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King George V School, Hong Kong

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Template:Infobox School II King George V School (Chinese: 英皇佐治五世學校), referred to by most students as KGV (pronounced as: K-G-Five) is a co-educational international school in the Ho Man Tin area, Hong Kong. KGV currently serves 1,700 students in the Kowloon peninsula, and has a unit for students with special needs.

History

KGV is the oldest of all schools in the English Schools Foundation, first opening as the Kowloon College on Nathan Road in 1894, and later renamed to be the Kowloon British School, and finally the Central British School in 1902. The building is adjacent to what is St. Andrew's Church today, and was paid for by Sir Robert Hotung[1].

The present site for KGV was opened on 14 September 1936 as the Central British School. It was only after the Second World War that it was decided to name the school after King George V.

The Peel Block (P Block) , having been around during World War II, was occupied by British forces and then by the Japanese military after Hong Kong's surrender in the Battle of Hong Kong until the end of World War II. Rumours swirl among the student body that ghosts inhabit the clock tower and room P14. It is also rumoured that the clock tower and/or Pavilion was once used as a morgue or torture chamber under Japanese occupation.

What is known, however, is that when classes at KGV resumed after WWII, the back of the stage still had the Rising Sun flag (of the Japanese military) painted on its back wall. British doctors occupying KGV after the war ended, at which time KGV was used as a military hospital, inscribed the following message at the Hall's main entrance: "Never in the field of human conflict" - a reference to Winston Churchill's famous speech given to the British Parliament on 20 August 1940. To this day the quote still remains at the Hall's main entrace.

Note: KGV was not named as King George V School until after WWII; however, for clarity and to avoid confusion, KGV is used above even though the school's name was the Central British School

Students and the House System

A typical year group at KGV

There are approximately 1700 students enrolled in the school, coming from at least 38 different nationalities. Students are accepted from many feeder elementary schools in the English Schools Foundation such as Kowloon Junior School, Beacon Hill School, and Clearwater Bay School.

Each student at KGV belongs to a house, named after notable former members of staff of KGV. Crozier (green) was named after a teacher who fought to defend Hong Kong in WWII. Nightingale (yellow) was named after a headmaster who first asked for a new school building, which is now the current school site. Rowell (blue) was named after a teacher who designed part of the current site of the school. Last but not least, Upsdell (red) was named after the first headmaster to serve in the new school building - the current school site. The house system is the basis for all school competitions such as in sports, music, and dance, and often sees fierce competition between one house and the next. However, to prevent competition between members of the same family, brothers and sisters are usually placed into the same house.

For pastoral purposes, students are allocated year groups ranging from Year 7 to Year 13, depending on their year of birth. These year groups are further split into form groups, named after planets and heavenly bodies[citation needed]: A (Asteroid), E (Earth), G (Ganymede), H (Haley's Comet), J (Jupiter), M (Mars), N (Neptune), P (Pluto), S (Saturn), V (Venus). A form group consists of roughly 30 students, and is allocated a form room, where registration (i.e. attendance) is taken, and any notices such as the Daily Bulletin are read out.

A student's form group originally remained unchanged throughout his or her school career, i.e. a student placed in group 7M would proceed to 8M, 9M, 10M etc. In September 2001, students entering Year 9 had their form groups reshuffled to encourage the students to be more familiar with the rest of the year, but this idea was changed back into the old system in 2004. Form groups are normally reshuffled again at the beginning of Year 12 to account for leavers after completion of Year 11. Students were formerly picked arbitrarily into form groups, but as of September 2005, senior school students in Year 12 and 13 are placed in house-based form groups. The years are mixed together, known as vertical tutoring, so groups will consist of Year 12 and 13 students. Such groups are named 6N1 (Sixth Form, Nightingale, Group 1) as opposed to previously, where students were placed in groups named 12E, 13M, etc.

Senior Student Council

The Senior Student Council has 14 members, all of them from Year 12. Half of them are elected through direct student voting in the senior school (Year 12 + 13), and half of them are voted from within form groups. The President and Vice President of the Council are then voted in by Year 12 students.

The Senior Student Council listens to the student opinion, through form representatives (known as form reps), assisting the school's development and improvement. In recent SSC elections, issues of concern for KGV students have included congestion in the school's stairways (particularly the SSC-to-Link Block pathway and stairs), the "lack" of means through which students can voice their concerns, and the replacement of malfunctioning computers in the Senior Student Centre Resource Room.

Administration

The Principal of KGV is Mr. Ed Wickins. His senior management team include Mr. Richard Bradford (deputy principal), Mr. Arnett Edwards (deputy principal), Ms. Judith Thomas (deputy principal), Ms. Judie Hill (assistant principal) and Ms. Sarah Howling (assistant principal).

