A City’s Educational Heritage: Stories of Kowloon Schools (Second Edition) (2024)

Kowloon was primed for development when the Convention of Peking was signed in 1860 and Britain occupied Kowloon Peninsula south of Boundary Street and Stonecutters Island. Many foreigners came and resided in Tsim Sha Tsui. The Hung Hom area was home to heavy industries, such as shipyards, cement factories and power plants. Yau Ma Tei was a popular Chinese commercial and residential area where private commercial activities prospered, making it the main gathering place of the Chinese community in the early 20th century. Following World War II, in response to the fast-growing urban sprawl, the government launched reclamation works in Kowloon Bay to develop residential areas and the airport, and Kwun Tong was developed to become Hong Kong’s first satellite city.

Driven by population growth and socio-economic development, the demand for education in Hong Kong surged. School sponsoring bodies based on Hong Kong Island became aware of the emerging education needs on the peninsula and began to broaden their education services across the harbour. Although the cityscape of Kowloon has undergone numerous changes, the earliest roads and historic buildings can still be observed today. We can discern how the old town and the new urban areas have fused, tracing the passage of time within the district. Both continuing and discontinued schools from different eras are situated across Kowloon. They form part of the community’s history and provide proof of the changes in development of the city and its education systems over time.

This book is the second edition of A City’s Educational Heritage: Stories of Kowloon Schools. It provides a comprehensive perspective on the development of education in selected schools in Kowloon and Hong Kong, covering the early urban development of Kowloon and local education history, and including interviews with the school community. Readers are guided through the familiar landscape to revisit landmarks, discover the traces of transformation and recall the school life of earlier decades, including the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, allowing them to develop an understanding of how people, places and events in the district interacted with each other in the context of educational and urban development.

Sample (Courtesy of Chung Hwa Book Co.)

Stronger Together: Stories from Wan Chai, Eastern District and Southern District Schools (2023)

As the vehicle of social development, education has always driven the economy, training people for participation in ever-evolving industries. The history of the development of education highlights the social emergence of different periods. This book chronicles the history of Wan Chai, the Eastern District and the Southern District on Hong Kong Island from three viewpoints – population growth, urban planning and industrial development – giving readers a glimpse of Hong Kong’s development from a small fishing port to a modern metropolis.

After World War II, the government began to focus on urban planning to meet the social development and livelihood needs of Hong Kong’s people. This included starting another land reclamation in Wan Chai and the construction of public housing in the Eastern District and the Southern District to improve the living environment, which also promoted the development of private housing estates. Schools are also necessary community facilities and so were built near public and private housing estates. In addition, to meet urban development needs and improve the teaching environment, many schools originally located in the Central and Western District of Hong Kong Island had to be relocated, and some were moved to Wan Chai, the Eastern District and the Southern District. Urban development and population growth had undoubtedly created a need for additional educational resources in all of the districts of Hong Kong, encouraging the government to build more schools. Furthermore, economic development and social transformation had led to a strong demand for new vocational and technical training.

The writing team for this book visited historic schools in the three districts. Some schools were founded by social leaders or the government, while others were founded or run by various sponsoring bodies, such as enterprises, religious groups and neighbourhood organisations. Each school has its own strengths and characteristics. The stories told by teachers and alumni, and the valuable old photos and cultural relics they provided, recapture the campus and community life of the past and reflect their deep connection with their schools.

Sample (Courtesy of Chung Hwa Book Co.)

Education under the Trees: The Story of Hong Kong Schools in the New Territories and Outlying Islands (2022)

Village schools used to be a common sight throughout the New Territories and outlying islands, offering basic education to children in rural and fishing villages. Following urban development, the number of village schools dropped from the post-WWII peak of more than 800 to less than 20 today. The remaining schools have transformed in various ways to respond to the present demands of school operation and changing educational needs.

This book traces the origin of these schools and the development of education in the New Territories and outlying islands. Drawing from personal interviews, it chronicles the memories and anecdotes of teachers and alumni, portraying what it was like to come of age in the countryside. The book takes readers back to the last century to experience the lives of village school students, at a time when teachers and pupils walked through crisscrossing farmland paths to get to school, when pupils from different year levels shared a classroom, and when after-school activities included helping with the family’s farm or fishing business.

The book also demonstrates how the village schools in the area interacted with the social culture of the wider community. The history and development of the villages are pieced together, illustrating how schooling and teacher education have grown and evolved alongside changes to these communities. It offers an in-depth account of traditional customs and festivities, highlights milestones of educational development in the region, and reports on the present state of these village schools.

Sample (Courtesy of Chung Hwa Book Co.)

A City’s Educational Heritage: Stories of Kowloon Schools (2021)

Kowloon was primed for development when the Convention of Peking was signed between China and Britain in 1860. Amidst the rapid expansion of urban area and growth of population, demand for education also surged. School sponsoring bodies originally based on Hong Kong Island became aware of the emerging education needs on the peninsula and began to broaden their education services across the harbour. While the 1911 Revolution, the establishment of the new republican government, the New Culture Movement, the War of Resistance against Japanese aggression and other major events took place, many intellectuals from mainland China arrived and taught in Hong Kong. Although some of them settled on the island, many mainlanders and schools relocated to different locations in Kowloon.

Time went by, and the world evolved. Even though the cityscape of the Kowloon peninsula has undergone numerous changes, we can still see the earliest roads and historic buildings along Nathan Road, Prince Edward Road, Shanghai Street and Tai Po Road. We can vaguely discern how the old town and new urban areas have fused and thus explore the passage of time within each district. Existing and discontinued schools from different eras are situated across Kowloon. They form part of the community's history and provide proof of the changes in the city and its education over time.

Sample (Courtesy of Chung Hwa Book Co.)

Cradle - Education Now and Then in the Central and Western District (2020)

School Uniform Days: An Illustrated History of School Uniforms in Hong Kong (2019)

Back to Kindergarten: Early Learning in Hong Kong: Past and Present (2018)

For many of us, our years in kindergarten must seem rather distant, yet the memories, good and bad, linger on. To help us recall our collective past, the Hong Kong Museum of Education of EdUHK selects over 150 images of historical value and explores their context with simple but informative text. Starting with the first kindergarten in Hong Kong, the images and texts tell how educational priorities, the training of kindergarten staff and this first school experience have all evolved over time. Together, they cast new light on the distant memories that we all now share.