La Salle College
La Salle College (LSC) (, Demonym: Lasallian) is a boys' secondary school in Hong Kong. Established in 1932 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, a Roman Catholic religious teaching order founded by St. John Baptist de La Salle, it consistently ranks among the top schools and is one of the most prestigious secondary schools in the city. The school curriculum uses English as the medium of instruction in all subjects with the exception of Chinese Language, Chinese History, Putonghua and French. It is located in Kowloon City District. History. Foundation. In 5 September 1917  the Brothers of the Christian Schools, who had founded St. Joseph's College in 1875, opened a junior school on Chatham Road near the Rosary Church. At this time Kowloon was expanding rapidly (with the extension into New Kowloon as part of the New Territories lease). The demand for schools was rising and Brother Aimar Sauron (1873-1945), the director of St. Joseph's, realised that a new school building was necessary. He acquired a hilly plot near Prince Edward Road as a site for the new La Salle College on 23 April 1928, for a sum of HK$120,000. The  site was immediately north of the city boundary, and thus was technically in New Kowloon. That section of Boundary Street was not yet a formal road when the school site was bought, which was only gazetted in 1929. An annex was also built on the January of 1938, which later became the first La Salle Primary School building. On 5 November 1930, Sir William Peel, then Governor of Hong Kong, laid the foundation stone of the new building. By 3 December 1931, the work on the building and the playgrounds was sufficiently advanced to allow the opening of eight classes  for 303 pupils, under the management of five Brothers from St. Joseph's College and four assistant masters from the Chatham Road Branch School. The formal inauguration of the college took place on 6 January 1932. Seven Brothers, headed by Reverend Brother Aimar as director, took over. A few days later 40 boarders occupied the quarters to the west of the building. There were then 540 students in 14 classes. About one-third of the students had a European (mostly Portuguese) connection. World War II. Brother Aimar was the principal of the school for its first seven years. The students  were offered matriculation examinations, the laboratories were constructed, four tennis courts and a full-sized football pitch were built, and the statue of St. John Baptist de La Salle that now stands in front of the College was erected. The number of students increased to 805 in 1935 and 1,060 in 1939. In 1939, La Salle College was affected when World War II commenced in Europe. On 3 September 1939, Britain declared war on Germany, and the British War Department in Hong Kong designated the La Salle College campus as an internment camp for German nationals arrested in Hong Kong  that same day. Those interned included the German engineer Gerhard Neumann. The internment camp was run for approximately eight months, during which time the Brothers organised classes in morning and afternoon sessions in the College Annex across the road (the building which was to become La Salle Primary School in 1957). On 8 December 1941, the Japanese attacked Hong Kong, and the school building was again taken over by the British Military, this time as a relief hospital. After the surrender of Hong Kong on Christmas Day 1941, the Japanese took over the school building.In December 1941 the school 's operations was suspended until September 1946, and In February 1942, the Brothers were expelled from the college. During the Japanese occupation, the college was believed to have been used as a Number One Japanese military hospital (out of four in Kowloon) until August 1945. After the war. School recommenced in September 1946. By the end of 1949, the Chinese Civil War was coming to an end. Most of China was controlled by the Communist government of Mao Zedong and the People's Liberation Army was rapidly advancing southwards towards the Hong Kong border. Owing to that threat, the British  Army reinforced their garrisons in Hong Kong. In need of a hospital, the British Army expropriated the use of the college grounds, originally agreed to be only for 12 to 18 months. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong government erected wood hutments on a plot at Perth Street, Ho Man Tin. The temporary occupation unfortunately dragged on for 10 years, taking the concerted efforts of the local government, some members of the British Parliament, and the Vatican to finally dislodge the Army in August 1959. A new beginning. Post-war development. Brother Felix was appointed director of the school in 1956 and  re-acquired the college buildings from the military authorities on 1 August 1959. Student numbers grew steadily, and this led to a separation of primary and secondary divisions. La Salle Primary School was founded in 1957 and Brother Henry Pang was appointed its founder and first headmaster. In 1964 the La Salle College Evening School was commenced within the main campus building; in 1969 the Evening School was separated and became Chan Sui Ki (La Salle) College in Ho Man Tin. The decision was taken by the Brothers, headed by the then Brother Director, Brother Raphael Egan, in 1977 to  undertake the replacement of the ageing building. While classes were continuing, a portion of the school grounds were used to erect a new building. The project was funded via the sale of approximately one-third of the school grounds to Cheung Kong Holdings, owned by Li Ka Shing. The Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Murray MacLehose, officially opened the new school building on 19 February 1982, in its Golden Jubilee year. Admission. 