CONTENT
|EDITORIAL|
When I planned that WYHEUR would not
be published in August because of the lack of campus news during
the summer vacation, I obviously forgot two approaching events
which many present students regard as their most important event
of the year. (Or I sub-consciously wanted to bring everything,
including publication work, to a rest in the July-August period
so that I can lazy away all my summer holidays!) The HKCEE and
HKAL results have always generated much interest among alumni,
and reporting these profiles in an October issue does not seem
to fit the one major characteristic of this publication - speed.
The survey sent with the last issue
has prompted a good number of responses. Since some student readers
may be away from their university terminals during this season
of the year, a complete report will not be published until the
next issue. Preliminary findings indicate that most readers support
the continuation of this publication under the present editorship
and welcome the inclusion of the school administration to become
a 'reader'. Some feel that WYHEUR is too long. To meet the needs
of busier alumni, starting from this issue, a brief summary of
each article is included in the Content Section.
On the eve of writing this article,
I was saddened by the news that a Form 1 student of the 95-96
academic year had just passed away after an major heart operation.
As one of his teachers, I inevitably asked myself some questions.
After picking up his exam report and as he was getting prepared
for the operation, which he obviously had worries about, what
did his first year of Wah Yan education (which turned out to be
his last) mean to him? Did he experience support from his friends
in school? Did he feel care and concern from the Fathers and the
teachers? After all, fraternal support and mutual care are the
values which I hear most from alumni about their alma mater. How
much of these has each of us experienced in our school life and
alumni community?
SHARE YOUR VIEWS ON OVERSEAS ALUMNI
THE Review Section of the next issue of WYHEUR will be focused on 'Wah Yan Communities Outside Hong Kong'. The editor appeals to the readers, especially co-ordinators of alumni associations, to share their views on the topic by writing articles on ONE OR MORE of the following aspects:
The WYHEUR is meant to be a forum for
all Wahyanites. Please contribute! Articles of any length are
welcome. Your article can be published under your real name or
a pseudonym. Send your article(s) to the editor before October
15, 1996.
| Subject WY | ||||
| Use of English | ||||
| Chinese L & C | ||||
| Economics | ||||
| Geography | ||||
| Principle of Account | ||||
| Biology | ||||
| Chemistry | ||||
| Physics | ||||
| Pure Math | ||||
| Applied Math | ||||
| % of A grades |
Out of the 70 Wah Yan candidates taking
the examination, about 45 were given first-year places in local
tertiary institutions. Between ten and twenty students went abroad
and most of the rest decided to repeat their matriculation studies.
1996 marks a milestone in the history
of Wah Yan's performance in the HKCEE. Apart from the much publicised
10As, the overall pass rate (5Es or above) passed the 90% mark
for the first time in recent memory. The following table shows
results in main subjects since 1992.
| Subject WY Pass | ||||
| English(Syl. B) | ||||
| Chinese | ||||
| Mathematics | ||||
| Biology | ||||
| Chemistry | ||||
| Chinese History | ||||
| Economics | ||||
| Geography | ||||
| History | ||||
| Physics | ||||
| Religious Studies | ||||
| % of students with 5E or above | ||||
| % of A grades |
(% for all HK students in brackets)
THE
EXTREMES IN THE HKCEE PROFILE
LAM Cheung Chi, the candidate for President
in the proposed new cabinet of the Student Association, scored
ten As (6 A1s and 4 A2s) in this HKCEE. His classmate in 5S1,
Tin Chi Ho, also scored A in all his ten subjects (9 A1s and 1
A2). Other 5S1 students like Ho Chun Wai and Wong Wing Ho also
did well by making seven As and a handful of credits. In the only
F.5 arts class, Tsoi Fong Kong topped his classmates with 3 As
and 5 Bs.
The lower end of the spectrum showed
improvement in 1996. The total percentage of F and unclassified
grades was 9.2, compared with 15.1 in 1995. We no longer see Wah
Yan students failing in all subjects. The minimum personal achievement
in 1996 was pass in one subject.
WAH YAN ORIENTED TOWARDS
1997
In the weeks preceding the summer holidays,
the staff and the school administration formulated the school
theme for the 1996-97 academic year: "Wahyanite, Hong Kong
Sentiments, Chinese Heart, Global View". (The long name sounds
much less awkward in Chinese!) Activities related to the theme
will be held to promote the four identities crucial to our students
in the coming years: Wahyanite, Hong Kong Citizen, Chinese, Member
of the World Community. More about developments of this theme
in the next issue.
|REVIEW ARTICLE|
1996 HKCEE RESULTS IN PERSPECTIVE - John K. Tan
ACADEMIC excellence is an important
goal in Jesuit education. The F.5 boys who took part in the 1996
HKCEE showed that they did very hard to maintain this Jesuit educational
tradition. Not only were two of Hong Kong's five 10As students
found in Wah Yan, more significantly, there was overall improvement
in the general pass rate, in most subjects and in the percentage
of distinctions received.
When readers of WYHEUR examine the HKCEE
results tabled above, they may note the significant achievement
of Wah Yan boys in language subjects. At a time when educators
and employers in Hong Kong are increasingly concerned about the
falling language standards of Hong Kong students, a phenomenon
supported by HKCEE trends, Wahyanites are able at least to maintain
their standards. Improvement in the results of the Chinese subject
was marked - a 10% increment over a period of five years. Wah
Yan, as an institution using English as the official medium of
instruction, did not seem to sacrifice the proficiency in the
mother tongue of the students because of its language policy.
With the introduction of special Wah Yan scholarships for improvement
and excellence in the languages in the coming academic year, it
is hoped that Wah Yan's strength in the languages at CE level
will not be diminished in the coming years.
Over the five-year period under observation,
History and Religious Studies showed the greatest improvement
in grades. Nowadays, many students find history boring and useless.
Arts students used to be compelled to take History in the CE.
Inevitably, many did not bother to study hard and scored F or
U grades. In the 1996 examination, History became an optional
subject for all arts and science students. The dramatic improvement
hints that when students have greater say in what they study,
learning outcomes may differ markedly.
The advancement in Religious Studies
over the period showed the importance of the relevance of the
curriculum to students' life and the medium of instruction. Before
1994, students studied the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles
(history of the early Church). After the school had decided to
replace the Acts with studies of personal and social problems
from a Christian perspective for the 1994 exam, the pass rate
rose from an average of 50% to more than 60%. 1996 saw the first
batch of students (about half of the Wah Yan candidates) taking
HKCEE R.S. in Chinese, the first time Wah Yan students could take
a HKCEE subject (other than Chinese and Chinese History) in their
mother tongue. The pass rate improved further to almost 80%. If
this figure is sustained or improved in coming years, the school
authority should seriously consider its language policy, e.g.
by allowing students to take certain subjects, especially non-science
ones, in Chinese.