Diocesan Boys' School

The Diocesan Boys' School (DBS) is a day and boarding Anglican boys' school in Hong Kong, located at 131 Argyle Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon. The school's mission is "to provide a liberal education based on Christian principles".[3] Having run as a grant-aided school since it was founded, the school commenced operation in the Direct Subsidy Scheme in September 2003. It uses English as the medium of instruction.

Diocesan Boys' School
拔萃男書院
Location

Hong Kong
Coordinates22°19′24″N 114°10′27″E
Information
School typeDSS,[1] Grant School, Secondary; primary (since 2004)
Religious affiliation(s)Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui
Established1869 (1869)
PresidentMatthias Der
DeanNg Kay Kong
Cho Ka Wai
Wong Yuen Ting
HeadmasterRonnie Kay Yen Cheng
Faculty136 teachers[2]
GradesG7 (Form 1) – G12 (Form 6)
LanguageEnglish
Campus size50,000 m2 (540,000 sq ft)
Houses  Arthur

  Piercy
  Sykes
  Featherstone
  Sargent
  Goodban
  George She

  Lowcock
Colour(s)Navy blue, white and red      
NewspaperNot Rigmarole (粹聞)
YearbookSteps (集思)
Websitewww.dbs.edu.hk
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese拔萃男書院
Simplified Chinese拔萃男书院

History

The first foundation

In 1860, Mrs Lydia Smith (wife of the Bishop of Victoria) and the Society for the Promotion of Female Education in the Far East (Also known as Female Education Society, or "FES")[4] set up the Diocesan Native Female Training School, a day-school turned boarding school for native girls, affiliated with the Diocese of Victoria. As stated in its first annual report, the purpose of the school was "to introduce among a somewhat superior class of native females the blessings of Christianity and of religious training". The school sat on Bonham Road, a small concrete house on a paddy field.[5] Lady Robinson (the Governor's wife) became the patron.[6]

The school had a difficult existence. The Second Opium War aroused strong anti-British sentiment and so it was very unpopular for Chinese girls to learn English.[7] The school was closed and then reopened under the name "Diocesan Female School", but its finances did not improve. In 1868, Bishop Charles Alford took the school under his immediate superintendence.[5]

19th century

On 30 January 1869, in a bid to gain popular support, Bishop Alford issued an appeal to admit boys into the school and to turn it into an orphanage. The appeal was well received by the public. In September, the Diocesan Home and Orphanage, for boys and girls, both foreign and Chinese, was established.[8]

In July 1870, William Arthur, formerly of the Garrison School, was appointed as the headmaster and Mrs Arthur as the matron.[5]

In 1878, the school was placed in the grant-in-aid scheme by the Education Department.

In March 1878, Arthur resigned. Bishop Burdon proposed to stop admitting boys into the school and to bring it under the FES. In July, he withdrew his proposal following pressure from William Beswick, honorary treasurer of the DHO, although the Bishop still thought it inappropriate to have boys and girls boarding in the same school campus.[9]

On 1 November 1878, George Piercy, then master of the Government Central School, was appointed to be the new headmaster.[10] Piercy focused on the students' academics, and the school attained satisfactory results in the Cambridge and Oxford Local Examinations scholarships.[11]

On 31 May 1879, the school committee resolved to stop accepting girls as boarders.

In 1891, the school was renamed the Diocesan School and Orphanage. In 1892, the remaining girls were transferred to Fairlea Girls' School (a forerunner of Heep Yunn School). The Diocesan School and Orphanage was transformed into a boys' school.[9]

Early 20th century

In 1902, the school was renamed the Diocesan Boys' School and Orphanage.[12] It is unclear when the school was renamed the Diocesan Boys' School, although the name was used as early as 1918.[13]

Rev. William Featherstone, headmaster from 1918 to 1931, introduced the prefects' system, a house system and Speech Day. He also moved the school from Bonham Road to a hill site in Mong Kok. Construction was completed in 1926. In February 1927, the British military authorities took the school for use as a hospital for one year.[14]

When war broke out in China in 1937, the school showed its support towards the Chinese Nationalist Party. In January 1938, a shoe-shining club was organised under the permission of Rev. Christopher Sargent to raise funds for the Nationalist government. Boys went to schools around Hong Kong and polished shoes for teachers and students.[15] In 1939, there was a school strike when a student with Japanese citizenship was appointed as head prefect.[16]

During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, most of the school staff, including then-headmaster Gerald Goodban, were imprisoned. The school building was transformed into a military hospital for soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army.

