Noting the surge in demand for school places, Brother Aimar Sauron (1873–1945), the director of St Joseph's, realised that a new school building was necessary. He acquired a 10-acre (4.0-hectare) hilly plot near Prince Edward Road as a site for the new La Salle College on 23 April 1928, for a sum of HK$120,000. The site was immediately north of the city boundary (i.e., in New Kowloon); that section of Boundary Street was not yet a formal road when the school site was bought, which was only gazetted in 1929. An annex was also built in January 1938, which later became the first La Salle Primary School building.[16]
On 5 November 1930, Sir William Peel, then Governor of Hong Kong, laid the foundation stone of the new building. By 3 December 1931, the work on the building and the playgrounds was sufficiently advanced to allow the opening of eight classes for 303 pupils, under the management of five Brothers from St Joseph's and four assistant masters from the Chatham Road Branch School.[17]
Replacing the junior school, La Salle College was formally inaugurated on 6 January 1932.[18] Seven Brothers, headed by Brother Aimar as director, took over.[citation needed] A few days later 40 boarders occupied the quarters to the west of the building. There were then 540 students in 14 classes. About one-third of the students had European (mostly Portuguese) connection.
World War II
Brother Aimar was the principal of the school for its first seven years. The students were offered matriculation examinations, the laboratories were constructed, four tennis courts and a full-sized football pitch were built, and the statue of St John Baptist de La Salle that now stands in front of the college was erected. The number of students increased to 805 in 1935 and 1,060 in 1939.
In 1939, La Salle College was affected when World War II commenced in Europe. On 3 September 1939, Britain declared war on Germany, and the British War Department in Hong Kong designated the La Salle College campus as an internment camp for German nationals arrested in Hong Kong that same day.[19] Those interned included the German engineer Gerhard Neumann. The internment camp was run for approximately eight months, during which time the Brothers organised classes in morning and afternoon sessions in the College Annex across the road (the building which was to become La Salle Primary School in 1957).
On 8 December 1941, the Japanese attacked Hong Kong, and the school building was again taken over by the British Military, this time as a relief hospital.[20] After the surrender of Hong Kong on Christmas Day 1941, the Japanese took over the school building. In December 1941 the school's operations was suspended until September 1946, and In February 1942, the Brothers were expelled from the college.[21] During the Japanese occupation, the college was believed to have been used as a Number One Japanese military hospital (out of four in Kowloon) until August 1945.
Post-war development
School recommenced in September 1946. By the end of 1949, the Chinese Civil War was coming to an end. Most of China was controlled by the Communist government of Mao Zedong and the People's Liberation Army was rapidly advancing southwards towards the Hong Kong border. Owing to that threat, the British Army reinforced their garrisons in Hong Kong. In need of a hospital, the British Army expropriated the use of the college grounds, originally agreed to be only for 12 to 18 months. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong government erected wood hutments on a plot at Perth Street, Ho Man Tin. The temporary occupation dragged on for ten years, taking the concerted efforts of the local government, some members of the British Parliament, and the Vatican to finally dislodge the Army in August 1959.
Main college campus
Brother Felix was appointed director of the school in 1956 and re-acquired the college buildings from the military authorities on 1 August 1959. Student numbers grew steadily, and this led to a separation of primary and secondary divisions. La Salle Primary School was founded in 1957 and Brother Henry Pang was appointed its founder and first headmaster.[22]
In 1964 the La Salle College Evening School was commenced within the main campus building; in 1969 the Evening School was separated and became Chan Sui Ki (La Salle) College in Ho Man Tin. The decision was taken by the Brothers, headed by the then Brother Director, Brother Raphael Egan, in 1977 to undertake the replacement of the ageing building. While classes were continuing, a portion of the school grounds were used to erect a new building. The project was funded via the sale of approximately one-third of the school grounds to Cheung Kong Holdings, owned by Li Ka Shing. The Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Murray MacLehose, officially opened the new school building on 19 February 1982, in its Golden Jubilee year.[23]
Admission
A decent amount of La Salle College's total Form 1 intake is from its associated La Salle Primary School, with some from other primary schools. Applicants attend interviews in Chinese and English, which are conducted by the supervisor and the principal. La Salle College aims to enrol students who demonstrate not only proficient academic performances, but also accomplishments in extracurricular activities and dedication to strong moral conduct.
