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Five secondary students will represent Hong Kong at the 39th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) to be held in Vietnam from July 20 to 29, 2008.
They are student members of the "Support Measures for the Exceptionally Gifted Students Scheme" under the Education Bureau (EDB) and prize-winners of the Hong Kong Physics Olympiad (HKPhO) in 2007. They have undergone a 12-month training programme and passed a series of tests before being selected to participate in this international competition.
More than 70 five-member teams from various countries and regions will take part in this year's IPhO, which aims at enhancing the development of international contacts in physics education and providing more exposure to the international arena for students with high potential in physics.
Speaking about the brilliant performance of Hong Kong gifted students in international competitions at the HKPhO prize presentation and IPhO flag presentation ceremony today (July 12), the Deputy Secretary for Education, Mr Chris Wardlaw, said the successful implementation of gifted education could only be realised by a broad and flexible curriculum framework; excellent resource materials; identification tools for school teachers; effective teaching for nurturing giftedness within schools through professional training; and by forging partnerships with universities and other non-government organisations in running gifted programmes outside the school gate.
"Our present priorities are to expand the expertise in gifted education and build capacity among frontline educators and parents to identify and nurture talents. The ambit of gifted education is extended from narrow conceptions held previously. Every student has great potential."
Mr Wardlaw also presented the flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to Prof Yang Zhi-yu, leader of the Hong Kong IPhO team, to signify Hong Kong's participation in this world-class event.
Other officiating guests were the Executive Director of the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education, Dr Stephen Tommis; the Dean of Science of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), Prof Cheng Shiu-yuen; and a representative of the Physical Society of Hong Kong, Prof Ong Hock-chun.
Dr Tommis noted that students who achieve excellence are often the most well-rounded. He said: "They are the ones with a highly developed sense of their relationships between themselves and the world around them; they are the ones for whom mediocrity is never good enough; they are the ones who have learned the value of hard work, tenacity, determination, and commitment."
Meanwhile, prizes were also presented to the outstanding contestants in the HKPhO, jointly organised in May this year by the Hong Kong Physics Olympiad Committee which comprised representatives from the EDB, the Physical Society of Hong Kong and the HKUST.
Twenty student participants won the First Honour in the HKPhO while 39 and 45 obtained the Second Honour and Third Honour respectively. Twenty-five were awarded the Honourable Mention. There was also a Best School Award for the 10 best performing schools in the contest, based on the total marks of the top five students of each school.
The HKPhO Committee will organise a series of structured physics enhancement programmes for the high achieving S4 and S5 students in the HKPhO and provide professional development training for their teachers. Outstanding students of the programme will be selected to represent Hong Kong in the 40th IPhO to be held in Mexico in July 2009.
Ends/Saturday, July 12, 2008
Issued at HKT 17:04
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