EDUCATION
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of 1,700 entries was received and an estimated 12,000 pupils were directly involved. There was a further increase in entries for the examination of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, with 1,676 students entering for the practical examination, and 626 entering for the theoretical, as compared with 1,340 for the practical and 529 for the theoretical examinations in 1957. Seven candidates were considered for a scholarship offered by the Associated Board. A number of artistes of international repute visited the Colony and many performances were made available to students at reduced prices. A pageant, entitled 'These Fabulous Islands', involving nearly 1,000 performers, many of whom were school children, was staged in early November by the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children and was attended by some eighty thousand people. The adjudicators of the Inter-School Drama Competition reported that the standard displayed in these plays was of a much higher quality than usual. Art exhibitions in schools were very popular and reflect the fact that the Colony is a meeting place of the cultural ideas of the East and the West. The schools contributed in various ways to the Hong Kong Festival of the Arts where the school art exhibition was an encouraging feature (See also Chapter 20).
In the field of physical education, and of sports and games, training and refresher courses for teachers have resulted in im- proved standards of performance and organization. 1,475 teachers from all types of schools attended courses in physical education. The emphasis continued to be placed on the training of in-service teachers.
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