Marymount Secondary School

History

Marymount has been ranked amongst the best secondary schools in Hong Kong, with students known to be strong in academics, music and sports etc.

The School, originally known as Holy Spirit School, was founded by the Maryknoll Sisters, an American religious order, on 10 January 1927 in Hong Kong. Back then, the school was on Robinson Road in Central Mid-levels. There were only 8 classes of students sharing four tiny classrooms. In the 1930s, the school moved to a slightly larger building in Caine Road. There were seven classrooms, but conditions were still cramped by today’s standards. By 1941, the school was offering a complete course leading to matriculation, and so was one of only a small handful of schools at that time which prepared girls for university.

In 1941, Japanese forces invaded and occupied Hong Kong. The school was closed until 1948. When the school reopened, Hong Kong was facing a new challenge as many thousands of immigrants were pouring across the border to escape the civil war on the mainland. Marymount rose to this challenge by offering places to as many girls as it could.

As the school continued to expand, a new building with better facilities became necessary. In October 1957, the school moved to its present location on the wooded slopes near the top of Blue Pool Road, overlooking Happy Valley. At the same time, it was renamed Maryknoll Sisters’ School. Initially, the building housed both Secondary and Primary Sections, but in 1961 the Primary School was relocated to the premises at Tai Hang Road, directly above the secondary school. During the school year 1978–79, the Maryknoll Sisters handed over the sponsorship of the school to the Columban Sisters.

In September 1983, the name of the school was changed to Marymount. Throughout its history the school campus had also been home to a convent, with the nun’s dormitories housed on the fourth floor and the site of the library originally being a chapel. It was only in 1993 that the nuns vacated their premises in order to make more room for the ever-growing student population.

In 1991, Mrs. Nancy Wong became the school’s first Chinese principal, and the first principal who was not a member of a religious order. In 1996, the Columban Sisters initiated the transfer of the sponsorship of the school to the Christian Life Community(CLC), the process of which was completed by September 1997. The CLC is an international Catholic lay community with a keen interest in education and commitment to the service of youth, and which receives spiritual guidance from the Jesuits of Wah Yan College, Hong Kong. The CLC has pledged to preserve the same school spirit, foster the traditions and continue to provide quality education at Marymount.

Mrs. Wong oversaw the school’s transition from being managed by the Columban Sisters to being managed by the Hong Kong Christian Life Community. The CLC is a Catholic lay community which works to support education and the needs of young people,

The Secondary School operated up to 29 classes with over 1000 students until 1998, offering arts, science and social disciplines up to Form 7. With the restructuring of the school, the total number of classes is at 26 by the 2003. The Primary School operates 24 classes and has about 900 students.

In 2003 Mrs. Wong retired and the post of principal was taken up by Ms. Veronica Ma. Upon Ms. Ma's retirement in 2014, the former principal of Marymount Primary School, Mrs. Julie Ma, was appointed as the principal of Marymount Secondary School.

Over the years, many generations of girls have received an education at Marymount, and the Primary and Secondary School together now accommodate nearly 2000 students.

Annual Production

The students of Marymount Secondary School perform a drama and/or musical production every year and these are some of the productions.

Houses

There are four houses to which students and teachers are randomly assigned.

Each house is headed by a House Committee and 2 Teacher Advisors, the House Committee includes a House Captain, two Vice-Captains, a Cheering Leader and 7 form representatives (2 for S.1 and 1 for S.2-6) who are elected by students. Every year, students compete in inter-house events, such as the annual Sports Day and Swimming Gala. Scores would be counted at the end of the Academic Year, and the house with the highest scores would be the Champion of the Year. These events aim to uphold the sense of belonging of all the students of Marymount Secondary School.

Curriculum

English is the medium of instruction for all subjects except Chinese Language, Chinese Literature, Putonghua and Chinese History. In forms one and two, there will be no exam instead of a Test named Common Test twice each academic year. A modular system is adopted in order to facilitate project-based learning and critical thinking. In senior forms, students prepare for the HKDSE and select subjects from option blocks. French is also offered.

Student council

Marymount has an elected Student Council which promotes student welfare and acts as a channel of communication between the school and the student body as well as organising a range of activities throughout the year. Students can take part in the Student Council (colloquially known as the "SC") as elected class representatives in the role of Spokesman or Councillor, or as the Executive Board's Chairlady, Vice-Chairlady, ECA Coordinator, Service Coordinator, Sports Coordinator, Secretary, Treasurer or Public Relations Officer. The Executive Board members are nominated by students, and elected by the students. The Spokesman and the Councillor of each class are elected by its own class members.

Talent Quest The Student Council would be organising various events, and the highlight of each year would be the Talent Quest, colloquially known as "TQ". Each year, there would be a theme for the Talent Quest. Guest singers are also invited to perform every year. Student entries are divided into different Categories:

There will be heats and semi-finals, then the finalists would perform on stage on the final Talent Quest. The teacher would be playing the role of adjudicators, and will announce the winners that day.

Themes of recent Talent Quests are:

Extra Curricular Activities

Clubs

There will be an ECA period every Day 5. Students can choose 1 club that they are interested in each group to participate. Students can also not join any of the ECA Clubs.

Group 1

Academic Club

Visual & Performing Arts Clubs

Group 2

Interest Clubs-

Teams

Community Service Groups

Pastoral Care Service Groups

Service Groups

Notable alumnae