| St. Joseph's College | |
| Coordinates: | 22.2767°N 114.1586°W |
| Motto: | Latin: Labore et Virtute English: Labour and Virtue |
| Religion: | Roman Catholic (Christian Brothers) |
| Patron: | Saint Joseph |
| Principal: | Ms. Wong Yuen Fan (2020 - 2024) |
| Head Label: | Supervisor |
| Head: | Brother Jeffrey Chan FSC |
| Grades: | Form 1 – Form 6 |
| Students: | c.1,000 |
| Colors: | and |
| Free Label: | Demonym |
| Free Text: | Josephian |
| Yearbook: | Green and White Magazine |
| Free Label2: | Medium of Instruction |
| Free Text2: | English |
| Free Label3: | School Rally |
St. Joseph's College also referred to by its acronym SJC is an elite Catholic all-boys secondary education institution run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in Central Mid-Levels district, Hong Kong. It was established by the French De La Salle Christian Brothers on 7 November 1875. It is the oldest Catholic boys' secondary school and one of the leading boys' schools in Hong Kong.[1] It typically has about 1,000 students. Subjects are taught in English, except for Chinese-related subjects and French and Japanese language studies.
The sponsoring body of the College is the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, incorporated in Hong Kong under the St Joseph's College Incorporation Ordinance, Cap. 1048 of the Laws of Hong Kong. The stated mission of the College is "to educate students in areas of intellectual, physical, social, moral and emotional development" and "to impart a human and Christian education...and to do so with faith and zeal".[2]
The north and west blocks of the College are declared monuments of Hong Kong.[3] The extension of the campus at 26 Kennedy Road is also a Grade I historic building.
The school has educated Olympians, local public figures and a Nobel laureate (Professor Charles Kao, Father of fibre optics),[4] and members of Hong Kong's most prominent families.
The College was previously a Portuguese commercial school named St Saviour's College, located on Pottinger Street in 1860. Father Timoleon Raimondi, the bishop of the Colony, convinced Rome to send the Lasallian Brothers to the British Colony.
On 7 November 1875, six Lasallian Brothers arrived in Hong Kong: Brothers Hidulphe Marie (Director), Hidulphe de Jesus, and Hebertus from the Boarding school of Marseilles, Brother Adrian Edmund and Aldolphus Marie from the Novitiate of London and Brother Isfrid from Paris. They renamed the school after Saint Joseph, the patron saint of workers and of the Universal Church.[5]
At the time of the takeover, the school had just 75 students. Later that year, however, hundreds of Portuguese families had taken refuge in Hong Kong after a disastrous typhoon had swept over Macau causing the school's enrolment to double after just a few weeks. As a result, Brother Hidulphe had to suspend the intake of Chinese students. To accommodate the increased number of students, Buxley Lodge, a house at 99 Caine Road, was purchased in 1876.[2]
In April 1880, Brother Cyprian was appointed director. He had been a teacher in New York and Quebec, had held the directorship of several schools in his native land, Canada, and had taught in London and Paris. In order to cater to the needs of the fast-growing school, a piece of land in Glenealy below Robinson Road was bought, and a two-story Victorian building became home to the College in 1881.[5]
In January 1884, Brother Ivarch Louis took over the directorship and was succeeded in 1889 by Brother Abban. Enrolment had then increased to 409, and two Chinese were employed as staff members by the college; in the same year, a third floor was added to the school building to accommodate boarders. The additional wings were added in 1901.
On 13 February 1918, the Robinson Road campus was severely damaged by an earthquake. The Club Germania at 7 Kennedy Road was purchased on 3 September. Because pupils living on the Kowloon side had to cross both ways by ferry every day, a branch school was set up on Chatham Road, Kowloon, which became the La Salle College in 1932.
During the Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong from 1941 to 1945, the College was used as a clinical depot by the Imperial Japanese Army. Some Brothers fled to Vietnam and became guests of the Dominicans and the Jesuits, while others were kept as prisoners of war in the local concentration camps. The campus was kept in shape by a minor staffer called Ah Yiu, who also smuggled essentials into the camps for the Brothers.[6]
The College resumed classes after the war. In 1962, Club Germania was demolished and the modern eight-storey New Building was erected under Principal Brother Brenden Dunne.[7]
The College is near the central business district of Hong Kong. Its architecture is a combination of typical colonial European (British Imperialist) and modern styles. The Charles Kao Block[8] (Old Building, north block), constructed in 1920, houses most of the classrooms. The Chapel Block (west block) houses the Old Hall, music room, laboratories, lecture room and the school chapel. These buildings were built in a Colonial style reflecting European influences. The two blocks are declared monuments of Hong Kong since August 2000.
The modern New Building (south block), which replaced the original Club Germania on the site, houses the New Hall, senior laboratories, a library, computer rooms and a basketball court.
In 2016,[9] the College successfully acquired the former St. Paul's Co-educational Primary School at 26 Kennedy Road, a Grade 1 Historical Building,[10] from the Education Bureau.[11] [12] This block houses F4 and F6 classrooms, and the music hall.
