ENG-1976 — Page 115

EDUCATION

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Schools Sports Council in organising various activities such as games days, gymnastic displays, swimming competitions, and various inter-school and international events. Other projects included the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme and road safety education.

The Recreation and Sport Service continued to receive such favourable response from the public that it expanded its activities and appointed sports officers in all 17 districts of Hong Kong. Some 135,000 children and people of all ages took part in the sporting and leisure activities organised by the service, which is operated by the Education Department. Most of the events were district-oriented and included athletic meets, swimming galas, sports camps for various occupational groups, family recrea- tional projects, weekend youth sports schemes, fitness programmes, training courses, programmes for the handicapped, and district ball game tournaments. In June the service opened its outdoor and recreational camp at Sai Kung, and more than 4,000 young people used the camp during the summer.

In the 1976 Summer Youth Activities Programme-which is a community effort— camping was again the most popular activity among children of both primary and secondary schools. About 12,000 pupils went camping, including some physically handicapped children. Some 6,000 children from 192 primary schools took part in the Education Department's learn-to-swim scheme in the summer.

The department's Tai Mei Tuk Sailing and Canoeing Centre was officially opened in April. The additional equipment and improved facilities now offered have given a significant boost to these activities among schoolchildren.

The 1976 School Dance Festival attracted 241 teams comprising 2,783 pupils from 180 schools. Hong Kong was invited to send a schools' dance team to take part in the 1976 International Festival of Youth Orchestras and Performing Arts, which was held in Aberdeen, Scotland. The Hong Kong Schools' Chinese Dance Team was formed for the occasion and 26 students were chosen to represent Hong Kong at the festival. Their dances were enthusiastically received not only in Aberdeen but in other British cities which they visited.

Hong Kong Students in Britain

The student section of the Hong Kong Government Office in London is respon- sible for keeping records of all Hong Kong students in Britain who registered with the Education Department before leaving Hong Kong. The section helps these students to find places in universities, polytechnics, technical colleges, colleges of further education and other educational institutions in Britain. The section is responsible for exercising broad supervision over their progress and general welfare during their studies or training, and it also advises on courses which will help students find em- ployment either in Hong Kong or elsewhere on completion of their studies. Nurses under training are regarded as students and receive the same service.

The student section maintains close relations with the government and partic- ularly the Education Department in Hong Kong, the Overseas Development Admin- istration and other British Government departments, the British Council, and