Eight students representing Hong Kong achieved excellent results in the 6th International Olympiad of Metropolises, which was held online. From left: Chan Yat-long, Chu Cheuk-hei, Timothy Yau, Xie Lingrui, Yeung Man-tsung, Cheng Sze-lut, Cheng Yat-long and Lam Chung-wang. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)
HONG KONG – A team of eight secondary school students from Hong Kong achieved stellar results in the 6th International Olympiad of Metropolises which ended on Monday.
Besides winning a silver medal in the team competition, the Hong Kong team brought home seven individual medals including four gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal, making for the best ever results in this tournament, according to a government statement.
The IOM, which was held from Dec 6 to 13, is an international competition covering four disciplines: informatics, mathematics, physics and chemistry.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the competing teams participated in their home cities under online monitoring. Around 260 contestants from 33 cities took part in the event.
Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung congratulated the Hong Kong team on Tuesday for their outstanding performance
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In the physics competition, Cheng Yat-long (Raimondi College) and Lam Chung-wang (St Paul's Co-educational College) each won a gold medal. In the informatics competition, Yeung Man-tsung (Pui Ching Middle School) and Xie Lingrui (La Salle College) won a gold medal and a silver medal respectively. In the mathematics competition, Chu Cheuk-hei (St Paul's Co-educational College) and Timothy Yau (Ying Wa College) also won a gold medal and a silver medal respectively.
In the chemistry competition, Chan Yat-long (Po Leung Kuk Centenary Li Shiu Chung Memorial College) got a bronze medal.
Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung congratulated the Hong Kong team on Tuesday for their outstanding performance.
"I am proud of the remarkable results of the Hong Kong team this year, which is testimony to the hard work and high ability of our students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education," Yeung was quoted as saying in the statement.
"In keeping with our goal of continuously promoting STEM education, the Education Bureau (EDB) is looking to strengthen its collaboration with different stakeholders in organizing quality student learning activities, including the STEM Education Fair to be held next year,” he added.
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Yeung said the fair will provide an opportunity for students to showcase their learning achievements in STEM-related areas, and for teachers to exchange teaching strategies in implementing STEM education.
“The EDB also encourages schools to support the development of STEM education in schools by arranging more out-of-classroom experiential learning activities to provide more opportunities for students to apply what they have learned,” Yeung said.
Since 2017, Hong Kong has taken part in the IOM every year and the Hong Kong team's participation in the competition is fully funded by the EDB.
As in previous years, students with the best performance in the selection for Hong Kong Olympiads of different subjects were nominated as members of the Hong Kong team. They underwent training arranged by the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education before taking part in the competition this year.