| Heep Yunn School Chinese: 協恩中學 |
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|---|---|
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"In strength and grace we stand united, In faith and love we are committed."
協力藉恩, 信主愛群 |
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| Location | |
| 1 Farm Road, Kowloon Hong Kong |
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| Information | |
| Type | Grant School, secondary |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Christianity - Anglican |
| Established | 1936 |
| Principal | Mr. C.H. Lee |
| Area | 11,000 m2 |
| Newspaper | "Gatherine" Chinese: 聚曦 |
| Yearbook | "Vintage" Chinese: 思齊 |
| Affiliation | Anglican (Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui) |
| Supervisor | The Very Rev. Dr. H.C. Chan |
| Website | http://www.hys.edu.hk |
Heep Yunn School (Chinese 協恩中學) is an Anglican girls' secondary school founded in 1936. It is located in Ma Tau Wai, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Heep Yunn is notable for its students' high academic achievement.[1] The school participates actively in other areas such as music and sports with many successes, such as the Bauhinia Bowl, the overall sports championship among schools in Hong Kong.
Contents |
The founding of Heep Yunn seems to be like a fairy tale. As most of "the Family" know, Heep Yunn was formed by the amalgamation of Fairlea and the Victoria Home, but how this came about was really miraculous. It was the providence of God preparing the way for His children, and as they sought His will in prayer, and were ready to act in obedience to that will, so its fulfillment was expressed in the founding of Heep Yunn School in Kowloon. Founded in 1886, Fairlea was a C.M.S. Vernacular Primary Boarding School aiming to give to children of Chinese Christian parents a sound Chinese education based on religious faith and four Chinese virtues for girls - how to speak, how to work, how to behave and how to dress. The school was temporarily situated on a rocky hillside just below University Path. A little lower down the hill, another CMS Girls' School, St. Stephen's Girls' College, was founded in 1906. This school, also, was in temporary quarters and faced with the problem of inadequacy owing to the site. As a recommendation to amalgamate the girls' schools which had been made previously, the Government offered site large enough to house both Fairlea and St. Stephen's Girls' College. Both schools, however, refused to surrender their names or merge their identities, so no compromise could be found. Meanwhile, a new era had opened for Fairlea. As the number of students increased, more accommodation was required and in 1929 a new east wing was added. It became clear that a good vernacular middle school was a crying need in the colony. Mrs. W. K. Cheung, the first Chinese headmistress of Fairlea, opened middle school classes. Thus, the ever-increasing problem of lack of classrooms was still prevailing. Owing to the expansion of Kowloon City at that time, the Victoria Home and Orphanage, another CMS institution located in the district, were faced with the problem of finding other premises. While everyone in Fairlea and the Victoria Home were puzzling over the lack of space, both the Bishop in Hong Kong and Beatrice Pope in England had the same idea, that Fairlea and the Victoria Home to be united to form a new school. This was undoubtedly the will of God. Mrs. Cheung stipulated - how rightly - that each institution renounced its name and lost its identity in the new school. It was not easy for either school, but believing as they did that it was the will of God, the sacrifice was made, and the lovely new name, chosen by Yee Ching herself, gave a clue to the power by which it was done: " Heep Yunn" -- "United Grace". On 23rd October, 1936, His Excellency Sir Andrew Caldecott, laid the foundation stone of Heep Yunn. Fairlea had just celebrated its Golden Jubilee and the Victoria Home was in its 50th year, and now the two were to be united in one new school, and His Excellency the Governor, Sir A. Caldecott said in his speech:- "The stone, which I have just laid, is not only a foundation for the future but a commemoration of the past and present. It commemorates, may I say, a marriage. Two lives of singular usefulness are to be welded into a broader life of even greater usefulness. This stone is, as it were, the matrimonial altar before which Mr. Fairlea and Miss Victoria Home stand to solemnise their union before God and man; their mutual sacrifice of individual tradition to the call for joint service is exemplified in the surrender by both of their unmarried names. They will henceforth be Mr. and Mrs. Heep Yunn, and they will start their wedded life with the joy and inspiration of each other's Golden Jubilee. God prosper them!". Heep Yunn was born. Blessed be her name.
