Sha Tin College

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Sha Tin College
Contact Information	Phone: +852 2699-1811 Fax: +852 2699-1811
Established	1982
Type	Private, comprehensive, secondary, co-educational.
Principal	Mr. David Cottam
Location	3 Lai Wo Lane Fo Tan, Sha Tin Hong Kong
District	Sha Tin and New Territories
Enrollment	1200 students
Grades	Year 7 to Year 13

Sha Tin College (沙田學院) is a non-selective secondary school in Hong Kong and a member of the English Schools Foundation - the largest independent schools organisation in Asia. Established in 1982 as the Shatin Annex, the education followed the British system of IGCSE and A Levels. In 2004, the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) Diploma completely replaced the A Level system, an unpopular move with many of the school's parents. The school marketed the IB Diploma on internationalism and the fact that A Levels were out of date and old-fashioned. It is now regarded as one of the leading IBO World Schools in Asia.

It is located on the hill above Wo Che in Fo Tan, Sha Tin and provides education from Year 7 through Year 13. Following in the ESF fashion of establishing houses within the different schools, Sha Tin College's houses are based on an explorer theme and each of the six houses (plus Zheng He house) is named after a famous explorer.

The school had its own indoor gym built in 2002, with two basketball courts, six badminton courts, three volleyball courts, and a rock climbing wall; there is also a swimming pool, astro-turf, two cricket nets, and extra classrooms for its neighbouring primary school, Sha Tin Junior School. The school is currently led by Principal David Cottam.

Contents 1 Students 2 Curriculum 3 Houses 3.1 Armstrong (Yellow) 3.2 Drake (Blue) 3.3 Hillary (Green) 3.4 Kingsley (Purple) 3.5 Scott (Red) 3.6 Tasman (Orange) 3.7 Zheng He (White) 4 Uniforms 5 Sports 5.1 Basketball 5.2 Netball 6 See also 7 External link

[edit] Students

The school currently has some 1200 students enrolled, from ages 11 to 18 years.

Sha Tin College accepts students from an academic perspective, mainly students in need of an English education who are able to afford the tuition. Thus, even though the school accepts foreign students over local ones, the student population and demographics are predominantly Asian, notably affluent Hong Kong natives, when compared with other international schools.

Students from the New Territories and Kowloon are generally assigned to this school, with the exception of Sai Kung and Clearwater Bay. This includes the vast majority of children whose parents are employed with the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

[edit] Curriculum

GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) is the curriculum designed for Years 10 and 11, and is broad and balanced. Sha Tin College offers the IGCSE and GCSE programs (which are interchangeable).

All subjects are compulsory, but there is a choice to suit the aptitude and interest of students. This choice is structured in a way that it is balanced and it ensures students can build on their strengths whilst keeping their options open in the future.

All students taking the GCSE course have to study a core of English (English Language and English Literature, Mathematics, Science (split into Biology, Chemistry and Physics which is dual award i.e. two grades are achieved), PE and iPSE. In addition, they must choose a subject from each of the boxes A, B, C and D below:

Box A: Mandarin, French, Japanese, Spanish or EAL (English as an Additional Language).

Box B: Geography, History, Religious Studies, Business Studies or Economics.

Box C: Art, Drama, Music. D & T (Food, Graphic Products, Electronics or Resistant Materials) or Information Techonology.

Box D: A second subject from Box A, B or C (except Mandarin and EAL).

Boxes A, B and C are subjects already studied in Years 7-9 (with the exception of Business Studies and Economics), thus providing continuity. Box D allows students to specialise by taking a second subject from one of the previous boxes. This gives good degree of choice within a structured framework.

The International Baccalaureate is the curriculum for the senior school (Years 12 and 13).

[edit] Houses

In accordance with British house system tradition, the entire student body is divided into six separate houses upon admittance into the school. Students remain in these houses until graduation and attend sporting events and various other activities as part of their house. There is an extra form or house for the larger-than-normal Year 7 in the 2006/07 school year.

