AnnualReport-1926 — Page 497

O 10

MAKAN

Sports-The interest in the sports of the College was keen. The inter-class football and volley-ball competitions were entered into by all the classes. One of the great advantages of having a large number of classes is that these competitions can be more enthusiastically engaged in. Personally, I much prefer the inter-class system to any inter-school or outside competitions. On this system, more than half, and perhaps the whole, of every class gets certain exercises, and practically none of the evils resulting from the inter-school system arise. When there are inter-school contests, a few boys get far too much training and exercises, while the rest get practically none.

During the summer months, we had our launch picnics for bathing. In these outings, practically the whole school took part, indulging in that most enjoyable and natural of pastimes.

Unfortunately, owing to the fact that the V.R.C. could not lend us their swimming-bath, we were unable to have our annual aquatic sports.

Cricket was encouraged, and matches were played with outside teams, but I regret to say that cricket, like tennis, is confined almost exclusively to the non-Chinese boys in the school—the Chinese only taking a very half-hearted interest in these games.

We had our annual School Sports in March. Thanks to the co-operation of the Old Boys' Association, the gathering was even more successful than formerly.

In the Annual Examination at the close of the year, in the lower school, we examined 275 boys, of whom 236 passed; in the upper school, 113, of whom 65 passed.

Classes I and II do not take any annual examination in this College but sit instead for the Matriculation, Senior Local, and Junior Local Examinations; and I am pleased to be able to say that at the Matriculation and Senior Local Examinations, we have come up to, and in many respects surpassed, all our previous records. We obtained 16 passes in the Matriculation and 4 in the Senior Local out of a total of 28 who sat.

Four of these were put in the Honours list with a total of fourteen Distinctions.

The King Edward Scholarship, a much-coveted distinction, has again come to this College for the third time in its history. But this year, we have been twice blest, receiving both King Edward Scholarships—a unique record as far as this College is concerned. Two of the honours men have also qualified for the valuable Studentships-in-training awarded by the Education Department, and tenable at the Hong Kong University.