School Song

The school song of the school is named Honestas Ante Honores, which is also the motto of the school. Honestas Ante Honores means Honesty Before Glory in Latin. It is a tradition for the school song to be sung at least once every year at school events such as the Junior School Celebration and Speech Day.

Lyrics

Here are we gathered from many a nation,

Arts to acquire that our peoples may serve.

Characters molded by strict regulation

Honor demands we this motto observe:


Honestas ante Honores

Honesty first then glories

Loud raise the echoing chorus

Honetas ante Honores

Bold as the Lion Crest

Blazoned on every breast

Loud let resound the chorus

Honetas ante Honores


Chivalry's courtesies claim cultivation.

Honor depends on such disciplined rule.

Honor acquiring a good reputation,

Honor the name of King George the Fifth School

Facilities

KGV Peel Block - during Karnival 2004

Buildings

This is the list of buildings on the KGV campus as of 2006. The letter in brackets following the name of the building is the prefix of most classrooms in that block.

Peel Block (P)

Completed: 1937

This is the first block built on the present school site. It is protected under Hong Kong law due to its age. A two-story building, this block houses the Hall, fourteen general-purpose classrooms (P1-P8 and P15-P16 on the ground floor, P9-P11 and P13 on the first floor), seven senior science labs (S0-S6), the Junior Library (Reading Centre), a computer room (P14), two multimedia suites (MS1-MS2), the staff room and offices, and a lecture theatre. The clock tower sits prominently on the front side of the building. There are also two paved 'quads' for playing various sports on.

KGV School Hall - Speech Day 2001

The Hall, located in the centre of this block, has hardwood flooring in the centre and marble flooring on the side walkways and up halfway along the wall. At the front of the hall is the stage, and to the rear, there is a second balcony level. The hall is outfitted with advanced sound and lighting equipment, and used for events ranging from weekly Assembly to Speech Day to music and dance competitions.

This block is named after Sir William Peel, the Governor of Hong Kong from 1930-1935. His name can be found on the foundation stone on the north-east side of the building.

Pavilion Block (X)

This block occupies the south-west corner of the school field. Prior to the reconstruction of the field, two classrooms (X1 and X2) were housed in this block, and a storage shed and maintenance shed occupied the ground floor. The classrooms have now been converted into changing rooms.

New Block (N)

Completed: 1964

This block sits on the south side of the KGV campus. This building is three stories tall and houses most of the technology rooms. There are two design technology rooms (W1-W2) and two textiles technology rooms (T1-T2) on the ground floor; two graphics technology rooms (G1-G2) and two food technology rooms (F1-F2) on the first floor; six junior science labs (1st floor: J1-J3, 2nd floor: J4-J6) and a store room; two general-purpose classrooms (2nd floor: N8, 3rd floor: N1); and the school's Sick Room.

Annex Block (AN)

Completed: 1982

The Annex Block houses four classrooms (AN1-AN2) on the ground floor, (AN3-AN4) on the second floor. These classrooms are mainly used for teaching Chinese; there is a Languages Store room outside AN3, the store room also has a little door at the back that goes to the first floor of the New Block.

Activities Centre

Formerly comprised of two squash courts, the Activities Centre houses two Drama Studios (ground floor: DS2, 1st floor: DS3) and Drama Department Office, boys' and girls' P.E. changing rooms, and a boys' drama changing room which is connected to DS2, while the girl's drama changing room is connected to DS1.

Completed: 1984

This five story building literally links the New Block, the Peel Block and the Activities Centre, with covered walkways on connecting floors. This building houses two Design and Technology rooms (L01, L02), a D&T office and store room, as well as a drama studio (DS1) and girls' drama changing room all on the ground floor; two middle-school pastoral offices, three computer labs (K1-K3), and the School Library on the first floor; fourteen general-purpose classrooms (L21-26, L31-L37, L41) on the second, third and fourth floors; three music rooms (M1-M3) on the fourth floor; three art rooms (A1-A3) on the fifth floor.

Jockey Club Sarah Roe Centre (JCSRC)

Completed: 1986

The Jockey Club Sarah Roe Centre was built with funds donated from the then Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club and named after Mrs. Sarah Roe, an occupational therapist, who was a founder of the Child Development Centre at the Matilda Hospital. It originally contained the Jockey Club Sarah Roe School in the Garden Rooms on the ground floor (until it moved to new accommodation underneath the Senior Student Centre in 1996; see below), its support offices and a professional development and resources centre for ESF staff on the floors above.

