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Ying Wa Girls' School
Location
76 Robinson Road, Central Hong Kong
Information
Type	Grant, Day, All-female secondary
Motto	寸陰是惜 (Time is Precious, Treasure every Minute)
Established	1900
President	Reverend 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.

Student Association

Established by former principal, Miss Silcocks, in 1949, the Student Association is one of the oldest student bodies among local schools.

For years the Student Association has nurtured generations of student leaders and promoted self-government. The association aims at fostering students’ sense of belonging to the school by organising a wide variety of extracurricular activities. The association strives its best at creating a fruitful and enjoyable school life.

At present, the well-established association is composed of a nine-member Executive Committee and five sub-committees, namely the Press Committee, the Programme Committee, the Promotion Committee, the Sports Committee and the Welfare Committee. All committee members are elected by schoolmates in late September every year.

Executive Committee

Press Committee

The school newsletter, Clarion, is published by the Press Committee three times a year. It provides a chance for students to read
more, write more and exchange their thoughts. The newsletter introduces students to various hot topics, ranging from personal growth to global news. It encourages them to reflect on current issues and broaden their outlooks.

In recent years, the committee has made innovative attempts by issuing short introductions on teachers and the administrative staff. The publication provides a perfect link between students and the staff.

Sports Committee

The Sports Committee aims at promoting sports and arousing students’ interest in sports. The Committee organises inter-class competitions, the Graduation Cup and various sports competitions. At the decanting campus, the whole school can now spectate events and competitions held in the open playground, which adds colour to our school life. The Sports Committee and Inter-house Committee also co-organise the annual Athletics Meet and Swimming Gala. It is hoped that students can engage more in sports and have all-round development apart from their studies.

Promotion Committee

The Promotion Committee gives publicity to activities organised by the Student Association. During events like the Thanksgiving Week and Christmas, decorations and ornaments are hung all over the school to create a festive mood.

Programme Committee

The Programme Committee coordinates different interests clubs and encourages students to participate in club activities. At the beginning of the school year, it helps with the recruitment of club members and officials. To facilitate their work, the committee offers training workshops to club officials and supervises their activities. At the end of the year, ECA records of students are collated and feedback is given to clubs to help them improve their coming activities.

Welfare Committee

The Welfare Committee aims at providing welfare benefits for our students. Exercise book sales are arranged regularly to provide students with basic stationery, such as exercise books and writing paper. PE uniform sales are held before the Athletics Meet and the Swimming Gala.
Moreover , the Welfare Committee negotiates discounts with shops and businesses near the school. Credit must be given to the hard work of the committee so that students can now enjoy preferential rates at various restaurants and buy bargain items at the annual stationery sale.

House system

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

• Davies (green)


• Hogben (yellow)


• Hutchinson (blue)


• Silcocks (orange)


• Jenkins (red)

Each house will have two senior students being house captains.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 students' sense of belonging to the 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

• The Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China


• List of secondary schools in Hong Kong


• London Missionary Society


• Ying Wa College

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

References

External links

• Official Website


• Ying Wa Girls' School Alumnae Association Website


• Ying Wa Girls' School Facebook Page


• Ying Wa Girls' School Redevelopment Project Website

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