EDUCATION
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(seven per cent). Parents were informed of their child's grouping and the medium of instruction chosen by individual schools, to help them choose secondary schools most suited to their children's language ability. Schools were advised to ensure a good match between their medium of instruction and the language proficiency of their incoming students. In September, 52 schools used Chinese for all subjects except English language, and over 100 more schools increased their use of Chinese, either for some Secondary 1 classes, or for all classes in some subjects.
Home-School Co-operation
The Committee on Home-School Co-operation, with members including educators and parents of kindergarten, primary and secondary school students and officers of the Education Department, aims to improve communication between schools and parents. In March, it completed a large-scale survey to determine perceptions of home-school relations among parents, students, principals, school managers, teachers and social workers, with a view to improving home-school co-operation in the future. The committee also organised various promotional activities.
Extra-curricular Activities
Extra-curricular activities are an integral part of school life, enriching formal learning in the classroom. They are usually conducted outside school hours, within or outside the school premises, under teacher supervision. The Education Department provides guidance and advice through in-service teacher education programmes and school inspections, subsidises some activities, and co-ordinates many inter-school programmes and activities. These include the Community Youth Club, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, the Lions' Sister Schools Scheme, the Schools Drama Festival, sports and recreational activities as well as subject-based and interest-based activities.
The Community Youth Club (CYC), whose motto is 'Learn, Be Concerned and Serve', had over 126 000 members from 1 168 primary and secondary schools. By the end of the year, 58 830 members had gained merit awards. A visit to Singapore was arranged for 39 outstanding primary and secondary school members during the summer. The CYC chose 'Respect for the Elderly and Concern for the Handicapped' as the theme of its activities for the year. To maintain the CYC's environmental education objectives, over 70 schools took part in the Country Parks Adoption Scheme. 'Greening for the Chest' activities helped raise over $4.5 million for the Community Chest.
The 19 operating authorities of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme in Hong Kong include the Education Department. The scheme attracted 24 000 members from 205 participating schools, and 130 training courses and functions at bronze, silver and gold levels were organised during the year.
The Lions' Sister Schools Scheme, set up under the auspices of the Lions Club International District 303, matches ordinary and special schools to promote social inter- action and friendship among students. Fifty special schools and 67 ordinary schools took part during the year.
The Schools Drama Festival attracted 145 schools, directly involving about 9000 students in play productions and about 110 000 students as audiences. Almost 4 000 students from primary, secondary and special schools participated in the Schools Dance