St. Paul's Convent (聖保祿學校)

WYmom

Anyone has kids studying in St. Paul's Convent or got accepted by this school?  Is it very difficult to get in?  What are their strength?  How did they do interviews?  Pls share.

Many many thanks.

Vernique2005

Hey WYmom:

You want to send your girl there?  It's actually not a bad school at all! (Perhaps, what you're going to read below could be the most subjective opinions given, as I was actually from there!!)  I've also got one tutoring student from this school right now, so I'll try my best to tell you what it's like, ok?

In terms of school culture, hahaha, you'll find the girls there quite assertive.  When I was there, there was once a "tragic" event that happened between QC and BPS where several young boys from QC were teasing a few girls and made them cry...The headmistress of BPS was furious, so she called up the headmaster of QC....
At the end, all QC boys who were below F3 are not allowed to go out for dinner....    (This meants more MacDonald's seats for us! Yeah!)

When this event (or rumour) got to our ears, we were so relieved... My friend suggested that it's good that the QC boys didn't tease girls from our school.  Otherwise, it could easily end up in a FIGHT, and students from both schools will be in trouble...

In terms of the interview process, I believe it's something like group interview & book report (one English, one Chinese).  It's not that easy to get into the school.  However, if you're from international schools/foreign countries, your chance of being admitted tends to be higher....

I would say that this school is not on top of the pyramid, but it's certainly a good one.

WYmom

Vernique2005,

Thanks a lot for your advice.  Yes, I know that this school is not the same tier as St. Paul Co-ed or DGS, but I know where my girl stands (around mid band 1), and her English is good, so may have chance ... (I hope).

Can you tell me a bit more about the strength of SPC girls (music or sports etc)?  How is the reading atmosphere?  Is it very traditional or more open-minded?  Are the girls competing vigorously like DGS girls?   What's the overall culture?

Sorry for so many questions.  Many thanks for your kind help.

Vernique2005

WYmom:

Seriously, girls from SPCS are far less competitive than those in DGS. I'd say that it's because the school stands between traditional & American schools. (You need to work, but you won't be overwhelmed.) I tend to believe that the overall culture of SPCS is closer to St. Paul Co-ed than to DGS.  A friend of mine is from Co-ed, and she said it's not that competitive as well.  

Students from this school are free to do what they want.  The sister once told us that rules are not needed if you know how to behave, then rules are just like the handle bars that protect students from falling.  This tells you something about the school's teaching, does it?

The strengths of SPCS girls are quite diverse, but the reading atmosphere is certainly strong.  There's one thing that I need to remind you though, the Chinese teaching in SPCS is weaker than its English teaching. Some of my former classmates told me that they got A for English HKCEE but just managed to pass their Chinese..

As for English texts, I think the school has now switched to texts by foreign publishers (Australian/American ones).  (This should be the same for St. Paul's Secondary in Happy Valley)

WYmom

Vernique2005,

Thanks very much for your sharing.  This fits exactly for my girl as she likes reading very much, but doesn't want to join schools with fierce competition.  For Chinese, I just hope to keep her learning it instead of dropping it.   I trust that SPC is a good school and hope we can get it.