Principal’s Message
Dear Parents, Staff, Students and Friends of WIS,
The PTA Quiz is almost upon us and I would encourage all of you to book a table for Friday 24 February. It promises to be a fun evening and I can tell you now that I am no quiz master, so the field is open. More importantly, you will have supported the PTA in the invaluable work they keep doing in enriching our school environment.
The school was full of very pleasant surprises this week. It was a privilege to interview Year 13 students for the Head Student team. Sixteen candidates were shortlisted by their peers and had to prepare for a further interview with three senior teachers. The candidates will now be shortlisted to eight for a series of live debates in front of the whole school. The final choice will rest with the student vote. Whoever is elected, everybody that put themselves forward is a winner demonstrating courage, commitment and pride.
Of exceptional note are the achievements of Andrea Antico and Xaviera Artaza who have been awarded the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Prize. Both receive a cash amount for their high standard of learning and developing leadership qualities.
Raphael Lam has scored the highest mark in Hong Kong for his AS Level in Critical Thinking last year. He was selected from all students for his outstanding achievement in the examination and was awarded the Cambridge Learner Award.
Bruce Xu was equally successful in the British Mathematical Olympiad and gained full marks in 2 of 4 questions which is truly exceptional. What makes it more so is that most students in the competition are from Year 13 and Bruce has yet to complete his iGCSEs. He is ranking in the top 20 mathematicians of his age out of a quarter million entrants. I am inspired by the hard work that these students have devoted to their studies.
The final surprise happened on Tuesday evening when Teddy McDermott and Kevin Keegan visited the school for an informal audience with football fans young and old alike. It was a great evening and I am really pleased that ESF helped us hold this event at West Island School. It is not many times in your life that you get to share a lift ride with such iconic figures in the world of sport.
Looking ahead, the next few weeks seem as packed as this one. We have the ESF 50th Anniversary Sports Gala which is being held on 17 and 18 February at the Football Club. Ming and Han have a Dynasty Day on 17 February which is shaping up to be filled with even more food after Chinese New Year.
If you haven’t already done so, please save 2 June for our 25th Anniversary Gala. The gala evening will host current and former students alike and promises to be a great evening of entertainment for the whole family. More information to follow in the coming weeks.
Yours,
Christopher Sammons
(Principal)
