Wah Yan College, Kowloon (WYK; ;

demonym A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...

: ''Wahyanite'', pl.: ''Wahyanites'') is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

secondary school for boys run by the Chinese Province of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

. It is located in

Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

and is a grant-in-aid secondary school using

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

as the primary medium of instruction. The total land area of its campus is among the largest for Hong Kong secondary schools and it’s one of the most prestigious schools in Hong Kong.

History

Formative years

Established on 1 December 1924 as a branch of Wah Yan College, Hong Kong by Mr. Peter Tsui Yan Sau (徐仁壽, formerly a teacher at St. Joseph's College), Wah Yan College Kowloon 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, and decided to gradually hand over the administration to the incoming

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

s who were looking to serve in some local educational establishments. Besides the two Wah Yan Colleges, the Jesuits also sought to form a Catholic University in Hong Kong. But with the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hon ...

already established in 1911, the Jesuit fathers turned to organizing a Catholic hostel for its male students, which became

Ricci Hall Ricci Hall () is a hall of residence founded in 1929 by the Society of Jesus in memory of Jesuit Matteo Ricci (1552–1610). Located at 93 Pok Fu Lam Road, Ricci Hall is the only Catholic hostel in The University of Hong Kong. In early 1960, ...

br>of the University
. Mr. Tsui left Hong Kong and became a successful rubber planter and hotelier in

Kota Kinabalu , image_skyline = , image_caption = From top, left to right, bottom:Kota Kinabalu skyline, Wawasan intersection, Tun Mustapha Tower, Kota Kinabalu Coastal Highway, the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, the Wism ...

British North Borneo (I persevere and I achieve) , national_anthem = , capital = Kudat (1881–1884);Sandakan (1884–1945);Jesselton (1946) , common_languages = English, Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau, Murut, Sabah Malay, Chinese etc. , go ...

(now

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

). He died in Hong Kong on 19 February 1981, at the age of ninety three.

Pre-war developments

Before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the school was located on Portland Street and then moved to Nelson Street in 1928. Under the auspices of A. E. Wood, Secretary for Education, the school was added to the Grant List and hence under Government subsidies. A satellite campus was opened on Austin Road 103 to cater to students in senior year. The premises became Tak Sun Primary School after the war. A

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...

article in 1928 reported WYK to be the largest school in Hong Kong with a student population of 500. Despite new facilities, however, seniors had to cross

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbor, harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrume ...

for laboratory lessons at the Wah Yan College, Hong Kong. In 1941 when Hong Kong was attacked by the Japanese forces, the Jesuits 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 thoroughly

looted Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...

that Mr. Chow Ching-nam (周淸霖), then Principal, could only salvage a small portion of school registers and documents, and the students had to bring in their own chairs when the College reopened after the war.

Expansion and maturity

Around 1947, the school authorities began the search for a new campus as its enrolment further increased. A proposed acquisition of a site on Ho Man Tin Hill Road was turned down. After negotiations with the Government of Hong Kong, a piece of former paddy field was granted and it moved to the current premises on Waterloo Road in 1952. This portion of land was large by Hong Kong standards, making WYK one of the largest campus in the urban Hong Kong area. This precedent was soon followed in the case of land provision for the Hong Kong campus, where the plot granted by the Government was also of significant size. The present campus was opened by the then Governor Sir Alexander Grantham in 1953. In 2005 a new annex of WYK was opened providing new science labs, a music room, a computer-assisted learning (CAL) room, and a student activity room. Mr. Laurence Tam (譚志成), an arts teacher during the late 1960s, pioneered a new Chinese ink painting movement which he integrated in his curriculum experimentally. He left the school to work as a curator at the

Hong Kong Museum of Art The Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) is the first and main art museum of Hong Kong, located in Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. It is managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong Government. HKMoA has an art collection ...

in 1971. The school hymn of Wah Yan College Kowloon is ''Our Captain and Our King''. The origin of the hymn is unclear, but it is believed to have originated from Northern England back in the 18th century. Wyk

Results of Public Examinations

Wah Yan College, Kowloon has produced 8 perfect scorers "10As" in the history of Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) and 1 "Top Scorers" / "Super Top Scorers" in Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE). 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.

Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE)

* 1988: 10As: LO Man-chu, awardee of Sir Edward Youde Memorial Medals 1988. * 1991: 10As: William WOO Chun-fai, SCMP Student of the Year 1992. * 1995: 10As: David TANG Yue-tan, graduated with Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. * 1997: 10As: Anthony LUI Kai Chung, Awardee of Hong Kong Schools Alumni Federation Scholarship to study Computer Science and Engineering at UCLA. * 1998: 10As: Alan LUI Siu-lun * 1998: 10As: CHAN Ka-fai * 2003: 10As: Jeff SZE Chun-fai, admitted to B.S. in Mathematics at Stanford University. * 2003: 10As: Dominic KWOK Tsz-yeung, admitted to HKU MBBS.

Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE)

* 2014: "7 x 5** Top Scorer": Yii Pun-kit, admitted to HKU MBBS.

Notable alumni

Current Legislative Council Members

* TSE Paul (謝偉俊), member of the Legislative Council (Tourism Functional Constituency) * Ho Kai-ming (何啟明), member of the Legislative Council (Labour Functional Constituency)

Politics

* LEE Martin Chu-ming (李柱銘), founding chairman of the Democratic Party * LEE Yeh-kwong (李業廣), former member of the

Executive Council of Hong Kong The Executive Council of Hong Kong (ExCo) is the cabinet of the Government of Hong Kong, acting as a formal body of advisers to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong that serves as a core policy-making organ assisting the Chief Executive. It is ...

and former Chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited * LAU Hon-chuen (劉漢銓), former chairman of the

Hong Kong Progressive Alliance The Hong Kong Progressive Alliance (HKPA) was a pro-Beijing, pro-business political party in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. It was established in 1994 and was merged into the Democratic Alliance ...

* LEE John Ka-Chiu (李家超),

Chief Executive of Hong Kong The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong. The position was created to replace the office of governor of ...

* LEE Philip S. (李紹麟), former Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

* LEONG Alan Kah-kit (梁家傑), former leader of the

Civic Party The Civic Party (CP) is a pro-democracy liberal political party in Hong Kong. It is currently chaired by barrister Alan Leong. The party was formed in 2006 on the basis of the Basic Law Article 45 Concern Group, which was derived from the ...

, former chairman of the

Hong Kong Bar Association The Hong Kong Bar Association (HKBA) is the professional regulatory body for barristers in Hong Kong. The Law Society of Hong Kong is the equivalent association for solicitors in Hong Kong. Victor Dawes SC is the current chairman of the Cou ...

and candidate for Hong Kong Chief Executive Election in 2007 *

SHIU Sin-por Shiu Sin-por, GBS, is Hong Kong government bureaucrat, academic and former politician. He was the head of the Central Policy Unit, reporting directly to Hong Kong Chief Executive.Central Policy Unit The Central Policy Unit, established in 1989, was responsible for advising the Chief Executive (previously the Governor) of Hong Kong. It was replaced with the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Unit in 2018. Previous heads * Leo Goodstadt ...

* TO James Kun-sun (涂謹申), former member of the Legislative Council ( Kowloon West) * WONG Ernest Kwok Chung (王國忠), member of the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in t ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Law

* LEONG Arthur Siu-chung (梁紹中) GBS, Chief Judge of the High Court (2000-2003) * Neoh, Anthony, senior counsel * Ho, Ambrose Pui-Him, senior counsel * Leong, Alan Kah-Kit, senior counsel * Lee, Robert, senior counsel * Hui, Martin, senior counsel * Luk, Simon, Partner and Chair of Asia Practice at Winston & Strawn LLP

Business

* CHAN John Cho-chak (陳祖澤), former chairman of

Hong Kong Jockey Club The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong, having been founded in 1884. In 1959, it was granted a Royal Charter and renamed The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (). The institution reverted to its original name ...

; former managing director of

Kowloon Motor Bus The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) is a bus company operating franchised services in Hong Kong. It is the largest bus company in Hong Kong by fleet size and number of bus routes. It is a subsidiary of Transport International. ...

(1933) Ltd. * NG Stephen Tin-hoi (吳天海), deputy chairman and managing director of Wharf Holdings Limited (九龍倉集團有限公司); chairman, deputy chairman of Wheelock and Company Limited (會德豐有限公司) * YING Michael Lee-Yuen (刑李源), former chairman of

Esprit Holdings Limited Esprit Holdings Limited () is a publicly owned manufacturer of clothing, footwear, accessories, jewellery and housewares under the Esprit label. The company is headquartered in North Point, Hong Kong, and Ratingen (near Düsseldorf), Germany. In ...

. * YUEN Tin-fan (袁天凡), former CEO of

Hong Kong Stock Exchange The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK, also known as Hong Kong Stock Exchange) is a stock exchange based in Hong Kong. As of the end of 2020, it has 2,538 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of HK$47 trillion. It is rep ...