Originally there were four houses of Armstrong, Drake, Hillary and Scott. In 1998 two more houses were added to increase competition and a growing demand for more student places by school applicants and their parents. Tasman was derived from the house of Scott and Hillary, and Kingsley was derived from the house of Armstrong and Drake. In the 2006/07 school year, Zheng He house became an extra form in Year 7, now consisting of 7A, 7D, 7H, 7K, 7S, 7T, and 7Z. However, students in form 7Z are split up into the 6 normal houses, so technically, the name Zheng He house is not used in the school at all; no sports or house events.

The students engage in the annual Sports Day and Swimming Gala whereupon points are earned and compiled according to houses. Other inter-house competitions include volleyball, cricket, rounders, basketball and badminton, among others. Credits and commendations earned by students also contribute to the final house total.

Each house is headed by a sixth form Head of House, Charity Head and two Sport Heads. The Heads are in charge of organising the events within their house throughout the year.

It is known that there is a greater chance of being accepted into a particular house if your older siblings are or were in that house.

[edit] Armstrong (Yellow)

Named after Neil Armstrong, the first person to set foot on the moon. Armstrong won the house cup in the 05/06 school year.

[edit] Drake (Blue)

Named after Sir Francis Drake, the first man to circumnavigate the globe. He also claimed North America for Britain.

[edit] Hillary (Green)

Named after Sir Edmund Hillary, the first European to reach the summit of Mt Everest. Hillary won the house cup and the Swimming Gala in the 04/05 and 06/07 school years respectively.

[edit] Kingsley (Purple)

Named after Mary Kingsley, a Victorian Explorer famed for her study of Africa and its people.

[edit] Scott (Red)

Named after Robert Falcon Scott. Scott is known for his perseverance on his failed race for the south pole.

[edit] Tasman (Orange)

Named after the Dutch Navigator Abel Tasman who discovered Tasmania. He helped explore and chart much of Australasia.

[edit] Zheng He (White)

Named after the Chinese explorer Zheng He. He allegedly discovered America before Christopher Columbus. It is the extra form for Year 7s in the 2006/07 school year.

[edit] Uniforms

All students in Years 7 to 11 are required to purchase and wear the issued school uniform. Uniforms are generally school specific in terms of colour and style. Students in Years 12-13 are allowed to wear casual clothes that are presentable. On the last day of Year 11 it is customary to get signatures from fellow classmates and friends on one's uniform.

Sha Tin College uniforms consist of a standard white button-up shirt with the school logo discreetly emblazoned on the left-chest pocket. Boys are expected to wear the straight-legged navy trousers while girls have the option of navy trousers or skorts. [1].

No tie is required but the uniform also includes a navy jumper, navy fleece and navy physical education shorts with the gold and blue school logo emblazoned on all.

The PE uniform has changed since 2002. It used to consist of a white polo shirt with a diagonal stripe across the front in one's house colour [2] . The new uniform is a polo-styled shirt in red, blue, yellow, green, purple or orange according to the student's house colours, with navy collars. [3].

Standard issue swimming caps must also be purchased according to house colours and swimming costumes or trunks that are navy.

[edit] Sports

Sports play an integral part of the students' lives. A wide variety of activities are available and participation is highly encouraged. Facilities include a swimming pool, a multi-purpose sports hall for badminton, basketball, volleyball and climbing facilities, and an astro-turf. All are shared with Sha Tin Junior School, Sha Tin College's neighbouring feeder school.

Additional activities such as canoeing, sailing, rowing and hiking are available to students during camp and many extracurricular activities exist that offer golf or other sports. The annual inter-house Sports Day is commonly held at the Hong Kong Institute of Education stadium in Tai Po. The inter-house cross-country run is held on-site. Students are expected to run up the hill, circle back down around Mei Wo Circuit, a neighbouring residential area, run back up the mountain and finish at the gates of the school. This is widely considered as the one of the most gruelling SC sporting activities.

[edit] Basketball

Basketball has been a long standing tradition of Sha Tin College. They are often regarded as the best ESF school at basketball. Competition is held at both the inter-house level and at the inter-school level. A Grade boys has beaten every single ESF school this year by an average margin of around ten points. This shows the dominance Sha Tin College has over other schools in this respect.

[edit] Netball

Netball is a popular sport at Sha Tin College and is an inter-house and inter-school sport.

[edit] See also

• English Schools Foundation

[edit] External link

• Official Sha Tin College Website