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Schools in Tai Po resumed classes in phases on Monday following last week’s five-alarm blaze at Wang Fuk Court, with some campuses reopening physically and others continuing with online lessons as students and teachers adjust to the aftermath.
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At the Hong Kong and Kowloon Kaifong Women’s Association Sun Fong Chung College, which resumed face-to-face classes this morning, a Secondary Four student said her emotions have gradually stabilized after the traumatic incident.
She recalled feeling deeply unsettled during the fire but has since tried to avoid watching too much news to redirect her attention. She hopes the school will provide emotional support for students affected by the disaster.
Several schools, however, have opted to continue online teaching.
S.K.H. Yuen Chen Maun Chen Primary School in Kwong Fuk Estate switched to virtual classes today. According to its website, students will work with online learning materials and worksheets, followed by special online learning activities and homeroom periods in the afternoon. The school remains open to look after children whose parents need childcare support.
A Kwong Fuk Estate resident dropping off her children at the school this morning said she relied on the school’s temporary childcare services because she needed to return to work. She noted that her children were coping well emotionally and preferred to have them in a learning environment with tutors guiding their homework.
She added that some graduates of the school were among those affected by the fire and hoped the school might consider fundraising and offering counseling support during class periods.
Principal Dung Yi-ping said staff members hoped to resume normal operations as soon as possible, but road closures had disrupted school bus and private car access to the campus. Students would need to walk a certain distance to reach the school, raising safety concerns.
She said the school would wait for clearer arrangements from authorities before deciding when to resume full in-person classes.
Secondary schools weigh safety, readiness, and emotional needs
CCC Fung Leung Kit Memorial Secondary School, which had been used as a temporary shelter last week, saw staff returning to campus this morning.
Principal Wong Wai-shan said students attended online lessons in the morning, with the afternoon reserved for teachers to check in on their well-being and follow up on concerns.
She added that the school needed to assess its facilities and overall readiness, as well as consider students’ emotional state and the transportation needs of cross-boundary pupils. A special meeting will be held to determine when face-to-face classes can safely resume. “We hope to resume classes as soon as possible,” she said.
Wong noted that because the situation remained uncertain last week, the school had already arranged for online classes for the entire week. Although the government returned the school premises on Saturday night and assisted with cleaning, she said the school must be confident that all conditions are suitable before reopening.
She added that class teachers, counseling staff, and social workers had contacted all students by phone after the incident to ensure emotional support. “The current situation is manageable,” she said.
Students temporarily relocated to other campuses
More than 150 students from Tai Po Baptist Public School, which is located within the cordoned-off area, walked with teachers to NTWJWA Christian Remembrance of Grace Primary School in Tai Yuen Estate for classes this morning.
Au Yeung Wing-yan, principal of the host school, said her campus would lend unused classrooms to accommodate 10 classes of Primary Four and Primary Six students this week, with more than 20 counselors deployed to assist.
Students from the two schools will occupy different classrooms and floors, and parents have been notified of the arrangements.
As for future plans, she said the school would remain in close communication with the Education Bureau and Tai Po Baptist Public School and provide support wherever possible.
Meanwhile, PLK Lau Chun Kindergarten in Kwong Fuk Estate said it had already resumed in-person classes.
Tai Po District Association of Secondary School Heads chairman Kwok Wing-keung said schools across the district had resumed classes in various formats.
He noted that both teachers and students were already familiar with online learning from the pandemic period, and the Education Bureau would coordinate the use of space in other campuses to help displaced schools resume lessons.
The priority, he said, is helping affected students return to normal learning routines under the care of teachers.
Speaking on a radio program, Kwok said schools have long-standing crisis-response mechanisms.
After the incident, schools immediately contacted students in the area to ensure their safety, and some arranged homeroom periods for students to process their emotions.
He said schools would continue monitoring students’ emotional well-being and, when needed, arrange support from social workers or psychologists.
The Education Bureau will allocate a “special incident support grant” to each school in Tai Po, though Kwok noted that schools have not yet decided how to use the funds.
The immediate focus, he said, is providing emergency financial assistance to affected families, followed by professional emotional support where needed.