The building's function has changed considerably over the years and has been used for different purposes including housing the offices of ESF Educational Services Ltd, Sally's Place (ESF's Self-Access Language Learning Centre), the ESF Professional Library and KGV using the Garden Rooms as classrooms to name a few. Currently, KGV uses the Garden Rooms for teaching purposes whilst the first floor houses KGV's Junior School Office. The remaining office space houses the ESF Education Development Centre's satellite office, its conference facilities and the ESF Professional Video Library.

Sarah Roe School (JCSRS) / Senior Student Centre (E)

Completed: 1996

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Sarah Roe School is housed on the KGV site, and occupies the first two stories of this building. This facility educates students with special needs across the English Schools Foundation, and is the only such unit in the entire foundation.

KGV occupies the remaining floors, designated by the letter E. The third floor of the building houses the Senior Student Centre (SSC) which is a common lounge/study area reserved exclusively for senior students. There are five classrooms (E1-E5) in the Senior Student Centre used by students from all years, as well as a lecture theatre and a computer room. Offices for senior school pastoral staff are also housed there.

In 2001, a vertical extension to the building was completed. The fourth floor of this building provides ten more classrooms (E6-E15) as well as a computer lab (K4). There is also a second staff break room there. This floor is technically not part of the Senior Student Centre, but is often mistakenly referred to by junior students as the "SSC" floor anyway.

Finally, the roof of the building has a tennis court. Tennis courts used to be on the ground floor before this building was erected.

"B"-block (B)

Completed: 1999

These six ground-floor classrooms (B1-B6) were meant as "temporary" classrooms, but as KGV grew, these classrooms became necessary and were eventually left there as a permanent fixture. Modern Languages are taught predominantly in these six rooms which occupy the "piazza" area between the Peel, New, and Link blocks.

Other Facilities

KGV School Field

Field

KGV's field has (as of 2003) become the ESF's multipurpose sports facility, and is artificially turfed. It has markings for various sports such as football (soccer), and also has a track running the perimeter of the field. The pitch is one the students' favourite facilities and the only complaint that students have are the small black pieces of rubber that cover the pitch as they often get in one's hair and shoes etc.

Prior to the astroturfing, there was opposition to the use of artificial turf. However, the field's base is on hard clay, and as such, could not be kept using natural grass; huge amounts of money were spent on maintaining the natural grass. Inevitably, after a month or two of use the field would become a large dust bowl and students would often get injured playing on the field. Over HK$16 million was spent on the conversion, which started late in 2002. It is believed that the school is regaining that money by renting the field to ESF Educational Services and other sports organisations for use after-school and at the weekends.

Swimming pool

KGV has an outdoor, 25 metre swimming pool with six lanes and diving blocks on either end. There is also a diving board at the deep end of the pool. It is normally in operation from April (usually after Easter break) to November.

Canteen block

The Canteen block is located next to the swimming pool, houses the canteen (Café Concepts), the weights room, the PTSA shop, as well as offices for the PTSA (Parent Teachers Student Association).

Future site development

There are plans to amalgamate the KGV and KJS (Kowloon Junior School) Perth Street campus to allow KGV to grow further. This would involve the replacement of the canteen block and swimming pool with state-of-the-art facilities including a performance hall, indoor swimming pool (so that it could be used year-round), and gym facilities.

Curriculum

KS3

The KS3 (Key Stage 3) curriculum is designed for Years 7 to 9. All subjects are compulsory, with a students being able to choose two languages to study from a list of five.

  • Art
  • Drama
  • English - from Year 9, students are split into sets according to their abilities, ranging from set 1 to set 3.
  • History
  • ICT
  • Mathematics - from Year 8, students are split into sets according to their abilities, ranging from set 1 to set 5.
  • Modern Foreign Languages - a choice of two from Chinese, EAL (English as a second language), French, German and Spanish
  • Music
  • Physical Education
  • Religious Studies
  • Science - includes Biology, Chemistry and Physics. From Year 9, students are split into sets according to their abilities, ranging from set 1 to set 3.
  • Technology - includes Food Technology, Resistant Materials, Systems and Control, Technology in Society (Scantek), and Textiles

GCSE

GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) is the curriculum designed for Years 10-11.

All subjects are compulsory, but there is a choice to suit the aptitude and interest of students. This choice is structured in a way that it is balanced and it ensures students can build on their strengths whilst keeping their options open in the future.

All students taking the GCSE course have to study a core of English, Mathematics, Science (split into Biology, Chemistry and Physics), ICT, PE and PSE. In addition, they must choose a subject from each of the boxes A, B, C and D below:

Box A

Chinese, French, German, Spanish, AS Chinese.

Box B

Geography, History, Religious Studies.

Box C

Art, Drama, Music. D & T: Food, Graphic Products, Electronics, Resistant Materials, Textiles. Sport Studies.

