Rosaryhill students battle to save their school

Almost 50 Rosaryhill School students have called on the SAR administration to provide a building to keep their school alive.

They also urged authorities to review the school's situation with its sponsoring body's decision to stop running the establishment in the 2025/26 academic year.

And Secretary for Education Choi Yuk-lin said yesterday there was concern about the emotional states of students and hoped the sponsoring body would communicate with all concerned.

The sponsor, the Dominican Mission, announced last month a merger of Rosaryhill's private kindergarten and primary school with private operation Dalton School Hong Kong, while closing the aided secondary section in the Mid-Levels.

In a video 49 students said: "President Xi Jinping said that Hong Kong's future lies in the hands of youngsters. The future of students in Rosaryhill is in the hands of the government. We hope Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu will pay attention to our future and give us a chance."

Student Anselm said teachers, students and parents were shocked when they learnt the Dominican Mission was giving up, saying: "We understand the difficulties of the sponsoring body, but we cannot and are not willing to accept it."

He also said that he was saddened that more than 400 secondary school students would not be able to continue their studies in a stable environment and that junior secondary students would have to transfer to other places.

He described the school as a "second home" for students and cited last year's policy address by the chief executive about "young people are Hong Kong's future We have to create opportunities for our children to develop and flourish."

The students want authorities to provide a new school building for the more than 400 secondary school students to enable them to "learn in a familiar and stable environment under the guidance of familiar teachers."

Speaking after a forum at the Education University of Hong Kong yesterday, Choi said the bureau has maintained close communication and liaison with the Dominican Mission to ensure the interests of students are accorded the highest priority.