Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China/St. Joseph's English College
ST. JOSEPH'S ENGLISH COLLEGE.—This well-known institution is conducted by the Brothers of the Christian Schools, and is under the patronage of the Right Rev. Domenico Pozzoni, D.D., Vicar Apostolic of Hongkong. The work of the Brothers is too well known to need any comment here; suffice it to say that their name is familiar in every country, and at present they control over two thousand large educational establishments, where well-nigh four hundred thousand pupils are being equipped for the great struggle of life.
When the Brothers came to Hongkong thirty years ago, they took charge of a small school in Caine Road where they had but seventy pupils. The number steadily increased, and in two years they had one of the most flourishing schools in the Colony. To accommodate the ever-increasing number of boarders and day scholars more room was required, and in 1881 the foundation of the present building was laid by Sir John Pope-Hennessy, then Governor of Hongkong. In 1898 it was found necessary to add a third storey for the accommodation of the boarders, and three years afterwards the building was still further enlarged by the addition of two wings.
To-day the school is one of the most up-to-date educational establishments in the Far East. The building, surrounded by trees and pleasant patches of green, is delightfully situated on a height which commands an extensive view of the city and harbour of Victoria. Ample accommodation is provided for five hundred scholars, and in the boarding department there is room for eighty. The dormitory, which occupies more than half the third storey, is very well lighted and ventilated. It is surrounded by verandahs which greatly enhance the comfort of the place both in summer and in winter. Adjoining the dormitory are private rooms for students who wish to devote more time to their studies. On the second floor is the boarders' study hall—a spacious apartment, capable of affording sitting accommodation for over 120, and in which are held public meetings on certain occasions during the year. It is lighted by numerous electric lamps, and the walls are freely hung with maps and pictures. There is a handsome stage at one end of the hall, where the students have an opportunity of developing their debating powers. The majority of the classrooms are on the ground floor, and can accommodate forty pupils each. They are furnished with all teaching requisites and have a very cheerful appearance. On the third storey are three class-rooms specially set apart for Chinese boys, and these are also equipped with the necessary appliances for the instruction of the pupils.
The aim of the institution is to give Catholic youths and others, without distinction of creed or persuasion, a thorough moral, intellectual, and physical education. The staff consists of twelve thoroughly trained European masters, who have devoted their lives to the work. There are also two competent Chinese teachers to give a regular course of instruction to Chinese boys in their own language.
(Group of Scholars.)
When these boys leave school they will have the advantage of knowing both English and Chinese. To facilitate the imparting of instruction, and to enable the pupils to derive full benefit from it, the Chinese boys of the lower standards are separated from the others, and receive instruction suited to their capacity. In the higher standards, the boys are prepared for the Oxford Local Examination, in addition to receiving a sound commercial training.
Shorthand and typewriting are taught with great success, and several of the students have already obtained first-class certificates in these subjects. Book-keeping, commercial geography, commercial arithmetic, and correspondence also occupy a prominent place in the school syllabus. In all the classes great importance is attached to the teaching of English. It is the only language tolerated both on the playground and in the classroom, except in the lower standards of the Chinese department. High marks are generally obtained by the boys of the college at the Oxford Examination for this most important subject. The school curriculum also includes religious instruction, French, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, history, and hygiene. In addition the boys receive a special course in freehand, model, geometrical, and architectural drawing, from a thoroughly competent master, and the school has always enjoyed a high reputation for the success it has achieved in the teaching of this branch of education.
The physical training of the pupils receives due attention. A regular course of physical drill is given by a sergeant specially appointed by the Government for that purpose. On certain occasions during the year the boys are called upon to perform some of these exercises on the stage, and the skill and exactitude with which they go through them elicits the hearty applause of the onlookers. A keen interest is taken in out-door games, and in the shield competition every year the school holds a high place. A football and cricket club has been established in the college with a view to encouraging these games, the teachers recognising that "all work and no play maketh a dull boy." When unable to pursue their accustomed out-door amusements, owing to bad weather, the pupils retire to the club-room, where the time may be passed pleasantly at a game of billiards or chess, or in the perusal of interesting literature.
Hundreds of young men educated in the college have attained honourable and lucrative positions in different parts of the world by the application of that knowledge and of those principles of right and honesty which were instilled into them during their early days.
