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The Education Bureau (EDB) has set up an exhibition gallery at the Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre to showcase the brilliant performance of Hong Kong students in national and international competitions. The gallery, named the Young Achievers' Gallery (YAG), was officially opened by the Secretary for Education, Mr Michael Suen, today (December 6).
Speaking at the YAG launch ceremony, Mr Suen said that the purpose of the gallery was to eulogise the outstanding achievements of Hong Kong students and their perseverance and learning spirit, and to pay tribute to parents and teachers who have supported and nurtured them.
"In recent years, the overall quality of Hong Kong students is on the rise. The recently released findings of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2006, a survey of 57 countries/regions, showed that Hong Kong's 15-year-old students' scientific, reading and mathematical literacy ranked in the world's top three.
"Moreover, the findings of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006 released last week showed that Hong Kong Primary Four students ranked second among 45 participating jurisdictions.
"We are gratified to know that besides a rise in the overall performance of students, individual students also have outstanding achievements in different areas.
"In the past six years, Hong Kong students have won 22 gold, 69 silver and 119 bronze medals and many novice awards and awards of merit in national and international mathematics and science competitions. One of our students was among the top five Go players in a world Go competition.
"One student, at the age of 10, beat more than 100 pianists from 45 countries and areas in an international competition for young pianists in Germany last year. We also have two students whose paintings won the highest honours in a United Nations art competition and have been featured on stamps. Hong Kong people should be proud of the students' brilliant performance in academic, creative art and other areas."
The achievements of the students are grouped under seven domains in the permanent exhibition in the YAG - Arts, Design, Languages and Humanities, Mathematics, Sports, Science and Technology, and Thinking.
The main attractions of the exhibition include 180-degree high-definition film and mini-documentaries featuring the outstanding students, interactive games and a database containing over 3,000 records of the students' achievements.
The gallery is located at the Education Bureau Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre, Podium Level, 19 Suffolk Road, Kowloon Tong. It will be open to the public from Monday (December 10). The opening hours are from 10am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday. Advanced booking for group visits (for a maximum of 40 people per session) can be made through the hotline 3698 3489 or by fax at 2490 6858. For details, please visit the gallery website at www.edb.gov.hk/yag.
Ends/Thursday, December 6, 2007
Issued at HKT 15:46
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