La Salle College (LSC) (, Demonym: Lasallian) is a boys' secondary school in

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 city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

. It was established in 1932 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, a Roman Catholic religious teaching order founded by St. John Baptist de La Salle. The school uses English as the medium of instruction in all subjects with the exception of Chinese Language, Chinese History, Putonghua and French. It is located in

Kowloon City District Kowloon City District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. It is located in the city of Kowloon. It had a population of 381,352 in 2001, and increased to 418,732 in 2016. The district has the third most educated residents while its resi ...

History

Foundation

In 5 September 1917 the Brothers of the Christian Schools, who had founded St. Joseph's College in 1875, opened a junior school on Chatham Road near the

Rosary Church Rosary Church is located at 125 Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is the oldest Roman Catholic Church, Catholic church (building), church in Kowloon.Sally Rodwell. 1991. ''A Visitor's Guide to Historic Hong Kong''. ...

. At this time Kowloon was expanding rapidly (with the extension into

New Kowloon New Kowloon is an area in Hong Kong, bounded in the south by Boundary Street, and in the north by the ranges of the Eagle's Nest, Beacon Hill, Lion Rock, Tate's Cairn and Kowloon Peak. It covers the present-day Kwun Tong District and Wong T ...

as part of the New Territories lease). The demand for schools was rising and Brother Aimar Sauron (1873-1945), the director of St. Joseph's, realised that a new school building was necessary. He acquired a hilly plot near Prince Edward Road as a site for the new La Salle College on 23 April 1928, for a sum of HK$120,000. The site was immediately north of the city boundary, and thus was technically in New Kowloon. That section of

Boundary Street Boundary Street is a three-lane one-way street in Kowloon, Hong Kong. It runs in an easterly direction from its start at the intersection with Tung Chau Street in the west, and ends at its intersection with Prince Edward Road West in t ...

was not yet a formal road when the school site was bought, which was only gazetted in 1929. An annex was also built on the January of 1938, which later became the first La Salle Primary School building. On 5 November 1930, Sir William Peel, then

Governor of Hong Kong The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the British Crown in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and commander-in-chief of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong. ...

, laid the

foundation stone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over tim ...

of the new building. By 3 December 1931, the work on the building and the playgrounds was sufficiently advanced to allow the opening of eight classes for 303 pupils, under the management of five Brothers from St. Joseph's College and four assistant masters from the Chatham Road Branch School. The formal inauguration of the college took place on 6 January 1932. Seven Brothers, headed by Brother Aimar as director, took over. A few days later 40 boarders occupied the quarters to the west of the building. There were then 540 students in 14 classes. About one-third of the students had European (mostly Portuguese) connection.

World War II

Brother Aimar was the principal of the school for its first seven years. The students were offered

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...

examinations, the laboratories were constructed, four tennis courts and a full-sized

football pitch A football pitch (also known as soccer field) is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The pitch is typically made of natural t ...

were built, and the statue of St. John Baptist de La Salle that now stands in front of the College was erected. The number of students increased to 805 in 1935 and 1,060 in 1939. In 1939, La Salle College was affected when World War II commenced in Europe. On 3 September 1939, Britain declared war on Germany, and the British War Department in Hong Kong designated the La Salle College campus as an internment camp for German nationals arrested in Hong Kong that same day. Those interned included the German engineer

Gerhard Neumann Gerhard Neumann (October 8, 1917 – November 2, 1997) was an American aviation engineer and executive for General Electric's aircraft engine division (which today is called GE Aviation). Born and raised in Germany, he went to China shortly be ...

. The internment camp was run for approximately eight months, during which time the Brothers organised classes in morning and afternoon sessions in the College Annex across the road (the building which was to become La Salle Primary School in 1957). On 8 December 1941, the Japanese attacked Hong Kong, and the school building was again taken over by the British Military, this time as a relief hospital. After the surrender of Hong Kong on Christmas Day 1941, the Japanese took over the school building.In December 1941 the school's operations was suspended until September 1946, and In February 1942, the Brothers were expelled from the college. During the Japanese occupation, the college was believed to have been used as a Number One Japanese military hospital (out of four in Kowloon) until August 1945.

