CUHK Lives and Legends

33 weather became a matter of heated controversy. While the British believe it should proceed barring heavy downpours, Chinese parents opined that any outdoor activity should be scrapped even in a light drizzle lest their children would catch a cold. ‘Another burning issue was discipline. Northern Chinese, in particular, thought nothing of boys fighting in school and found it hard to comprehend why the British were so ready to impose heavy punishment on those involved, even to the extent of expelling them from school.’ Jacqueline has derived a huge sense of accomplishment from the transformations she witnessed in her students. ‘Many children were shy and feeble when they joined our school initially. Some could not even lift a basketball. But after two or three years, they changed into completely different persons, who loved sports, appreciated music, were able to communicate fluently with their British tutors and took the initiative to ask questions on diverse occasions. They have become vastly different from other secondary students in spirit and character.’ Within five short years, Jacqueline expanded the presence of Malvern College on the mainland, from Qingdao to Chengdu. In 2015, she secured from the Hong Kong Government a land grant to establish a new flagship campus in Tai Po. Opened in September 2018, Malvern College Hong Kong is providing education from primary to upper secondary levels.    While it’s implausible to build student hostels in land-scarce Hong Kong, Jacqueline pushes for the implementation of a house system at Malvern College Hong Kong so as to continue the British boarding school tradition. ‘At lunch time every day, the students return to their respective houses where they eat and chat with their teachers and housemates. Communal dining is arranged for senior students on a regular basis. With dinner over, they join their housemates to do their homework together as this will strengthen their sense of camaraderie and cohesiveness.’ Such arrangements call to mind CUHK’s college system. Jacqueline professed that it was inspired by her own collegiate experience. ‘Back in my CUHK days, I took residence in Xuesi Hall, a female hostel at New Asia College. This enabled me to form lasting friendships with those who stayed in the same hostel. All these years, we have stayed in touch and witnessed how each other established their careers and formed their families. If CUHK had not run the college system, students like us would not have fostered such close emotional bonds among themselves.’ Besides continuing to improve the three overseas campuses of Malvern College, Jacqueline also hopes to spread the whole-person education concept and its practices to more secondary schools on the mainland. ‘Secondary students are at a most impressionable age as their characters and values are formed during this critical period. I hope more mainland students and parents will realize that learning is not equivalent to chasing high academic scores. Exploring the world and learning more about oneself constitute the best preparation for the life ahead.’ c c Malvern College Qingdao established in 2012 c c Inspired by her own collegiate experience at CUHK, Jacqueline So introduces the house system to Malvern College Hong Kong