Post-war years

Imperial Japan surrendered in August 1945. The school remained under the control of the Kempeitai until November, when all the Japanese soldiers were captured.

On 21 March 1946, J. L. YoungSaye, a senior teacher, got the school to run again. Oswald Cheung and B. J. Monks took up the post of acting headmaster successively. Goodban returned from England on 19 November 1947. Repairs started during the Christmas holidays.

In 1949, Goodban introduced a new house system in which houses were named after former headmasters, along with the Piercy Challenge Shield.[17]

In early 1950s, construction plans for a gymnasium, a Carnegie Hall (the old art room beside the demolished gymnasium) and a science wing were proposed.[18]

In 1955, Canon George Zimmern, also known as George She, was appointed the next headmaster, the first Hong Kong-born old boy to be given the role. As headmaster, Canon She welcomed students from poor households and affirmed the Chinese language in school culture.[19] Canon She also introduced the Garden Fête in 1955.

It was decided that the primary classes should be dropped for lack of space and that a completely new primary school - Diocesan Preparatory School - would be built, although the decision was only implemented in 1969.[20]

James Lowcock became headmaster in 1961. Based on his previous experience in the school, he restructured the administration to improve efficiency and appointed more teachers to posts with designated duties.

In 1983, Jacland Lai succeeded Mr. Lowcock as headmaster. A language laboratory and a demonstration room were built. The electrics and alarm installations were renovated, the school walls repainted, and the facilities were computerised throughout the school.

2000s

In 2002, Lai was succeeded by Terence Chang, an old boy and then-headmaster of Jockey Club Ti-I College.

On 4 October 2002, the school committee proposed to join the Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) with effect from September 2003. The application was accepted by the Education and Manpower Bureau in March 2003.[21] The DSS was fiercely debated within the School throughout 2002. Chang was highly in favour of joining the DSS,[22] but some students and most teachers opposed the DSS because they were afraid it would shut out students from poorer families. Alumni on the whole were slightly inclined towards the DSS. The school claimed that parents were in favour, though its findings have since been criticised as biased.[23]

A primary school was built beside the secondary school campus. The project was financed by the government as part of the deal that saw the school join the DSS.[24] The Diocesan Boys' School Primary Division (DBSPD) had its first, partial intake of students in 2004 and expanded its intake with students aged between 6 and 12 over the following years.

In April 2012, Diocesan Boys' School became the first secondary school in Hong Kong to have a school app on iOS and Android.

In September 2012, Chang retired and Ronnie Kay Yen Cheng – an alumnus who had been the conductor of the school choirs – succeeded him as headmaster.

In May 2020, the school became the world's No.1 International Baccalaureate school, with an average mark of 42.[25]

