Trump's Chinese drone issue, Viagra's potential against cancer: 5 weekend reads you missed
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South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
IB 2025: 31 Hong Kong students achieve top scores despite tough maths exam
Despite global outcry over the maths exam, 31 students in Hong Kong have achieved top marks in the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme. More than 2,600 Hong Kong students sat the IB exams, a near 20 per cent increase over the past five years, with the results released on Sunday. The IB exams assess students' knowledge of several core academic subjects and play a key role in their university applications. Kristen Lo Man-yi, 17, was the only student from St Paul's Co-Educational College to achieve a perfect score of 45 in the programme, while eight of her classmates got 44. Kristen, who said she 'didn't expect this [result] at all', thanked her friends and classmates for their support throughout the two-year slog. IB top scorers share study tips for exam success 'I think the IB is like a marathon, and so I think a lot of work is actually continuous because we have to test two years' worth of knowledge,' she said. 'So I think making sure that every step of the way you're doing the right preparation, such as making notes and all that … makes the lead-up to the final stretch before exams much easier to handle.' While Kristen did not specifically cite a subject that caused her difficulty, she said that the consensus among her peers was that the maths exam was much tougher than expected, a sentiment that aligned with other students' experiences around the world. 'We usually prepare [for maths] through doing past papers, and the level of difficulty [in this year's exam] was definitely significantly different,' she said. Kristen Lo (second from the right) was the only student from St Paul's Co-Educational College to achieve a perfect score of 45. Photo: Sam Tsang Kristen said she believed that IB assessors had made adjustments to the grade boundary to compensate. More than 25,000 students across the world have signed a petition to lower the grade boundaries for the maths subject on the grounds that it was too difficult. Belinda Ng, the IB coordinator for St Paul's Co-Educational College, agreed with Kristen that the maths grade boundaries were likely to have been 'adjusted accordingly'. 'I think what the students reflected is a pretty fair assessment of how they felt, as well as how the paper matched up with their abilities,' Ng said. 'Overall, I think it's true. A lot of people across the globe did express the same concerns.' Ng added that the maths papers could have undergone 'some internal moderation', but noted that it was always hard to predict the difficulty level for each year's exams. Kristen, meanwhile, is still debating whether to stay in Hong Kong to attend a local university or jet off to the United Kingdom, but she said she wanted to study medicine. 'No matter where I go, I'm definitely going to come back to Hong Kong and be a healthcare professional,' she said. Two of the city's top scorers came from the Canadian International School of Hong Kong. Singapore International School (Hong Kong) and Independent Schools Foundation Academy also each had one pupil achieving 45 points. Students from institutions under the English Schools Foundation (ESF) accounted for 15 of the city's best performers, while another three came from Diocesan Boys' School (DBS) and five came from Victoria Shanghai Academy. Students from institutions under the English Schools Foundation (ESF) accounted for 15 of Hong Kong's best performers. Photo: May Tse Schools affiliated with the Po Leung Kuk charity also said three of their students had achieved full marks. Po Leung Kuk Ngan Po Ling College produced two top scorers. Another top scorer came from Po Leung Kuk Choi Kai Yau School. One of DBS' perfect scorers, 18-year-old Nicholas Ko Kin-fung, said he was elated to learn about his results. 'I felt very grateful for all the preparation the school gave me, and I want to thank my teachers and my classmates who gave me confidence during the exams,' he said. Classmate and fellow top scorer Eric Tsang Cheuk-kin, 18, said: 'I think the score is a reward for my years of hard work. I want to thank myself and the organisation.' Both Tsang and the school's third top student, Jeffrey Chiang Shing-hun, also 18, said they planned to study medicine in Hong Kong and hoped to contribute to the city. Make HKDSE, IB, or any exam less scary: 12 simple study tips to level up your grades Ko said he would study maths and computer science at the University of Oxford, as he believed that universities in the UK were more intensive than those in Hong Kong, allowing him to focus more deeply on his chosen field. 'Of course, studying abroad doesn't necessarily mean I'll stay overseas. I'm also considering returning to work in Hong Kong after graduation,' he said. Chun Ip-wang, 17, and Carlyn Ho Jai-lin, 18, were two of the five students from Victoria Shanghai Academy to receive full marks. Upon receiving the call from his school with the results, Ip-wang said he was 'very emotional' and 'speechless'. 'It was very rewarding, because I had spent so much time studying for the exams, and during study break, I worked really hard across all six subjects,' he said. Ip-wang said he had secured an offer from the University of Hong Kong to study a double degree programme that awarded a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Research. How to take notes in class that will actually help you learn and remember the details As for Ho, she felt 'surprised but also really happy' upon receiving her scores and knowing that all of her hard work had paid off. Ho said she planned to study at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she would study molecular, cell and developmental biology for a pre-medicine track. She added that she hoped to go to medical school in the United States or Canada and become a doctor. Isaac Wan Hong-long, 18, one of the top scorers at Po Leung Kuk Ngan Po Ling College, said he planned to study computer science at the University of Toronto and work in the field of artificial intelligence. He added that he found the maths paper to be hard this year, as the questions required students to think a little more outside the box. 'After doing almost 10 to 15 years' worth of maths past papers, I would say this year's exam was actually a bit harder, but still quite on a par with the IB level,' he said.
South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump's Chinese drone issue, Viagra's potential against cancer: 5 weekend reads you missed
We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing
South China Morning Post
17 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Chinese naval officers praise Hong Kong visitors – and feeling is mutual
Naval officers on Chinese warships visiting Hong Kong have praised residents touring their vessels for their behaviour and warmth, while revealing that they had enjoyed some local delicacies in neighbourhood cafes and were impressed by the city's beauty and prosperity. The officers proved to be popular photo subjects for residents enjoying a rare opportunity to sing and dance with them on the second and final day of the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong's public opening on Sunday. The fleet, comprising the Shandong and three other warships in its strike group, will leave Hong Kong on Monday. Major Peng Qian of the PLA Navy told the media on Sunday that the guides' introductions on the fleet had received warm responses from Hongkongers. 'What impressed me most was how high-quality and hospitable they are. After every explanation, our guides received warm applause from the Hong Kong public,' Peng said. 'I also saw many Hong Kong residents write wonderful messages on our message board, mostly wishing our motherland well in defence and the navy's continued development. All of this deeply touched me.' A fighter jet is the backdrop for a visitor's photo with a crew member. Photo: Xinhua Another PLA Navy major, Zha Xiawei, said many young children from Hong Kong had shown a real passion for national defence.