Post-war development

School recommenced in September 1946. By the end of 1949, the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

was coming to an end. Most of China was controlled by the Communist government of

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

and the People's Liberation Army was rapidly advancing southwards towards the Hong Kong border. Owing to that threat, the British Army reinforced their garrisons in Hong Kong. In need of a hospital, the British Army expropriated the use of the college grounds, originally agreed to be only for 12 to 18 months. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong government erected wood hutments on a plot at Perth Street, Ho Man Tin. The temporary occupation unfortunately dragged on for 10 years, taking the concerted efforts of the local government, some members of the British Parliament, and the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

to finally dislodge the Army in August 1959. lsc-2006

Brother Felix was appointed director of the school in 1956 and re-acquired the college buildings from the military authorities on 1 August 1959. Student numbers grew steadily, and this led to a separation of primary and secondary divisions. La Salle Primary School was founded in 1957 and Brother Henry Pang was appointed its founder and first headmaster. In 1964 the La Salle College Evening School was commenced within the main campus building; in 1969 the Evening School was separated and became Chan Sui Ki (La Salle) College in Ho Man Tin. The decision was taken by the Brothers, headed by the then Brother Director, Brother Raphael Egan, in 1977 to undertake the replacement of the ageing building. While classes were continuing, a portion of the school grounds were used to erect a new building. The project was funded via the sale of approximately one-third of the school grounds to

Cheung Kong Holdings Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited, is a multinational conglomerate, based in Hong Kong. It was one of Hong Kong's leading multi-national conglomerates. The company merged with its subsidiary Hutchison Whampoa on 3 June 2015, as part of a major ...

, owned by

Li Ka Shing Sir Ka-shing Li (; born 13 June 1928) is a Hong Kong billionaire business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. As of June 2019, Li is the 31st richest person in the world, with an estimated net wealth of US$33.4 billion. He is the senior ad ...

. The Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Murray MacLehose, officially opened the new school building on 19 February 1982, in its Golden Jubilee year.

Admission

75% of La Salle College's total Form 1 intake is from its feeder school, La Salle Primary School, with 25% from other primary schools. Applicants attend interviews in Chinese and English, which are conducted by the supervisor and the principal. Other criteria include applicants' performance in extracurricular activities, awards and certificates, and academic excellence. La Salle College applicants may apply to study French as an alternative to Chinese.

School associations

The Old Boys' Association

Th
La Salle College Old Boys' Association (LSCOBA)
is the alumni organisation. It was founded in 1939 and its membership, as of 31 March 2017, was 7,453. By tradition, alumni of La Salle College are called La Salle ''Old Boys''. The Association organizes social events for old boys, learning opportunities for current students and sponsors various student activities.

Curriculum

The school follows the local

HKDSE The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) is an examination organised by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA). The HKDSE examination is Hong Kong's university entrance examination, administere ...

curriculum. As required by Hong Kong law, schools must have two examinations every year: mid-year and final examination. In between the two examinations, students are provided feedback on their performance through continuous assessments, which accounts for 20% of the total subject mark.

Extracurricular activities

Interest clubs and societies

La Salle College has over 50 clubs and societies. Clubs are divided into academic, cultural, sports, interest and service. Joining clubs is mandatory.

Academic achievements

In 1993, the school produced the first student achieving ten distinctions in Arts subjects in the

Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination The Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE, 香港中學會考) was a standardised examination between 1974 and 2011 after most local students' five-year secondary education, conducted by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment ...

(HKCEE). La Salle College has produced 25 perfect scorers "10As" in the history of Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) and 6 "Top Scorers" and "Super Top Scorers" in the history of Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE). LSC counts five winners of the

Hong Kong Outstanding Students Awards The Hong Kong Outstanding Students Award () is a student contest in Hong Kong. The Award aims to encourage promising students with outstanding academic, extra-curricular and community service achievements, and morality. From 1985 to 2010, the ...

, ranking tied 16th among all secondary schools in Hong Kong.

Sports

In sports, La Salle College has won badminton championships in all grades in 1993–1994, 2003–2004, and 2004–2005 in the Kowloon area. La Salle has won championships in archery, athletics,

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, cross country,

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...

