Press Release

(Hong Kong – 5 July 2014) Newly-admitted student members have converged for the Secondary Student Orientation of the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education (HKAGE) to celebrate the beginning of a new milestone in learning.

Professor Ng Tai Kai, the new Executive Director of the HKAGE, delivered the opening speech at the Orientation, encouraging student members to participate actively in the HKAGE’s programmes. Professor Ng anticipates that gifted education will be incorporated into formal education, thereby enabling gifted students to articulate from their primary and secondary school programmes to university programmes and reap greater benefits from the curricula. In the long run, the HKAGE aims to further raise the quality of gifted education in Hong Kong. After Professor Ng’s speech, the representatives from the HKAGE’s Student Programmes and Services Division briefly introduced new student members to the Academy’s programmes and activities. Furthermore, three student members shared their learning experience in the HKAGE.

The HKAGE provides a vast variety of courses to meet the learning interests and needs of student members. A number of new courses are offered this year, such as Art for Life in the humanities domain. In this course led by an experienced artist, students will learn various art-making methods through interaction and hands-on exploration, thus further developing their creativity. Another newly-launched course, which is about finance, aims to introduce students to behavioural finance, the concept of investment bias and some investment techniques. Besides academic development, the HKAGE attaches great importance to students’ personal growth and social development. With a view to supporting students’ holistic development, the Self-Understanding Workshop has been run to enhance their understanding of their gifted identity, as well as develop their self-management skills.

This year’s school nomination has received an overwhelming response; 260 schools have nominated a total of 2,786 students, among whom 1,432 have been admitted. 766 newly-admitted members who are junior secondary students will have the opportunity to participate in the HKAGE’s courses and activities at an earlier stage of their studies to gain more benefits.

Please refer to Appendix 1 for detailed figures on student admissions.

Newly-admitted secondary student members joined the HKAGE Student Orientation 2014.
Professor Ng Tai Kai, the new Executive Director of the HKAGE presented the opening speech at the Orientation.	Sharing sessions by secondary student members of the HKAGE, Li Chun Hei (3rd from the left), Ho Yuen Shan and Tong Hoi Ching (1st from the right) on their learning experiences.

Appendix 1

Key Facts about the School Nomination 2013-14

1.    Number of participating secondary schools

A total of 260 schools participated in the nomination, among which 23 nominated students for the first time. A total of 2,786 and 1,432 students were nominated and admitted to the HKAGE respectively.

2.    Number of student nominees

3.    Comparison between the numbers of participating schools, student nominees and admitted students for the first year (2008-09) and this year (2013-14)

4.    Gender ratio of newly-admitted students

5.    Distribution of newly-admitted students by learning domains (based on attendance)

6.    Timeline for School Nomination 2013-14