We hope to instill in our young people a desire for life-long learning. Hong Kong's greatest strength has always been its human capital. Speech Day is a time honoured tradition. Every year, it marks the beginning of a new course in the lives of a group of young people who will soon venture into the wider world. But all of you share a common bond and that is, you are the product of the fine, well-rounded education that DGS has given you.
Education extends far beyond the confines of the classroom walls and the school gate.
Education begins the moment you are born and, if you are willing, continues throughout your life. It is up to each and every one of you to make the most of the talents with which you have been blessed, and the opportunities that lie ahead. Those opportunities are the building blocks on which you will develop and strengthen your own unique character. I hope you will treasure the years that you spend at DGS for they are among the most crucial in preparing you for the many and varied experiences that await you in adulthood - university, work, travel, marriage, buying a home, having children, guiding them through life and, for some at least, sitting with them here in this Centenary Hall for the annual Speech Day. We are often reminded, in the newspapers or on television, of the pressures that young people face in modern society.