— Vintage, 1996-97
Over the past few years, Heep Yunn has emerged as one of the fiercest and top competitors in the Drama Festival, debating region and music arena respectively. The Heep Yunn legend is evident at every aspect of her achievement.[2]
In the year 2005-2006, Heep Yunn's Drama Group clinched 6 awards out of 7 in total, whereas the 7th award was for 'Best Actor'. They also received the adjudicator's award, qualifying them for the prestigious Drama Festival finals. As one of the four finalists, HYS's own baby production Love Left..Undone received wide acclaim from both the audience and adjudicators. It was praised as "one of the best dramas ever seen in a few years". The drama group has clinched the top award for three consecutive years.
HYS Chinese and English Debating teams have their equal share of glory. The Chinese Debating team has been crowned the Champions in nearly every prominent Debating and Public speaking competition, whereas the English Debating Team clinched the Championship in the Bar Association Debating Competition as well as the YODAC Inter-school Debating Competition 2006. HYS debaters brought home more than 40 best debater awards in the scholastic year 2008-2009. Together, the debating teams form an invincible arcship, united as one.
The Inter-class Chinese Debating Competition is held every year to cultivate interest for debating among students. Each year, preparation work by the Chinese Debating team was intense and of high-quality, planting the debating seeds in HYS.
Music is also one of the strongest areas of Heep Yunn girls.
The Heep Yunn School Senior Choir captured the "Best Girls Choir of the Year" in the 59th Hong Kong Schools Music Festival (2007), the most coveted award in choral music. In the 61st Hong Kong Song Music Festival, her junior choir also got the "Best Junior Choir of the year" and the full orchestra was awarded the winner among some elite orchestras of the other schools. All of her other choirs and orchestras, among them a mixed choir with Diocesan Boys School, were awarded the top three awards.
Most of her students can play two instruments and are proficient in at least one of them. Many of her students have achieved grade eight standard and a considerable number of them have moved on to diploma level.
Colleen Lee, the renowned pianist, was a graduate of HYS (1997) and pays visits to her alma mater to share her music.
The melody of the school song is the same as the one of another unisex secondary school in Hong Kong, the Queen's College. However their counterpart uses English lyrics while at Heep Yunn Chinese style is applied.
"In strength and grace we stand united,
In faith and love we are committed." 協力藉恩、信主愛群
Being one of the most academically competitive secondary schools in Hong Kong, HYS provides a rigorous curriculum to all of its students. Most students take at least 9 subjects for the HKCEE, and 5 for the HKALE. 96.4% of Upper 6 graduates are admitted to local universities and 3.6% of Upper 6 graduates are admitted to overseas universities.[3] Over the past few years, a number of prestisgious scholarships were awarded to students annually, such as the Sir Edward Youde Scholarship, the Wesleyan Freeman Asian Scholarship, United World College Scholarships and the University of Toronto Hong Kong Scholarships, gaining the students admission to many top-notch world universities, such as Princeton. Heep Yunn girls scored more than 900 Distinctions and Credits at the HKCEE 2008; with ten students scoring 30 points and above.
As of 2010, HYS counts 4 winners of the prestigious Hong Kong Outstanding Students Awards[4], ranking 20th (tied with South Tuen Mun Government Secondary School) among all secondary schools in Hong Kong.
There are sixteen sports teams in HYS.[5] They have brought home their 27th consecutive Bauhinia Bowl (formerly known as the Omega Rose Bowl) in the year 2010-2011. It is awarded annually to the school which achieves the "best all-round performance in all sports events".
The Bauhinia Bowl is the embodiment of the Heep Yunn Spirit.
Interschool competition results (2010–2011):
| Team | Overall result |
|---|---|
| Athletics Team | 2nd runner-up |
| Badminton Team | Champion, Grand Slam |
| Basketball Team | Champion for the 18th consecutive year, Grand Slam |
| Beach Volleyball Team | 1st runner-up |
| Cross Country Team | 1st runner-up |
| Fencing Team | 1st runner-up |
| Handball Team | Champion, Grand Slam |
| Hockey Team | 1st runner-up |
| Life Saving Team | Champion |
| Netball Team | 4th |
| Softball Team | 1st runner-up |
| Squash Team | Champion |
| Swimming Team | 1st runner-up |
| Table Tennis Team | Champion |
| Tennis Team | 1st runner-up |
| Volleyball Team | 1st runner-up |