# Ying Wa Girls' School

Ying Wa Girls' School (Chinese: 英華女學校) is a HKCCCC secondary day school for girls in Mid-Levels, in Hong Kong. The campus is located at 76 Robinson Road, Mid-levels. The enrolment currently stands at slightly under 1,000 students. It is one of the 22 Grant Schools in Hong Kong. Ying Wa Girls' School is a selective secondary school and its graduates are known for their distinguished performances at public examinations. The current Principal of the School is Mr. Francis Kwan. He succeeded Mrs. Ruth Lee as the Principal in 2015.
The present campus comprises two sites: The Robinson Road Campus (Site A) stretching from Robinson Road all the way down to near Bonham Road, and the newly acquired Breezy Path Campus (Site B).

## History

Ying Wa Girls' School was founded in 1900 by Helen Davies of the London Missionary Society. The School started as a boarding school for girls and expanded to include a secondary school section in 1915 and a two-year kindergarten in 1916. The School was referred to in English as ‘Training Home’. It was not until 1920 that the name Ying Wa Girls’ school was officially adopted. The School started as a privately run school with a boarding section for primary pupils. However, it ceased taking on boarders in 1940. In 1968, the primary school section closed and the School became a purely secondary school. In 1966, London Missionary Society was restructured to become the Council for World Mission and Ying Wa Girls' School became one of the affiliated schools of the Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China.
Ying Wa Girls' School was one of the first girls' schools in Hong Kong that proposed the establishment of the student union. Students were elected to represent their peers and worked to promote self-expression.
As a missionary of the London Missionary Society, Miss Vera Silcocks (1902–1977) came by boat from England to Hong Kong in 1927 to teach in the School. She spoke fluent Cantonese. In 1939, she became the Headmistress of the School. In December 1941, Hong Kong fell upon the Japanese invasion in the Battle of Hong Kong. This Battle was a part of World War II. During the subsequent Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, Miss Silcocks was held by the Japanese in the Stanley Internment Camp.
After the War, in 1945, the School reopened. In 1947, Miss Silcocks returned to the School as Headmistress. In 1948, the School Council was established. In 1949, the Student Association was established. In 1967, Miss Silcocks retired and returned to England.

### Redevelopment of campus

In December 2009, Ying Wa announced its redevelopment project. Supported by the Education Bureau, a new campus will replace the existing one on the same Robinson Road-Bonham Road site which has housed the 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 the founding.
In November 2011, Ying Wa Girls' School received HK $10 million from the Li Ka Shing Foundation. It was used to establish the Li Chong Yuet Ming Student Development Fund to provide opportunities for students, named after Madam Amy Li Chong Yuet-ming, wife of Li Ka-shing, who attended the school.
In 2015, building work for the new school campus in Robinson Road began. The school moved to Sham Shui Po for that period.

### Relationship with Ying Wa College

Ying Wa College is a school for boys founded also by the London Missionary Society. 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.

## Uniform

The school's uniform is a 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 those of other schools, is tailored to allow little slack between the collar and the neck. Students complain about the strangling feeling, especially when they look downward to read or write at the desk, yet the school has a strict rule about keeping the collar properly hooked closed at all times, even during the hottest summers. The tightly fit collar permits poor ventilation, keeping perspiration inside the uniform, which becomes soggy when the weather is humid. New students have to get used to the uniform when they first attend the school. However, once they learn to endure these hardships, the uniform turns to the most significant icon of their blissful life in Ying Wa, and a source of pride for its graduates.

## 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.

## 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 is represented by two house captains. The houses compete with each other on sports day and at the swimming gala. The aim of establishing the house system is to strengthen the students' ties to the school.

## Controversy over documentary

In February 2023, the documentary To My Nineteen-year-old Self by Mabel Cheung, which followed the lives of six Ying Wa Girls' School students over a decade, was pulled from cinemas after some of the students said that they had not given consent to screen it publicly. The school maintained that consent forms had been signed by the girls at the beginning of filming and during the production. Cheung issued an apology, as did Ruth Shek Yuk-yu, the former headteacher of the college who was involved in the film. The documentary won a series of accolades, including the 2022 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award.