Heads and houses

Roster of heads

Name Name in Chinese Portrait Tenure
First Foundation (DNFTS)
1. Ms. Wilson 韋以信女士 1860–1862
2. Ms. M.A.W. Eaton 伊頓女士 1862–1865
3. Ms. Rendle 蘭德爾女士 1865–1866
4. Ms. M.J. Oxlad 岳士列女士 1867–1868
Second Foundation
1. William Monarch Burnside Arthur 雅瑟 1870–1878
2. George H. Piercy 俾士 1878–1918
3. Rev. William T. Featherstone 費瑟士東 1918–1931
Henry du Toit Pyner 派納 1931 –1932, acting
4. Rev. Christopher Birdwood Roussel Sargent 舒展 1932–1938
5. Gerald Archer Goodban 葛賓 1938–1941
Japanese occupation of Hong Kong (1941–1945)
Oswald Victor Cheung 張奧偉 1946, acting
Benjamin John Monks 孟克士 1946, acting
5. Gerald Archer Goodban 葛賓 1946–1955
B. J. MONKS 孟克士 1955, acting
6. Rev. George Samuel Zimmern (aka Canon George She)[26] 施玉麒 1955–1961
7. Sydney James Lowcock 郭慎墀 1961–1983
8. Jacland Lai Chak Lun 黎澤倫 1983–2000
9. Terence Chang Cheuk Cheung 張灼祥 2000–2012
10. Ronnie Cheng Kay Yen 鄭基恩 2012–

Campus

School campus in September 2007, with running track on school field. Behind the school field is the campus of the Primary Division.
The running track in March 2012
Sign at the bottom of the school drive in March 2012

The school is located on Kadoorie Hill in Ho Man Tin, Kowloon City District.[27] The school campus houses a variety of different facilities.

Buildings

  • The Main Building was built in 1926. It houses many classrooms, the school hall, the general office, the covered playground, the George She Christian Centre, the Music Room, the canteen and the tuck shop. It is shaped like the Chinese character "主". Between the horizontal strokes of the character, there is a parking lot (for staff), a grass field in front of the tuck shop, a rock garden (built in 1926, redesigned in 1955 by former art teacher Mr Y. T. Kwong, and subsequently redesigned again in 2020), and a glass dining hall pavilion for boarding students. The top floor of the main building formerly served as the boarding house for students until 2007, when all boarders moved to the Samuel Tak Lee Building and the premises was repurposed.
  • The Science Wing, the New Wing, and the New New Wing, built in the 1956, 1961, and 1968 respectively, to house more classrooms and laboratories. The New Wing houses the NSS library and lecture hall. The New New Wing has some laboratories and classrooms for G8 and G9.
  • The Gymnasium, built in 1951, was demolished in the late 2000s to make way for the auditorium (see below). The small barbecue pit next to the building was kept and now sits next to the auditorium.
  • The Headmaster's Residence, built in 1952, was demolished in the late 1990s to make way for the Primary Division (see below).

Five new buildings were built between 2004 and 2012, when Terence Chang was headmaster. The buildings were designed by architect Thomas Chow (an old boy of the class of 1975), who won three awards from the Hong Kong Institute of Architects: two "Medal of the Year" awards (for his work on the Primary Division and on the Samuel Tak Lee Building respectively) and one "Merit Award – Community Building" (for his work on the Michiko Miyakawa Building and the Yunni and Maxine Pao Auditorium).

  • The Primary Division was opened in 2004. It includes, among other facilities, thirty classrooms, computer rooms, an assembly hall, a covered playground, two basketball courts, and an outdoor amphitheater.
  • The Mrs Tsai Ming Sang Building (a.k.a. the S.I.P. (School Improvement Project Building), built in 2005, houses a sky garden, 10 more classrooms for G7 and G8, laboratories, 3 multi-media learning centers, and a large staff room. "S.I.P." stands for "School Improvement Programme".
  • The Samuel Tak Lee Building (a.k.a. the Sports and Dormitory Complex), named after a wealthy donor (an old boy of the class of 1958), was opened in 2008 to house dormitories and common rooms for boarders, as well as a 25-metre indoor swimming pool, a new gymnasium, weight lifting facilities and additional classrooms for day boys.
  • The Michiko Miyakawa Building (a.k.a. the I.B. Building) opened in 2011 to provide classrooms for the newly introduced International Baccalaureate section. It contains St Augustine's Chapel and the Ronald J. Chao Library amongst labs and classrooms for the IB students.
  • The Yunni and Maxine Pao Auditorium, built on the site of the old gymnasium, opened in 2012. It houses the 800-seat Yip Kit Chuen Concert Hall, a couple of art galleries, and several other multi-purpose rooms.