Box D

Business studies, Economics, Psychology, or a second subject from Box A, B or C.

Boxes A, B and C are subjects already studied in Years 7-9, thus providing continuity. Box D allows students to take up a new subject or to specialise by taking a second subject from one of the previous boxes. This gives good degree of choice within a structured framework.

AS Level

AS Level (GCE Advanced Subsidiary Level) is the curriculum designed for Year 12. Students are allowed to select four AS Level courses to study. However, some students find it difficult to cope with four courses, and select three instead. GNVQ (General National Vocational Qualification) are courses designed for students who have difficulty in studying.

Students are required to achieve a certain grade in their GCSE examinations in order to take on their desired AS Level subject. Each AS subject has a slightly different requirement. AS Level subjects are more in depth, and require large amounts of self study and independence. The breadth of education that nourishes students in AS courses increases as compared with the standards of GCSE. However, the difficulty gap between GCSE and AS Level varies with different subjects.

A2 Level

A2 Level (GCE Advanced Level) is the curriculum designed for Year 13.

IB Diploma

Starting in September 2007, KGV will be replacing the traditionally British A Level with the International Baccalaureate, offering the Diploma Programme. The current Year 11, class of 2009 will be the first year to do the IBD.

All students taking the GCSE course have to study a core of Extended Essay, Theory of Knowledge and Creativity, Action, Service. In addition, they must choose a subject from Group 1-6 below:

Group 1: Languages A1

Main article: IB Group 1 subjects

Group 2: Second Language

Main article: IB Group 2 subjects

Group 3: Individuals and Societies

Main article: IB Group 3 subjects

Group 4: Experimental Sciences

Main article: IB Group 4 subjects

Group 5: Mathematics and Computer Science

Main article: IB Group 5 subjects

Group 6: Arts and Electives

Main article: IB Group 6 subjects

Traditions

KGV, being such an old school, has many traditions in place. The list below is by no means exhaustive.

Assembly

Formerly held Monday and Friday mornings, they are now held Wednesday afternoons. Assemblies are where announcements are made to the whole school, performances are given, and, in general, is a common bond that holds the school's students together. An unfortunate effect of the current school population is that Assembly can no longer be held under one roof with all students as was the case prior to 2003. Currently, assemblies are live broadcast to other venues. These are Drama Studio 1,2 and 3.

File:King george v school Pantomime.JPG
KGV Year 13 Pantomime

Year 13 Pantomime

Otherwise called the "panto," a performance given by Year 13 students generally making fun of the school or its teachers. This event is always held on the final day of the Fall term, near to Christmas, and almost always proves to be a great comedy show for students of all years. Teachers who are to be impersonated must sign a release form stating their approval before the impersonation can go ahead - in practice, teachers generally don't mind being part of the panto.

Three Kings

Traditionally a performance by all new male members of the KGV Staff where they would dress up in costumes and made to sing We Three Kings (the Christmas Carol) at Christmas Final Assembly. (Not done any more)

Christmas Carol Concert

A concert given by the KGV Orchestra and Choir, open to the general public. (See also, White Christmas below.)

File:King george v school WhiteChristmas.JPG
KGV - Christmas Final Assembly

White Christmas

This song is has been a staple of KGV Christmas Final Assembly for as long as anyone could remember. Originally at KGV sung by W. McMahon, a teacher at KGV, White Christmas is still an institution at KGV and no Christmas Carol Concert or Christmas Final Assembly is complete without the singing of this song. After Mr. McMahon's retirement in 2001, White Christmas is now sung by a senior student.

KGV Karnival

Previously known as the Spring Fair prior 2003. An event held every year in March or April where KGV is set up to be like a bazaar. Students set up games stalls, merchants set up small shops, and there are performances by student groups as well as the Orchestras (Junior Orchestra and Senior Orchestra) and the Jazz Band.

"KGV Survivor"

An event held on the school field or Hall where a $10 entrance fee is charged, and a series of questions is asked. Each question asked will have only two answers provided, and students are asked to walk in one direction for one answer, and another direction for the other. The game ends when there are 2 or 3 people left, and the person/people win a prize. Proceeds from this game go to the school charity.

Year 13 Final Assembly

A final assembly on Year 13's final day before exam leave in the summer. Usually, a performance is given by Year 13 students, and final goodbyes are said. This assembly also consists of a recital of the poem If— by Rudyard Kipling by the Head Boy, as well as a recital of Phenomenal Womanby Maya Angelou by the Head Girl. Prior to 2002, students would spend the night at the school as well; this tradition was scrapped due to "safety concerns."

Notable alumnae

References

  1. ^ Sally Rodwell. 1991. A Visitor's guide to Historic Hong Kong. ISBN 962-217-212-1
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