AnnualReport-1939 — Page 584

The vernacular work included Chinese history, geography in relation to the history, and the study of Confucius and Mencius.

Besides these two Government schools there were 7 grant schools having secondary and primary departments. The grant was calculated on a capitation basis and paid at the rate of $40 per pupil annually—whether the pupil was in the secondary or primary department. However, the system is under review and a new system is being considered. In these schools there was no clear-cut break at the end of class 5 as in the Government schools and promotions, which were mainly from their own lower classes, were left to the discretion of the schools themselves.

In Government and grant schools alike, entries were permitted to all classes but the movement of scholars from one school to another is less than it was a few years ago.

Boys who failed in one school would present themselves at another with the object of gaining promotion by such a transfer.

The grant schools educated together boys of all races—Chinese, Portuguese, Indians, English—so that French, Portuguese, Cantonese and Mandarin were taught in addition to English. All schools were required to devote at least 1 hour a week to physical training (or, in summer, swimming) apart from games. Most included some form of handwork and singing, the interest in singing being enlivened by inter-school singing competitions held in the summer.

All the grant schools but one provided a hostel or boarding establishment for some of their pupils.

In winter, school hours for the two Government schools are 27.20 per week, being approximately the same as those in grant schools except that in the latter two to three hours each week are devoted to moral or religious instruction. In summer, the Government schools do not meet in the afternoons and the weekly hours amount to 26.00.

All these schools had libraries and in several schools definite periods were allocated for work in the library with a master present to advise. The libraries provided magazines and papers—both Chinese and English—and usually there was a staff section. In addition, the Teachers Association had a large library with most of the periodicals required by teachers.

Societies of all kinds flourished in the schools and were enjoyed by the scholars. All of the schools but one had thriving boy scout troops; the total number engaged in scout work in the Colony in December, 1939, was 542 scouts, 29 wolf cubs, 49 rover scouts, 75 officers.

St. Stephen's College was the only exempted school in the Colony. Including its primary department, it had an enrolment of 215 with an average attendance of 205. It is a boarding school for Chinese admitting day boys.

For the matriculation examination of the University of Hong Kong held in June, 1939, 223 boys from Government and grant schools sat and 130 or 57.3% passed. The figures for the same schools in the Hong Kong School Certificate examination were 487 entered and 317 or 73.3% passed.