'Resilient' new IB stars emerge

Ninety-three Hong Kong students from 15 schools have achieved top scores in the International Baccalaureate this year - 37 fewer than last year.

A total of 2,213 students in Hong Kong took the IB exam in May - 20 more than last year - as more than 173,800 students around the world sat the assessment - 3,200 more than last year.

Seven schools under the English Schools Foundation saw 36 top scorers with full marks of 45. They were Island School, King George V School, Sha Tin College, South Island School, West Island School, Discovery School and Renaissance College.

St Paul's Co-educational College in Mid-Levels saw 12 top scorers and 17 students obtain 44 points, with 14 achieving 43 points.

Five top scorers who received full marks were from Diocesan Boys' School in Mong Kok.

Po Leung Kuk Choi Kai Yau School in Sham Shui Po and Canadian International School of Hong Kong in Aberdeen each had four top scorers.

Singapore International School in Aberdeen had three full-marks top scorers, while the Hong Kong Chinese Christian Churches Union Logos Academy in Tseung Kwan O and Yew Chung International School in Kowloon Tong each had two top scorers. Victoria Shanghai Academy in Aberdeen also had one student with full marks.

The average score of Hong Kong students was 38.36 points out of 45 - slightly lower than last year's 38.93 - but it surpassed the global average of 31.98.

"IB students in Hong Kong have demonstrated resilience, adaptability and commitment to their learning," said Olli-Pekka Heinonen, director general of the International Baccalaureate. "The IB is deeply grateful to educators who have supported our students along the way throughout their learner journey."

Due to the pandemic, the IB made adjustments to learning, teaching and assessment for the exams. It also prepared a contingency plan to award grades without written exams.

"The impact of the pandemic on students was deeply considered throughout the grade-awarding process and appropriate grade boundaries were set to account for the disruption to education," the IB said in a statement.

"A review of results was undertaken to ensure the IB mitigated the disruption students face."

Last year, the SAR saw a record of 130 full-mark top scorers, which sparked comments of "grade inflation" of the IB exam. In 2020, the exam was canceled due to the pandemic while some papers had been canceled in the 2021 and 2022 exams. The assessment is expected to return to normal from next year.

St Paul's top scorers included five who plan to study abroad and five wishing to go to medical schools in Hong Kong. The remaining two said they have yet to decide.

St Paul's student Audrey Chow Kei-yin, 17, who received 44 points, said she plans to study law at the University of Cambridge.

Chow said she is interested in argumentative subjects as she has taken part in English debating competitions and mock trials.

"Debates can train my critical thinking and sensitivity to current affairs," she said.

Chow was awarded best speaker at the 36th Sing Tao Inter-School Debating Competition last year.

Chow said she was happy with her IB results as she had studied hard.

"You have to find your own learning style you think is the most comfortable and don't just copy other people's methods," she said.

"For me, since many subjects I study are essay-based I spent more time on writing essay plans," she said.

Asked if the epidemic had affected her studies, Chow said she was perturbed as she could not do the mock exam in school in April. "But I think our confidence should not be shaken by these external and uncontrollable factors," Chow said.

Meanwhile, among the 18 students from Diocesan Boys' School who received a full score or 44 points, only five said they plan to study in medical schools in Hong Kong. The rest intend to study overseas.

sophie.hui@singtaonewscorp.com