Speech at King's College The 80th Anniversary Concert

King’s College

The 80th Anniversary Concert

4 July 2006

Speech by Mrs Fanny Law, GBS, JP

     Mr Ho, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

     Thank you for inviting me to join you at this concert to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of King’s College.  Founded in 1926, King’s College is one of the oldest government secondary schools in Hong Kong .  It is also distinguished in many ways.

     Physically, the gracious classical red brick school building stands out among buildings of the same vintage.  Academically, its illustrious track record places the school among the most popular in the territory.  Incidentally, this also has a positive spillover effect on property prices in the school’s vicinity. Furthermore, King’s College is distinguished by the star-studded lineup of celebrities among its alumni.

     How did King’s College get to where it is today?  The answer may be straight-forward, but the path is tortuous.  A good school began with a timeless vision which, in the case of King’s College, is to help every student discover and develop fully his potential and to provide a learning environment that is disciplined, stimulating and conducive to whole-person development.

     To turn the vision into reality requires enlightened leadership, teamwork and home school cooperation.  Thanks to the hard work of successive principals and teachers,  King’s College has lived up to this vision over the past 80 years.  From academic work to sports and then to music, IT etc, …, students of King’s College have excelled in many areas, bringing pride and satisfaction to parents and teachers alike.

     The programme tonight reflects the multiple talents of the students.  In particular, the Harmonica Band has won many awards and enjoys wide acclaim in the community.  I am sure you will enjoy their performance this evening.

     So, we can all look back with pride on the past 80 years.  As the school moves into a new phase of development and the first cohort of students to benefit from the new senior secondary academic structure will join in September this year.  It is time to ponder how we can move King’s College from “good to great”.  A great school has the interests of students as its prior consideration, provides all-round learning experiences, and adds value to student learning outcome.

     Today, success is not determined solely by academic attainment, but also by the ability to think critically, work with people, solve problems, act creatively, and communicate effectively.  Students are expected to be proactive, to read widely, to take responsibility for their own learning, to enquire, to question, to debated in class, and to apply what they have learned to real-life situation.

     Ladies and gentlemen, parents and alumni, your presence today signifies your support for King’s College.  With you support, I am sure the principal and teachers will rise to the challenge, and I am confident that King’s College will continue to be the guiding light in Hong Kong education.

     Finally, I hope you all have an enjoyable time, and I wish King’s College continued success in the years to come.  Thank you.