La Salle College applicants may also apply to study French[24] as an alternative to Chinese for non-mandarin or cantonese speakers.
School associations
The Old Boys' Association
The La Salle College Old Boys' Association (LSCOBA) is the alumni organisation.[25] It was founded in 1939 and its membership, as of 31 March 2017, was 7,453. By tradition, alumni of La Salle College are called La Salle Old Boys.[26] The Association organizes social events for old boys, learning opportunities for current students and sponsors various student activities.
Curriculum
The school follows the local HKDSE curriculum.[27]
As required by Hong Kong law, schools must have two examinations every year: mid-year and final examination. In between the two examinations, students are provided feedback on their performance through continuous assessments,[28] which accounts for 20% of the total subject mark.
Extracurricular activities
Interest clubs and societies
La Salle athletes
La Salle College has over 50 clubs and societies. Clubs are divided into academic, cultural, sports, interest and service. Joining clubs is mandatory.[29]
La Salle College has produced 25 perfect scorers "10As" in the history of Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) and 6 "Top Scorers" and "Super Top Scorers" in the history of Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE).[30][31]
The Omega Rose Bowl, and its successor the Bauhinia Bowl,[33] is awarded to the secondary school with the best all-round sporting performance in the Hong Kong Island and Kowloon region. La Salle College has been the Boys School Champions 26 times, ranking 2nd in the Boys' Schools section. La Salle College holds the record of receiving the Rose Bowl, predecessor of the Bauhinia Bowl, for the longest period—17 years—between 1974 and 1991. The most recent Athletics prize was their championship in the Inter-school Athletics Meet 2019.[34][35][36][37]
Notable alumni
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations.(February 2018)
Dr. Chan Cho Chak, John, 陳祖澤, Former Deputy Chief Secretary, Former Secretary for Trade and Industry and Former Secretary for Education and Manpower, HK Government
Pau Shiu-hung, 鮑紹雄, SBS, JP, former director of architectural services, current vice president of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, former chief commissioner and current honorary commissioner of the Scout Association of Hong Kong[39]
Simon S. Lam, 林善成, Regents Chair Emeritus in Computer Science at University of Texas-Austin, created in 1993 the first secure sockets layer for making Internet applications secure, e.g., banking and shopping on web, email. He was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame.[48][49]
^ abcKong, Vivian (2023). Multiracial Britishness: global networks in Hong Kong, 1910-45. Modern British histories. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 137. ISBN978-1-009-20294-7.
^Cheong-Leen, Hilton; Cheung, Gary; Chou, Oliver (2022). Hilton Cheong-Leen (張有興): first Chinese "Mayor" of Hong Kong. New Jersey: World Scientific. pp. viii. ISBN978-981-12-4838-2.
^Cheng, Joseph Yu-shek, ed. (2007). Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in its first decade (1. publ ed.). Hong Kong: City Univ. of Hong Kong Press. p. 859. ISBN978-962-937-145-6.
^"喇沙等3年再出狀元 張殷碩：無意移民". Yahoo News (in Chinese). 20 July 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
^Carr, Gillian; Mytum, Harold, eds. (2012). Cultural heritage and prisoners of war: creativity behind barbed wire. Routledge studies in heritage. New York, NY: Routledge. p. 254. ISBN978-0-415-52215-1.
^"Class of 1993 Distinguished Alumni Forum"(PDF). The Obsession: La Salle College Old Boys' Association Newsletter. June 2014. p. 10. Archived(PDF) from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
