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The Permanent Secretary for Education, Mr Raymond H C Wong, has received very positive response from key personnel of leading universities in the UK during his week-long promotion on the New Academic Structure of Hong Kong.
Leading a higher education delegation to the UK between June 21 and 24, Mr Wong held constructive meetings with key university admissions officials from 10 leading institutions in the UK including the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and University College London (UCL), and was pleased to note that they are considering positively the possibility of admitting Hong Kong students completing the new Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) for direct entry to their three year undergraduate programmes from 2012.
Oxford was the first to announce on its admission website that it will require three Level 5s in elective subjects, while subjects that require mathematics will need Level 5* in the compulsory part and Level 5 in one of the extended modules. Using the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) tariff, this is comparable to three As in GCE A-levels and may be reviewed in 2011 when Oxford reviews whether it will include an A* in offers for GCE A-levels.
He also welcomed the decision of the UCL in accepting the qualification and confirming its requirements by September this year.
Hosting a meeting among the delegation and key staff of the King's College, Imperial College and London School of Economics, UCL's Vice-Provost Professor Michael Worton said, "Hong Kong students attaining the highest levels in diploma subjects would be considered as having excellent preparation for UCL's undergraduate degree programmes."
"The fact that the HKDSE allows Hong Kong's young people the opportunity to take an additional modern foreign language fully demonstrates the breadth of education that the diploma can offer. This is most valuable and is much appreciated by the UCL," Professor Worton said.
During the visit, Mr Wong also called on the UK Permanent Secretary for Education, Mr David Bell, and had fruitful exchanges with the Permanent Secretary on their experiences in implementing education reforms.
Ends/Monday, June 28, 2010
Issued at HKT 19:19
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