Curriculum

The school uses English as the main language for instruction, although certain subjects (other than Chinese itself) use Chinese as the medium of instruction. Currently, both the Primary and Secondary Division follow the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority's curriculum. Students start off with a common curriculum in Grades 7 to 9. After then, most students of Grade 10 or above fall into the New Secondary System (also known as "334"), and they will take the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education examinations. Another batch of Grade 10 students fall into the Pre-International Baccalaureate (Pre-IB) programme if they choose. After they complete the Pre-IB programme, they will enter the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP), and will graduate if they pass the IB Finals.

In March 2009, the school received media attention when a Form 4 student complained that he had had a nude female model as a subject in his art class, and alleged embarrassment. The visual arts teacher, employed for 27 years, told reporters that he had been inviting nude models without any complaint for nearly ten years. Then-Headmaster Terence Chang said it was a "big fuss about nothing".[28]

National security education

In December 2022, DBS said that it had already implemented national security education into its curriculum.[29] The school stated that "The objective is to deepen students' understanding of the country's development and national security, enhance their sense of national identity and nurture them as good law-abiding citizens."[29]

Extracurricular activities

School teams have been crowned Overall Champions in archery, athletics (13 Grand Slams), badminton (Grand Slam in 2009/10 & 2010/11 in the Kowloon area), basketball (Grand Slam in 2013/14 in the Kowloon area), beach volleyball (Grand Slam in 2016/17, 2018/19 & 2022/23), cross country (Grand Slam in 2017/18, 2018/19 & 2022/23), fencing (Grand Slam in 2015/16 & 2016/17), football (Grand Slam in 2017/18 & 2018/19), Handball (Grand Slam in 2017/18), hockey, indoor rowing (Grand Slam in 2013/14, 2018/19 & 2022/23), life saving (24 Grand Slams), rugby sevens, softball, squash, swimming (10 Grand Slams), table tennis (Grand Slam in 1960/61, 2017/18 & 2021/22), tennis, tenpin bowling and volleyball (Grand Slam in 1977/78 in the Kowloon area, in 2017/18, 2018/19 & 2022/23).[30][31]

The Diocesan Boys' School Music Department contains six choirs, a symphony orchestra, string and wind orchestras, a Chinese orchestra, and many chamber ensembles.[32]

Recent achievements

2019
  • Hong Kong Schools Music Festival
  • Best Mixed Choir of the Year

2018

  • World Choir Games[33]
  • Male Choirs World Champion; Gold Medal
  • Mixed Choirs World Champion; Gold Medal
  • Musica Sacra with Accompaniment 3rd Place; Gold Medal
  • Hong Kong Schools Music Festival[34]
  • Best Boys' Choir of the Year
  • 臺灣國際管樂節 2018
  • 國際管樂菁英大賽 室內樂(青少年組)
  • 金牌獎(木管樂五重奏)
  • 金牌獎(薩氏管四重奏)

2017

  • Hong Kong Schools Music Festival[35]
  • Best Boys' Choir of the Year
  • Best Mixed Choir of the Year
  • Best Junior Choir of the Year
  • Most Outstanding Secondary Choir of the Year
  • Church Music Choir 1st Place

2016

  • Hong Kong Schools Music Festival
  • Best Boys' Choir of the Year
  • Best Mixed Choir of the Year
  • Church Music Choir 1st Place

2015

  • Hong Kong Schools Music Festival
  • Best Boys' Choir of the Year
  • Best Mixed Choir of the Year
  • Most Outstanding Secondary Choir of the Year
  • Church Music Choir 1st Place

2014

  • Hong Kong Schools Music Festival
  • Best Boys' Choir of the Year
  • Best Junior Choir of the Year
  • World Choir Games[36]
  • Young Male Choirs World Champion; Gold Medal
  • Musica Sacra with Accompaniment 2nd Place; Gold Medal
  • Mixed Youth Choirs 2nd Place; Gold Medal