75% of La Salle College's total Form 1 intake is from its feeder school, La Salle Primary School, with 25% from other primary schools. Applicants attend interviews  in Chinese and English, which are conducted by the supervisor and the principal. Other criteria include applicants' performance in extracurricular activities, awards and certificates, and academic excellence. La Salle College applicants may apply to study French as an alternative to Chinese. School associations. The Old Boys' Association. The La Salle College Old Boys' Association (LSCOBA) is the alumni organisation. It was founded in 1939 and its membership, as of 31 March 2017, was 7,453. By tradition, alumni of La Salle College are called La Salle "Old Boys". The Association organizes social events for old boys, learning opportunities for current students  and sponsors various student activities. The Parent Teacher Association. The La Salle College Parent Teacher Association (LSCPTA) is an association that seeks to foster deeper relationships between parents and the school. Curriculum. The school follows the local HKDSE curriculum. As required by Hong Kong law, schools must have two examinations every year: mid-year and final examination. In between the two examinations, students are provided feedback on their performance through continuous assessments, which accounts for 20% of the total subject mark. Extracurricular activities. Interest clubs and societies. La Salle College has over 50 clubs and societies. Clubs are divided into  academic, cultural, sports, interest and service. Joining clubs is mandatory. The College's students are active in academic, cultural, and sports competitions. They have a champion record of the Joint School Chinese Debating Competition and the Hong Kong Mathematics Olympiad, and a School Grand Prize Winner record of the Hong Kong Olympiad in Informatics. The Student Association. The Student Association of La Salle College (LSCSA) is an association of the students, by the students, and for the students. To "cherish and protect the name of our school and care for our fellow students of La Salle College" is part of  the official pledge undertaken by officers of the Student Association. The association was founded in 1975. There are six different boards within the association, namely, the Discipline Board, the Publications Board, the Secretariat, the Finance Committee, the Class Representatives Board and the Clubs Coordinating Board. The Executive Committee, which includes the chairmen of each of the six boards and the president of the LSCSA, is democratically elected by the student population yearly. The members of the cabinet, as the group of seven boys is called, must all be from form 5. Academic achievements. In 1993, the school produced the first  student achieving ten distinctions in Arts subjects in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE). In 2001, four top students from the school attained the top score of 10 A grades, a feat repeated in 2008. The class of 2003 scored a total of 501 A grades, the most distinctions a single school had ever achieved in a single sitting in the history of the HKCEE. LSC counts five winners of the Hong Kong Outstanding Students Awards, ranking 16th (tied with Wah Yan College, Hong Kong, Madam Lau Kam Lung Secondary School of MFBM, and Queen Elizabeth School) among  all secondary schools in Hong Kong. In July 2018, Thomas Wong became the first student in the history of the HKDSE to score 5** in 9 subjects. Sports. In sports, La Salle College has won badminton championships in all grades in 1993–1994, 2003–2004, and 2004–2005 in the Kowloon area. La Salle has won championships in archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, cross country, fencing (Grand slam in 2010–2011), football, hockey, softball, squash (18 consecutive years, 1994–2012), swimming, table tennis, tennis, tenpin bowling, and volleyball. The table tennis team was named the overall champions seven years in a row, from 2000 to 2007 . The Omega Rose Bowl, and its successor the Bauhinia Bowl, is awarded to the secondary school with the best all-round sporting performance in the Hong Kong Island and Kowloon region. La Salle College has been the Boys School Champions 26 times, ranking 2nd in the Boys' Schools section. La Salle College holds the record of receiving the Rose Bowl, predecessor of the Bauhinia Bowl, for the longest period—17 years—between 1974 and 1991. The most recent Athletics prize was their championship in the Inter-school Athletics Meet 2019. Music. In the Hong Kong Youth Music Interflows, organized by the  Music Office, the Wind Orchestra achieved four gold prizes (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014) in the "Symphonic Band Contest - Secondary School Senior Class", and were awarded Overall Champion for all four of the Winner's Finals. The Chinese Orchestra achieved eleven consecutive gold prizes (2008-2018) in the "Chinese Orchestra Contest - Secondary School Class C (46-90 members)". The String Orchestra has won six gold prizes (2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017). The Symphony Orchestra has won eight gold prizes (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017) in "Secondary School - Class A or B" as well. Moreover, La Salle College  has thrice achieved "grand slam" achievement (Symphony Orchestra, Chinese Orchestra, Wind Orchestra, String Orchestra won the gold prizes + Wind Orchestra awarded winner in the Symphonic Band Winner's Finals) in the Hong Kong Youth Music Interflows (2010, 2013, 2014). In the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival, La Salle College has one of the strongest music teams in Hong Kong. The Wind Orchestra was awarded champion in the "Concert Band - Secondary School - Senior Class" on four occasions (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014). The Chinese Orchestra was awarded champion in the "Chinese Orchestra - Secondary School - Senior Class" seven times as well (2009 , 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019). The Treble Choir took the first place in the competition group 'Secondary School Choir - Foreign Language - Boys - First Division - Junior Age 14 or under, treble voice only' in 2013 and 2016. The String Orchestra was awarded Champion in 2016 and 2018 in the 'String Orchestra-Intermediate' category. Results of La Salle College in 68th Music Festival: