• 11/10/2024

10 students achieve top marks in Hong Kong’s university entrance exams as over 90% pass new citizenship subject

Hong Kong Free Press

Ten students achieve top marks in Hong Kong's public exams as over 90% pass new citizenship subject

Ten students have achieved perfect results in Hong Kong’s university entrance examinations, as more than 90 per cent of candidates achieved a passing grade in a new subject that replaced the city’s liberal studies curriculum.

Pui Ching Middle School's superscorer Titus Kwong on July 17, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Pui Ching Middle School’s superscorer Titus Kwong on July 17, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Students across the city received their results on Wednesday. Of the 10 perfect scorers, eight were “super top scorers,” who achieved top marks in an additional mathematics module on top of the core Chinese, English, and mathematics subjects, three electives, and a passing mark in Citizenship and Social Development.

The top grade in the HKDSE exam is a 5** — the top 10 per cent of those who scored a level 5.

The 10 top scorers hailed from eight schools, including the Citizenship and Social Development (HKCWCC) in Sai Wan Ho and St. Joseph’s College in the Mid-Levels, which produced their first top scorers in the history of the DSE exams.

“At that moment, I couldn’t believe it, I didn’t expect to do so well in the exams, and I would like to thank my school for nurturing me,” Jenny Iu of HKCWCC said of the moment she saw her results. She told reporters she intended to study medicine in Hong Kong.

“Because I watched a lot of medical dramas when I was a younger, I became interested in medicine, and I think it’s very meaningful to use my knowledge and skills to help people in the community, so I want to give back to the community.”

Top scorers

They were among a total of some 49,000 students who sat for this year’s Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education examinations.

HKDSE candidates at Pui Ching Middle School receive their results for the public examination on July 17, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
HKDSE candidates at Pui Ching Middle School receive their results for the public examination on July 17, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Overall, a total of 18,314 candidates who sat for the examinations met the minimum requirements for university admission: level 3 in Chinese and English, level 2 in Mathematics, and a passing grade in the new citizenship subject. Last year, 17,777 met those requirements.

Two top scorers came from La Salle College, including one super-scorer, who achieved 5** in seven subjects including the maths module. Super-scorer Chung Pak-lun told reporters he would be going abroad to study Economics, Finance and Data Science at Imperial College London.

Chan Chak-fung, also of La Salle College, will be studying medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).

HKDSE candidates at Pui Ching Middle School receive their results for the public examination on July 17, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
HKDSE candidates at Pui Ching Middle School receive their results for the public examination on July 17, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

The other seven high achievers came from St. Joseph’s College, Diocesan Boys’ School, King’s College, Pui Ching Middle School, Ying Wa Girls’ School, and St. Paul’s Co-educational College, which produced two super-scorers.

Pui Ching’s super-scorer Titus Kwong said he was hoping to study medicine at CUHK. Speaking to reporters, he also thanked his parents, who were civil servants, for investing in him and his younger brother.

Citizenship exam

Some 94 per cent of candidates received a passing grade in Citizenship and Social Development, which was introduced in place of Liberal Studies, after Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020. The Liberal Studies curriculum was axed in 2021.

HKDSE candidates at Pui Ching Middle School receive their results for the public examination on July 17, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
HKDSE candidates at Pui Ching Middle School receive their results for the public examination on July 17, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Asked to comment on their experience with the new subject, La Salle top scorer Chung said the subject would allow students to better understand society and national development.

Unlike Liberal Studies, which was previously graded on the same scale as other subjects, with 5** being the top mark, the citizenship subject has a pass-fail system, marked as “Attained” on candidates’ scoresheets.

But that did not mean the subject was “easier” than its predecessor, Secretary for Education Christine Choi said on Wednesday, adding that it would not be appropriate to make direct comparisons.

Secretary for Education Christine Choi meets the press after Chief Executive John Lee announced his second Policy Address on October 27, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Secretary for Education Christine Choi meets the press after Chief Executive John Lee announced his second Policy Address on October 27, 2023. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority’s Head of Assessment Development Choy Siu-kwan made similar remarks at a press conference a day ahead of results day, citing differences in the curriculum, lesson time, and the mode of assessment.

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https://hongkongfp.com/2024/07/17/10-students-achieve-top-marks-in-hong-kongs-university-entrance-exams-as-over-90-pass-new-citizenship-subject/