2013

  • Hong Kong Schools Music Festival
  • Best Boys' Choir of the Year
  • Best Mixed Choir of the Year

2012

  • Hong Kong Schools Music Festival
  • Best Boys' Choir of the Year
  • Best Mixed Choir of the Year
  • Most Outstanding School Award
  • World Choir Games[37]
  • Young Male Choirs World Champion; Gold Medal
  • Musica Sacra 2nd Place; Gold Medal

2011

  • Hong Kong Schools Music Festival
  • Best Boys' Choir of the Year
  • Best Mixed Choir of the Year
  • Most Outstanding Secondary Choir of the Year
  • Most Outstanding School Award
  • International Brahms Choir Competition[38]
  • Brahms Grand Prize
  • Mixed Voice Champion; Gold Medal
  • Male Choirs Champion; Gold Medal

2010

  • Hong Kong Schools Music Festival
  • Best Boys' Choir of the Year
  • Best Mixed Choir of the Year
  • Most Outstanding Secondary Choir of the Year
  • World Choir Games[39]
  • Young Male Choirs World Champion; Gold Medal
  • Musica Sacra World Champion; Gold Medal

By 2022, DBS counts a total of 16 winners of the Hong Kong Outstanding Students Awards,[40] ranking sixth among all secondary schools in Hong Kong.

Exam results

DBS has 16 perfect scorers "10As" in the history of Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) and 2 "Top Scorers" and "Super Top Scorers" in the history of Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE).[41][42] Prior to 1987, the upper limit for the number of subjects is nine.

7 x 5** "Top Scorers" are candidates who obtained perfect scores of 5** in each of the four core subjects and three electives.

8 x 5** "Super Top Scorers" are candidates who obtained seven Level 5** in four core subjects and three electives, and an additional Level 5** in the Mathematics Extended (M1/M2) module.[43]

