Carmel Secondary School sees first-ever HKDSE top scorer

Tsang Chi-pang from Carmel Secondary School is one of the eight top scorers in this year’s university entrance examinations. He is also the first top scorer his school has ever produced.  

Tsang scored 5** in all of his core subjects, as well as in his electives, including accounting, economics, physics, and the extended mathematics module, making him one of the four “super top scorers.”  

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday morning as he returned to the campus to receive his results, Tsang said he wanted to thank his parents for all their support.  

Tsang plans on studying Quantitative Finance and Risk Management Science at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. 

He noted his grades are better than expected, adding that he has no plans to emigrate because he feels a sense of belonging to Hong Kong, and all his friends and family are in Hong Kong.  

The “super top scorer” said the Covid pandemic stressed him a lot, not to mention being trapped at home. However, Tsang said joining the school choir, listening to slow music, and exercising regularly are ways to help him relieve the stress. He even sang a verse of a hymn "Unreserved Love."

Sharing with reporters how he prepared for the exams, Tsang said he studied eight hours a day and used past papers for revision. He also said he did not attend any tutorial classes.  

Meanwhile, Tsang recalled the time when he caught Covid in February and couldn’t study due to the disease. He said he had to slowly ease back into his eight-hour-a-day studying method, starting with two to three hours a day and then slowly adding on. 

As he is about to enter a new chapter of his young life, Tsang lamented the loss of many social opportunities due to the Covid pandemic. He said he is sad that he missed out on the fun and adventure of senior year school trips and didn’t get the opportunity to develop deeper bonds with his school friends.