(Grand slam in 2010–2011), football,

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

(18 consecutive years, 1994–2012),

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

, table tennis,

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

tenpin bowling Ten-pin bowling is a type of bowling in which a bowler rolls a bowling ball down a wood or synthetic lane toward ten pins positioned evenly in four rows in an equilateral triangle. The objective is to knock down all ten pins on the first roll ...

, and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

. The table tennis team was named the overall champions seven years in a row, from 2000 to 2007. The Omega Rose Bowl, and its successor the Bauhinia Bowl, is awarded to the secondary school with the best all-round sporting performance in the Hong Kong Island and Kowloon region. La Salle College has been the Boys School Champions 26 times, ranking 2nd in the Boys' Schools section. La Salle College holds the record of receiving the Rose Bowl, predecessor of the Bauhinia Bowl, for the longest period—17 years—between 1974 and 1991. The most recent Athletics prize was their championship in the Inter-school Athletics Meet 2019.

Notable alumni

Government

John Tsang John Tsang Chun-wah, GBM, JP (; born Mui; born 21 April 1951) is a Hong Kong former senior civil servant and government official who was the longest-serving Financial Secretary in the Special Administrative Region period to date. Born in ...

, 曾俊華, GBM, JP, former Financial Secretary, HKSAR Government, 2017 Chief Executive Election Canadiate. * Dr. Chan Cho Chak, John, 陳祖澤, Former Deputy Chief Secretary, Former Secretary for Trade and Industry and Former Secretary for Education and Manpower, HK Government * Sir

Roger Lobo Sir Rogério Hyndman Lobo, CBE, JP (15 September 1923 – 18 April 2015), generally known as Roger Lobo, was a British Hong Kong businessman, philanthropist and politician. He was a member of the Urban Council, Executive Council and Legisla ...

, 羅保爵士, CBE, LLD, JP, former member of Executive Council (ExCo), Legislative Council (LegCo), and Urban Council * Hilton Cheong-Leen, 張有興, CBE, JP, former chairman of the Urban Council, former member of Legislative Council (LegCo) *

Arnaldo de Oliveira Sales Arnaldo Augusto de Oliveira Sales, GBM, CBE, GCIH, JP, (; 13 January 1920 – 6 March 2020) was a Hong Kong/Portuguese sports figure who was chairman of the Hong Kong Olympic Academy and president of the Sports Federation and Olympic Commi ...

, GBM, JP, former chairman of the Urban Council *

Ching Cheung-ying Ching Cheung-ying (, born 31 May 1958) is a Hong Kong politician and retired schoolteacher. He is formerly the representative of the Sun Tin Wai constituency of Sha Tin District Council and the former chairperson of the Council. He is a member of t ...

, 程張迎, MH,

Sha Tin District Council The Sha Tin District Council is the district council for the Sha Tin District in Hong Kong. It is one of 18 such councils. The Sha Tin District Council currently consists of 42 members, of which the district is divided into 41 constituencies, ...

Representative for San Tin Wai Estate, Chinese language teacher in

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 near Mong Kok East station. The school's mission is "to provide a liberal education based on Christian pr ...

, former Urban Council representative * Pau Shiu-hung, , SBS, JP, former director of architectural services, current vice president of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, former chief commissioner and current honorary commissioner of the Scout Association of Hong Kong * Bernard Chan Pak-li, 陳百里 (1993), former district councillor, current political assistant,

Commerce and Economic Development Bureau The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau is an agency of the Government of Hong Kong responsible for policy matters on Hong Kong's external commercial relations, inward investment promotion, intellectual property protection, industry and ...

Arts and culture

* Bruce Lee, 李小龍, actor in

martial arts films Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature numerous martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expres ...

and founder of

Jeet Kune Do Jeet Kune Do is a primarily wing chun kung fu inspired eclectic martial arts philosophy heavily influenced and adapted by the Taoist personal life philosophy and experiences of martial artist Bruce Lee. Overview and philosophy Jeet Kune Do ...

Started at the school in 1952. * Dr. James Wong, aka

Wong Jim James Wong Jim (; 18 March 1941 – 24 November 2004, also known as "霑叔" or "Uncle Jim") was a Cantopop lyricist and songwriter based primarily in Hong Kong. Beginning from the 1960s, he was the lyricist for over 2,000 songs, collaboratin ...