Alumni by field

Politics and civil service

Statue of Sun Yat-sen on campus, unveiled in 2011
Dr. Sun Yat-sen in 1924

Law

Commerce

Education and academia

Arts and entertainment

Mass culture and journalism

Sports

See also

References

  1. School Information Search & School Lists Archived 5 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Education Bureau, The Government of the Hong Kong
  2. "Diocesan Boys' School – Teaching Staff Information". Committee on Home-School Co-operation. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  3. http://www2.dbs.edu.hk/dbsfoundation/index.php?sid=41
  4. Lee Jane (2018). "Anglican Women and Social Service in Hong Kong". In Chiu, Patricia; Wong, Wai-Ching Angela (eds.). Christian women in Chinese society : the Anglican story. Hong Kong. pp. 239–251. ISBN 978-988-8455-37-9. OCLC 1066226424.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. Featherstone, p.1
  6. Featherstone, p.14
  7. E. J. Eitel's letter to the Colonial Secretary in 1889, CO 129/342, quoted in Vicky Lee, Being Eurasian: Memories Across Racial Divides (Hong Kong University Press, 2004), p.21
  8. Featherstone, p.99
  9. Featherstone, p.48
  10. Featherstone, p.103
  11. Featherstone, p.3
  12. Featherstone, p.129
  13. Fung and Chan-Yeung, p.48
  14. Featherstone, p.5
  15. Steps, Diocesan Boys' School, 1938
  16. W. J. Smyly, A History of the Diocesan Boys' School (unpublished manuscript circa 1967)
  17. Steps, Diocesan Boys' School, 1949
  18. Steps, Diocesan Boys' School, 1954
  19. George She Memorial Dedicated at DBS Archived 8 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine, DSOBA
  20. Headmaster's Report, Steps, Diocesan Boys' School, 1970
  21. DBS School Committee Minutes 6 June 2003
  22. Terence Chang, "Why Direct Subsidy Scheme?", South China Morning Post 16 March 2002
  23. Fung and Chan-Yeung, p.149-152
  24. DBS School Committee minutes 10 November 1998
  25. "Global Top IB Schools 2020".
  26. 知時好雨, 潤物無聲 Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine Nicholas L. Chan, Ta Kung Pao, 23 November 2004 (in Chinese)
  27. "Kowloon City District Map" (PDF). Electoral Affairs Commission. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  28. 校長指毋須大驚小怪 男拔聘裸女供素描 學生尷尬 Archived 20 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Sing Tao, 20 March 2009 (in Chinese)
  29. Lee, Peter (7 December 2022). "National security education highlighted in over 50 Hong Kong secondary school profiles". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  30. Hong Kong Schools Sports Association 40th Anniversary. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Schools Sports Association. 1991.
  31. "HKSSF.ORG.HK - HKSSRC". www.hkssf-hk.org.hk.
  32. Diocesan Boys' School Music Department Official Facebook Page. Accessed 2020-02-24.
  33. "Competition Results". Interkultur. Accessed 2018-08-04.
  34. "Competition Results". Hong Kong Schools Music and Speech Association. Accessed 2019-01-04.
  35. "Competition Results". Hong Kong Schools Music and Speech Association. Accessed 2019-01-04.
  36. "Results." Interkultur. Accessed 2018-08-04.
  37. "7th World Choir Games." Interkultur. Accessed 2018-08-06.
  38. "7th International Johannes Brahms Choir Festival & Competition." Interkultur. Accessed 2018-08-06.
  39. "6th World Choir Games." Interkultur. Accessed 2018-08-06.
  40. "Past Awardees". Archived from the original on 20 January 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  41. "歷屆223狀元". Ming Pao Daily News. 3 August 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  42. "DSE狀元". HK01. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  43. "【DSE2022】男拔1名考生成功「升呢」文憑試狀元增至9人". Hong Kong Economic Times. 17 August 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  44. 羅旭龢 香港實業家 Archived 30 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Luoshi.net (羅氏通譜網), 10 September 2004 (in Chinese)
  45. "Unexpected Turns in the Life That Made the HKMA's Chief Executive". CUHK Business School. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  46. Diocesan Boys' School Seventy Years Ago, by W.J. Howard
  47. HKU Honorary Graduates University of Hong Kong
  48. "Judicial appointment". info.gov.hk. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  49. Electoral Affairs Commission Membership Electoral Affairs Commission
  50. 再做爸爸 黃永光數口差 [Dad again Ng Win Kong is bad in counting number]. column 中環出更. Oriental Daily News (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Hong Kong: Oriental Press Group. 1 October 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  51. "拔萃校友報師恩 給好校長一個家 DBS alumni show teacher gratitude -gifts headmaster a home". Apple Daily (in Chinese). Hong Kong. 2 November 2009.
  52. 陳榮捷小傳, Kaiping District Government, People's Republic of China (in Chinese)
  53. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFCiDobHu_Q, 蘋果動新聞 - 至潮神級醫生 救人不為金

Further reading

  • Rev. W. T. Featherstone, The Diocesan Boys School and Orphanage, Hong Kong: The History and Records 1869–1929 (Hong Kong: Ye Olde Printerie Ltd, 1930)
  • W. J. Smyly, A History of the Diocesan Boys' School (unpublished manuscript circa 1967)
  • The GS Book Editors, A Tribute to Rev. Canon George She Headmaster 1955–1961 Diocesan Boys' School (Hong Kong: The Green Pagoda Press, 2004)
  • E. J. Eitel's letter to the Colonial Secretary in 1889, CO 129/342, quoted in Vicky Lee, Being Eurasian: Memories Across Racial Divides (Hong Kong University Press, 2004), p. 21
  • Steps, Diocesan Boys' School, various years
  • Y.W. Fung and M.W. Chan-Yeung, To Serve and To Lead – A History of the Diocesan Boys' School Hong Kong (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2009) ISBN 978-962-209-998-2
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.