Wah Yan College, Kowloon
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Wah Yan College, Kowloon (WYK; 九龍華仁書院, Pinyin: Jǐulóng Huárén Shūyuàn) is a Roman Catholic secondary school for boys, located in Yau Ma Tei (油麻地), Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is administered by the Society of Jesus.
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Formative Years
Established in 1924 by Mr. Tsui Yan-Sau (徐仁夀, formerly a teacher at St. Joseph's College), WYK is one of the oldest and most prestigious secondary schools in Hong Kong, and was the first English-speaking college to be administered by local Chinese. During the 1930s, Mr. Tsui, himself a devout Catholic,, saw the need of the pupils for greater spiritual guidance, decided to gradually hand over the administration to the incoming Jesuits, while the latter was actively seeking to serve in some local education establishments. Besides the two Wah Yan Colleges in Hong Kong and Kowloon, the Jesuits also sought to form a Catholic University in Hong Kong. Yet with the University of Hong Kong already established in 1911, the Jesuit fathers turned to organise a Catholic male hostel for its students, which hostel was to become Ricci Hall of the University. Mr. Tsui left Hong Kong and became a successful rubber planter in the British Malaya. He passed away in 1980.
Pre-war Developments
Before the Second World War, the school was located on Portland Street and later moved to Nelson Street in 1928. Under the auspice of A. E. Wood, then Secretary for Education, the School was added to the Grant List, and was hence under Government subsidies. A branch was also opened on Austin Road to cater for students in senior years, the premises becomes the Tak Sun Primary School after the war. A South China Morning Post article in 1928 reported the WYK to be the "biggest school" in Hong Kong with a student population of 500. Despite new facilities, however, senior students were still required to cross the Victoria Harbour for laboratory lessons at the Wah Yan College, Hong Kong.
In 1941, Hong Kong was attacked by the Japanese forces, the Jesuit priests of the College helped organise the evacuation of the Kowloon civilians to the Island as they closed down the school. During the occupation, the Japanese prohibited its resumption on political grounds. The Nelson Street campus was so throughly looted that, Mr. Chow Ching-nam (周淸霖), then Headmaster, could only salvage nothing but a small portion of school registers and documentations, and the students had to bring in their own stools when the College reopened after the war.
Expansion and Maturity
Around 1947, the School Authorities began the search for a new campus as its size further increased. A proposed acquisition of a site on Ho Man Tin Hill Road was turned down and after negotiations with the Government of Hong Kong, a piece of former paddy field was granted, and it hence moved to the current premise on Waterloo Road in 1952, where the school is to remain until now. This provision of land was quite vast by Hong Kong standards, making Wah Yan Kowloon one of the campus in the urban Hong Kong area. This precedent was soon followed in the case of land provision for Wah Yan College (Hong Kong), where the plot granted by the Government was also of significant size. The present campus was officially opened by the then Governor Sir Alexander Grantham, in 1953.
Although a Church School run by experienced missionaries, Wah Yan during the sixties was still not quite the part of the Establishment of the Hong Kong Colonial administration. Several reasons could account for this phenomenon. Perhaps the most significant being the absence of a permanent expatriate element in the student body, for Wah Yan has long accustomed to a full Chinese intake. Compared to other secondary schools in Hong Kong, WYK grants more freedom to students, independent learning is highly valued. This general policy has roots in the traditioal Jesuit Education philosophy, stressing on the all-round development of a person, both academically and spiritually.
Famous Alumni
- Martin Lee Chu-ming 李柱銘, member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (Hong Kong Island); former chairman of Hong Kong Democratic Party
- Alan Leong Kah-kit 梁家傑, former chairman of Hong Kong Bar Association
- James To Kun-sun 涂謹申, member of the Legislative Council (Kowloon West)
- MAK Tak Wah 麥德華 [WYK'62], scientist (discoverer of T-cell receptors, a key to the human immune system) [1] (http://www.science.ca/scientists/scientistprofile.php?pID=15),[2] (http://citzine.ca/stuff.php?lng=e&sub=2&cid=55),[3] (http://medbio.utoronto.ca/faculty/mak.html)
See also
External links
- Official site (http://www.wyk.edu.hk)
- WYK Past Students' Association (http://www.wykpsa.org.hk)
- Wah Yan International Network (http://www.wahyan.net)
- Wah Yan Boys' Community (http://wahyanboys.org)