And there are some competitions in some extra curricular activities, such as sport day and swimming gala among those five houses.The aim of establishing the house system is to strengthen the loyalty of the students to school.

Redevelopment of campus[4]

Since its establishment in 1900 by the London Missionary Society, Ying Wa Girls' School has been serving at its present site, providing education with a Christian character to young girls (and boys for a brief period) of Hong Kong of all classes. In December 2009, Ying Wa announced its redevelopment project.[5][6] Supported by the Education Bureau, a new campus will replace the existing one on the same Robinson Road-Bonham Road site which has housed our school for over a century. On completion, available ground area will be expanded by about 50%, thus making it possible to overcome the recurring and constant lack of space since her founding. New spacious facilities and advanced installations will help Ying Wa take on the increasing demands of a fast-changing and diversified secondary curriculum.

In November 2011, Ying Wa Girls' School received HK$10 million from the Li Ka Shing Foundation.[7][8] It was used to establish the Li Chong Yuet Ming Student Development Fund to provide opportunities for students to become global citizens through international exchanges and strengthen their commitment to the local community through social service. That's in line with the school motto "To serve and not to be served." The fund was named after Madam Amy Li Chong Yuet-ming, wife of Li Ka Shing, who attended the school.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ying Wa Girls' School.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.ywgs.edu.hk/SchoolHistory.html
  2. ↑ 英華書院校長學生義助清潔 (Chinese)
  3. ↑ http://www.ywgs.edu.hk/SchoolMotto.html
  4. ↑ "Ying Wa Girls' School 英華女學校". Ywgs.edu.hk. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  5. ↑ "英 華 女 校 重 建 活 化 歷 史 建 築". 星島日報. 10 September 2012.
  6. ↑ "英華女校申3.6億重建". 文匯報. 19 April 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  7. ↑ "School wins Li cash boost". The Standard. 29 November 2012.
  8. ↑ "李嘉誠基金會捐千萬助英華女校推動學生發展計劃". AM730. 29 November 2012.

Coordinates: 22°16′58″N 114°08′50″E / 22.28278°N 114.14722°E / 22.28278; 114.14722

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