, 黃霑, renowned composer, and lyricist of the La Salle College School Song (Chinese Version) * Albert Leung, 林夕, Chinese lyricist and writer (studied F.6–7) * Michael Hui, 許冠文, Hong Kong film comedian, scriptwriter and director * Philip Chan, :zh:陳欣健, Media Management, Film Director, Producer, Script-writer, Emcee, radio show host, talk show host and singer * Sammy Leung, 森美, DJ, singer and actor *

Anthony Lun Anthony Lun (born 12 April 1957) is a Hong Kong songwriter, arranger, musical director and singer who sings in Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese and English. Biography Anthony Lun is a graduate of La Salle College, Hong Kong, Santa Clara Unive ...

, 倫永亮,

Cantopop Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production ...

singer, composer and producer * Hsien-yung Pai, 白先勇, Chinese author * Oscar Tao, 涂毓麟,

singer, music show host, Good Night Show - King Maker contestant, * Pong Nan, 藍奕邦,

musician, singer-songwriter and actor in Hong Kong of Hakka ancestry.

Business

* Peter Wong, 王冬勝, executive director of HSBC * Jack Chak-kwong So, 蘇澤光, chairman of the Hong Kong Film Development Council * John Chen, 程守忠, 程守宗, former CEO of Sybase and interim CEO of

Blackberry Ltd BlackBerry Limited is a Canadian software company specializing in cybersecurity. Founded in 1984, it was originally known as Research In Motion (RIM). As RIM, it developed the BlackBerry brand of interactive pagers, smartphones, and tablets ...

, CEO, Siemens Nixdorf Information System, chairman of the US Committee of 100 * Dr. William Man-wai Mong, 蒙民偉, founder of Shun Hing Group * John Shek-yau Lau, executive chairman, Ecargo Holdings Limited; group managing director and Founder, CS Holdings Limited and Cargo Services Group

Science and engineering

* Henry Tye, , Horace White Professor of Physics at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

* Simon S. Lam, , Professor and Regents Chair at University of Texas, co-invented secure sockets widely used for e-commerce and Internet security * Peter Lee, , brother of Bruce Lee, assistant director of Hong Kong Observatory.

Legal

* Sir

Po-shing Woo Sir Po-shing Woo, LLD, FCIArb, FIMgt, FInstD, FHKMA (, born 19 April 1929) is a Hong Kong solicitor, entrepreneur, politician and philanthropist. Biography Woo was born on 19 April 1929 in Hong Kong to a wealthy family of Seaward Woo and Ng ...

, 胡寶星爵士, Non-Executive Director of Sun Hung Kai Properties and Henderson Land * The Honorable Mr Justice Roberto Alexandre Vieira Ribeiro (Class of 1965)

Medicine

* Dr. Shih Tai Cho Louis, 史泰祖, 2014-2016 President of The Hong Kong Medical Association

Sports

* Vincent Wong Wing Ki, 黃永棋, badminton player who defeated four-time world champion

Lin Dan Lin Dan (born 14 October 1983) is a Chinese former professional badminton player. He is a two-time Olympic champion, five-time World champion, as well as a six-time All England champion. Widely regarded as the greatest badminton player of a ...

in the 2011 Denmark Open *

Leung Nok Hang Jacky Leung Nok Hang (; born 14 November 1994 in Hong Kong) is a Hong Kong professional footballer who currently plays as a centre back for Chinese Super League club Zhejiang Pro. He is the brother of current Eastern player Leung Kwun Chun ...

, 梁諾恆，footballer who currently plays for

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association ...

club Zhejiang Greentown

References

External links

La Salle CollegeLa Salle College Old Boys' Association

Lasallian Family Hong Kong

La Salle College Campus TV Production Team – Official channel on Youtube by the LSCCTV
{{Grant Schools Council Boys' schools in Hong Kong Educational institutions established in 1932

College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

Secondary schools in Hong Kong Kowloon Tsai 1932 establishments in Hong Kong

History

Foundation

World War II

Post-war development

Admission

School associations

The Old Boys' Association

Curriculum

Extracurricular activities

Interest clubs and societies

Academic achievements

Sports

Notable alumni

Government

Arts and culture

Business

Science and engineering

Legal

Medicine

Sports

See also

References

External links