Three fight very long odds to continue on chosen journey

Adelyn Lau

Disability and serious illness did not stop some students from achieving good results.

Three students from Hong Kong Red Cross Princess Alexandra School in Lam Tin scored above 20 points in their best five subjects despite having serious genetic conditions.

Pang Ching-ka, who has cerebral palsy, fulfilled the conditional offer requirements from the University of Hong Kong by getting 25 points in his best five subjects, including the highest level, 5**, in business, accounting and financial studies.

Pang said his biggest challenge is the inability to be seated for a long time due to hypotonia and his writing speed is slower than other able-bodied students. He also has to stretch and relax his hands and leg muscles after studying for hours.

Pang said he is interested in numbers and wants to be an accountant.

"Life is like a game, where the score, though important, isn't the ultimate prize, but the valuable experiences gathered along the way," he said.

His classmate, Lai Kwan-yi, who has spinal muscular atrophy, also scored 25 points, including a 5** in Chinese language.

Lai, who aspires to be a children's book illustrator, said during exam preparation she played a recording of herself reading articles out loud while exercising and showering to familiarize herself.

Yau Wing-yi, who has muscular dystrophy, received a conditional offer from Lingnan University. She scored 20 points in her best five subjects and attained a level five in economics.

Driven by a heartfelt desire to give back, she wants to become a psychologist and help people with mental health issues.

Because of limited study time compared to other students, Yau said she used an iPad to work on practice papers to reduce time on turning pages.

Meanwhile, teachers of Christian Zheng Sheng College on Lantau, which had ceased operation earlier this month, handed out report cards to five students in Tsuen Wan MTR station.

One student, Edward Chung, got 12 points across six subjects, including a level three in English as well as level two in Chinese and mathematics. Chung hopes to be admitted to a diploma course for social work at Polytechnic University and one day "help youngsters in need."

adelyn.lau@singtaonewscorp.com