Academics

* MAK Tak Wah (麥德華)(class of 1962), Professor at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

and the

, Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

, Fellow of the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Royal Inst ...

, Fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

, Foreign Associate of the

United States National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the N ...

, Founding Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Sciences, Awardee of the

Canada Gairdner International Award The Canada Gairdner International Award is given annually by the Gairdner Foundation at a special dinner to five individuals for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a p ...

; scientist (discoverer of

T cell receptor The T-cell receptor (TCR) is a protein complex found on the surface of T cells, or T lymphocytes, that is responsible for recognizing fragments of antigen as peptides bound to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. The binding ...

s, a key component of the human

immune system The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as cancer cells and objects such as wood splinte ...

), * YEH Anthony Gar On (葉嘉安), Chair Professor in Urban Planning and Geographic Information Systems at the Department of Urban Planning and Design and former Dean of the Graduate School of the

, Fellow of the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republi ...

, Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Sciences * WONG Yu Chim Richard (王于漸),Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Chair Professor of Economics at the Faculty of Business and Economics of the

* KWONG Yok Lam (鄺沃林), Chair Professor in Haematology and Haematological Oncology at the Department of Medicine at the

* LAM Ching Wan (林青雲), Clinical Professor at the Department of Pathology at the

, expert in chemical pathology and rare diseases * WONG William Chi Wai (黃志威), Clinical Associate Professor & Chief of Research at the Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care at the

, specialist in Family Medicine * CHEUNG Ka Shing, Michael (張嘉盛), Clinical Assistant Professor at the Department of Medicine at the

, specialist in Gastroenterology and Hepatology * FUNG Chin Wan Peter (馮戩雲), Emeritus Professor in Medical Physics, former Chair Professor in Medical Physics at the Department of Medicine and Department of Physics at the

* NG Ho Keung (吳浩強), Chair Professor at the Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology at the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public research university in Ma Liu Shui, Hong Kong, formally established in 1963 by a charter granted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. It is the territory's second-oldest university and ...

TSO Wung-Wai Dr. Tso Wung-wai (; born 28 February 1941), BBS is a Hong Kong politician and chemistry professor. He is an adjunct professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and has also served as a Hong Kong delegate to the National People's Congress of ...

（曹宏威）, an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...

at the

, also an active politician in Hong Kong * WONG John Y. (黃宇和), Emeritus Professor at the Department of History at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

and Fellow of the

Academy of Social Sciences in Australia The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) is an independent, non-governmental organisation devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It has its origins in the Social Science Research Council of Austr ...

* TONG Wai Keung James (湯維強), Professor at the Department of Political Science and Former Director of the Center for East Asian Studies at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the Californ ...

* HAU Kit Tai (侯傑泰), Emeritus Professor and Former Chair Professor at the Department of Education Psychology, and Former Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the

* LEUNG Tsang, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. * SO Ting Pat Albert (蘇廷弼).

Art and performance

* CHAN Koon Chung (陳冠中), author of " The Fat Years (盛世)" *

Kenneth TSANG Kenneth Tsang Kong (; 5 October 1934 – 27 April 2022) was a Hong Kong actor. Tsang's career spanned 50 years and included a variety of acting roles. Tsang won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 34th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2015. Early ...

(曾江), actor in Hollywood productions such as ''

Die Another Day ''Die Another Day'' is a 2002 spy film and the twentieth film in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It was produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and directed by Lee Tamahori. The fourth and final film st ...

'' * Brendan Lai (黎達沖), Grand Master of the Northern Seven Stars Praying Mantis Kung Fu system, 8th generation, a disciple of Wong Hon Fan (黃漢勛). * CHAN Ka Hei (陳家曦), local composer

References

External links

Official site

WYK Past Students' Association

Wah Yan International Network

Wah Yan Boys' Community

WAH YAN COLLEGE KOWLOON ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OF ONTARIO, Canada
{{Grant Schools Council Yau Ma Tei Catholic secondary schools in Hong Kong Jesuit secondary schools in Hong Kong Boys' schools in Hong Kong Educational institutions established in 1924 Wah Yan King's Park, Hong Kong 1924 establishments in Hong Kong

History

Formative years

Pre-war developments

Expansion and maturity

Results of Public Examinations

Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE)

Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE)

Notable alumni

Current Legislative Council Members

Politics

Law

Business

Academics

Art and performance

See also

References

External links