A plan called "Vision 22" was in place to renovate the New Building (south block) in 2021. New student facilities including a student facility hub, a faculty hub, a heritage and appreciation hub, and a learning hub are to be renovated from the current library, staff rooms and previous senior classrooms. In the long term, the New Hall block will be rebuilt, featuring a multipurpose basketball court, a swimming pool and other sports facilities. The triangular playground will have a performance hub built-in, along with a new entrance at St Joseph's Path. A life experience hub will also be built under the atrium, providing short term accommodation for junior students. The project is expected to progress gradually, with the long term plans expected to be complete in more than 20 years time.[13]
The College is governed by the School Management Committee. Members of the committee include the supervisor, the principal, two vice-principals, a teachers' representative, a Parent-Teacher Association representative, an Old Boys' Association representative and three Lasallian Brothers.
The faculty includes 67 classroom teachers, a careers mistress, a discipline mistress, a counselling mistress, a sports master, a librarian, one Native English Speaking (NET) teacher, and a French teacher.[14] Laboratory technicians, IT technicians and a library assistant are also employed. A part-time social worker is accessible to the students. The current school supervisor is Brother Chan Jeffrey.[15]
There are 33 classes in the school.[16]
Form 1: 5 classes (A, B, C, D, E)
Form 2: 5 classes (A, B, C, D, E)
Form 3: 5 classes (A, B, C, D, E)
Form 4: 6 classes (A, B, D, E, F) (NSS Curriculum)
Form 5: 6 classes (A, B, D, E, F) (NSS Curriculum)
Form 6: 6 classes (A, B, D, E, F) (NSS Curriculum)
In junior secondary, the school offers languages, arts, humanities, business, technology subjects, as well as religious education and physical education.
In secondary four to six, students can choose three elective subjects from 12 offered, besides the four core subjects. In secondary four, students are required to have aesthetic education as well as religious education in secondary four to five.
As an English medium of instruction school, it adopts English as the teaching medium in most subjects except Chinese, Chinese history and putonghua. Events and activities such as the open day and the Green and White concert are also held in English.
Extra-curricular activities such as music ensembles and uniform groups are mostly held during lunchtime, after school or on Saturdays.
In 1877, two years after its establishment, the College held the first local inter-school sports competition with St. Paul's College, and in 1880 it established one of the first modern football teams in China.
The first local inter-school athletic meet with Queen's College and Diocesan Boys' School was held in 1899, and in 1903 the first local inter-school football league was formed with the two schools.
The College established a Scout troop in 1913, which was the first within the Catholic Church community in Hong Kong. As other Boy Scouts in Hong Kong were connected with the Protestant Boys' Brigade and British Boy Scouts, the St Joseph's College troop registered with The Boy Scouts Association of the United Kingdom as its first Hong Kong Boy Scout Troop, two years before The Boy Scouts Association established a branch in Hong Kong.[17]
On 1 November 1967, an ambulance cadet division of the St. John Ambulance Brigade was established at the College and was the first ambulance cadet division after the first re-organization in the 1950s.
Since 1974, the College has taken part in the champion title in Male Voice Quartet, Folk music, Solos and Duets, the Dorothy Smith Trophy (Boys Junior: Treble Choir), the Music Society Shield (Mixed Voice Choir), the Dr. Karl Hohner Shield (Melodica Band) and the Moutrie Challenge Trophy (Piano Solos: Final) in the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival.
The school has set up different music groups so as to enhance student's interest in music through various performances and joint-school events. The School Orchestra was established in 2000 and has performed in different public events and concerts. In March 2013, the School Orchestra performed with Tonbridge School Orchestra from the UK during its overseas Tour to Hong Kong.
The school has established various music groups such as the Chamber Boys' Choir, Chamber Orchestra, Junior Choir, Senior Choir, Melodica Band, Symphonic Band, String Orchestra and Chinese Drum Band. Each year, the school organises the "Green and White Concert" in early July. The 10th G&W Concert was organised at City Hall in 2012 with various special features.
St Joseph's College developed an Apache web server in the 1990s, and launched Green & White Online, one of the first secondary school websites in Hong Kong.
The school motto Labore et Virtute (Latin); "勤勞與美德" (Chinese); Labour and Virtue (English) — is meant to summarise the life of Saint Joseph.[18]
The badge of the College displays a shield divided into three divisions. The top division shows the Signum Fidei (a sign of faith) - a five-pointed, radiant star, which is taken from the insignia of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. It reminds people of the spirit of faith in the Institute. The right lower division shows three chevrons symbolizing broken bones, reminding students of the bravery and zeal the Saint promoted.
The left lower division shows the book of knowledge on top (with the Alpha and Omega inscribed) and a lamp below; together they symbolise the importance of education, something which Jean-Baptiste de la Salle emphasised. The shield stands with a compartment with supporters each of the French lily, as the Lasallian family originates in Rheims, France. The top features a ribbon with the name of the College, and a crest with a cross and a crown (used to symbolise Hong Kong as a British Crown Colony before 1997). Below the shield are three shells symbolising baptism. The motto of the college is displayed at the bottom of the badge.[19]
The combination of green and white has become the College's official colours over the years. Green represents Ireland's shamrock, while white represents France's fleur-de-lis. The Lasallian Brothers of the College mostly come from Ireland and France. The school rally is based on a traditional Irish song O'Donnell Abú. Brother Marcian James Cullen (1868–1938), an Irish brother and director of St. Joseph's College in 1921, adapted the song and wrote the lyrics for the rally. Brother Marcian James was posted to other Lasallian schools in Malaya and Singapore and brought the same song into use at a few of those schools.
St Joseph's College has produced eminent men in a number of fields.[20]