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Hong KongEducation

Few takers as St Paul’s Secondary School in Hong Kong opens doors for Form Six pupils to take farewell photos in olive branch after furore

  • Part of school in Happy Valley was open between 3pm and 5pm on Friday for all Form Six pupils to take memorable campus photos
  • That was after the school called police on pupils taking farewell photos last week

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St Paul’s Secondary School in Happy Valley held a special event to allow pupils to take farewell photos. Photo: Sam Tsang
Su Xinqi
Graduating Form Six pupils of an elite girls’ school in Hong Kong have snubbed an open-day event meant as a conciliatory gesture by management after teachers called police on students taking farewell photos last week.
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Part of St Paul’s Secondary School in Happy Valley was opened between 3pm and 5pm on Friday for all Form Six pupils to take memorable campus photos. However, none of the dozens of girls going in and out of the school gates within the two hours identified themselves as one of the 135 would-be graduates.

The arrangement was meant as an olive branch, extended by the school to pupils and parents after a controversial incident last Thursday. Pupils were taking photos around the school and just outside its grounds on the final day before they embarked on a month-long break to prepare for the coming public examination.
The school opened its doors for two hours for Form Six girls to return. Photo: Sam Tsang
The school opened its doors for two hours for Form Six girls to return. Photo: Sam Tsang

But police were called in and photos of officers and pupils at the school gate went viral on social media. At least 13 complaints were lodged with the Education Bureau within one day. The school later explained that a teacher called police “out of concern for the pupils’ safety”.

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On Friday afternoon, a Form Two student said a teacher told her not to fully believe media reports on the incident. “My teacher said the reports might be different from what actually happened, and that we should not exaggerate it,” she added.

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