South China Morning Post Announces Eight Winners of the Student of the Year Awards 2013

HONG KONG, CHINA--(Marketwired - Mar 3, 2014) -  Permanent Secretary for Education, Mrs Cherry Tse Ling Kit-ching JP, special guest Shelley Lee Lai-kuen GBS, OBE, JP, a VIP advisory board panel and distinguished judges were present at an inspiring award ceremony for the South China Morning Post (HKSE: 0583) and The Hong Kong Jockey Club's returning Student of the Year Awards 2013, held at the Kowloon Shangri-la hotel today.

The Awards, first established by South China Morning Post in 1974, ran for 32 years until 2006, and were recently relaunched as part of their Celebrating Hong Kong initiative. Six categories, namely Grand Prize, Community Contributor, Sportsperson, Performing Artist, Visual Artist and three Linguist awards for English, Cantonese and Putonghua made up the new awards, which were made eligible for nomination from Form 4-6 or Year 10-12 secondary students across Hong Kong.

The audience was treated to performances from the Performing Artist students, including a Latin ballroom dancer, a concert pianist and a Chinese opera singer. Impressive recitals were also given from the linguists, and a visual art exhibition was on display from the Visual Arts category.

Mrs Tse remarked in her speech "I would like to applaud the SCMP. I'm sure in twenty years' time, most of the illustrious persons of Hong Kong will be either your alumni or people who got the award...long live the awards." Members of the advisory board Allan Zeman, Chairman of LKF Group and Ocean Park Corporation, Jay Walder, CEO of MTR Corporation, Paul Zimmerman, CEO, Designing Hong Kong, Robin Hu, CEO SCMP Group Ltd, and Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges also attended and shared their thoughts and advice.

"The entry level for the awards is incredibly tough and demands that only the best can even qualify as a nominee. Every single student that entered should be proud that they were the category best in their school" remarked Mr. Hu.

Most of the 23 judges for the awards also joined in honouring the students at the ceremony, which was hosted before all the finalists and shortlisted candidates, their educators and parents. Each category was judged by an expert panel leader, a past winner alumni, and an expert editorial representative from the South China Morning Post. The process took six months of intensive preparation, culminating in nearly 500 nominations, and producing 24 finalists, each carefully screened with face-to-face group and individual interviews.

"At the Jockey Club, education is always a major focus of our community donations and we were delighted to support the SCMP when they relaunched the Student of the Year Awards." remarked Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, CEO of The Hong Kong Jockey Club. "We have enjoyed our close partnership and together with the tremendous support of our many judges, we are able to contribute to the betterment of Hong Kong by recognising and promoting the necessary qualities in our future generation."

The South China Morning Post plans to continue the Awards in the long term. "The awards were made possible thanks to the generous sponsorship from the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the perfect partner for the awards given their deep support of education" remarked Susan Ramsay, editor of Young Post, the newspaper's school-distributed student edition. "

For more information please visit http://studentoftheyear.hk

Full list of winners and runners-up

The Student of the Year - Grand Prize (Winner receives $25,000 scholarship plus Award plaque and Winner Certificate. Runners-up receive Certificate of Distinction)
Winner: Tam Pok-man, from Sing Ying Secondary School.
Runner-up: Zachariah Lee Kwok-tsat, St. Paul's Co-Educational College
Runner-up: Lai Wun-chi, Belilios Public School

The Student of the Year - Sportsperson (Winner receives $10,000 scholarship plus award plaque and Winner Certificate. Runners-up receive Certificate of Distinction)
Winner: Siobhan Haughey, St. Paul's Secondary School
Runner-up: Karen Chang Ngai-hing, Diocesan Girls' School
Runner-up: Leung Siu-lun, Tuen Mun Catholic Secondary School

The Student of the Year - Community Contributor (Winner receives $10,000 scholarship plus Award plaque and Winner Certificate. Runners-up receive Certificate of Distinction)
Winner: Lai Yuet Chi, Yan Oi Tong Tin Ka Ping Secondary School
Runner-up: Lau Chin-yan, Carmel Secondary School
Runner-up: Wu Cheuk-lam, King's College

The Student of the Year - Visual Artist (Winner receives $10,000 scholarship plus Award plaque and Winner Certificate. Runners-up receive Certificate of Distinction)
Winner: Ashley Chung Hoi-lam, from G.T. Ellen Yeung College
Runner-up: Audrey H.Y. Hioe, Chinese International School
Runner-up: Tini Tang Hau-ying, Australian International School

The Student of the Year - Performing Artist (Winner receives $10,000 scholarship plus Award plaque and Winner Certificate. Runners-up receive Certificate of Distinction)
Winner: Tse Tsz-yan, CCC Kei Yuen College.
Runner-up: Law Wai-ting, La Salle College
Runner-up: Jackie Leung, Diocesan Girls' School

The Student of the Year - English Linguist (Winner receives $10,000 scholarship plus
Award plaque and Winner Certificate. Runners-up receive Certificate of Distinction)
Winner: Lai Wun-chi, Belilios Public School
Runner-up: Ho Sheung-lam, Canadian International School
Runner-up: Claudia Tam Man-yiu, Island School.

The Student of the Year - Cantonese Linguist (Winner receives $10,000 scholarship plus Award plaque and Winner Certificate. Runners-up receive Certificate of Distinction)
Winner: Li Yu-chim, La Salle College
Runner-up: Mimi Fu Yin-tung, Heep Yunn School
Runner-up: Stephanie Leung Tsoi-hang, Baptist Lui Ming Choi Secondary School

The Student of the Year - Putonghua Linguist (Winner receives $10,000 scholarship plus Award plaque and Winner Certificate. Runners-up receive Certificate of Distinction)
Winner: Jenny Zheng Jia-ying, St Paul's Co-Educational College
Runner-up: Leung Hau-sze, Heep Yunn School
Runner-up: Zhang Mi-le, Fung Kai No.1 Secondary School

Images
SCMP/HKJC Student of the Year 2013 finalists with guest of honour, Permanent Secretary for Education Mrs Cherry Tse Ling Kit-ching, Advisory Board members
http://release.media-outreach.com/release.php/Images/1599

SCMP/HKJC Student of the Year 2013 winners
http://release.media-outreach.com/release.php/Images/1598

SCMP/HKJC Student of the Year 2013 winners and Advisory Board members plus Dr Kim Mak and Shelley Lee Lai-kuen
http://release.media-outreach.com/release.php/Images/1597

Company logo
http://release.media-outreach.com/release.php/Images/1596

About SCMP Group Ltd
SCMP Group Limited (HKSE: 583) is a leading newspaper and magazine publisher in Asia. Its flagship publication, South China Morning Post, is Hong Kong's internationally recognised English language newspaper and has the city's most affluent and influential readership. First published in 1903, the newspaper has developed an enviable reputation for authoritative, influential and independent reporting on Hong Kong, China and the rest of Asia. Available in print, iPad™ and online through scmp.com and e-reader editions, South China Morning Post reaches a global audience with daily breaking news, analysis and opinion, multimedia articles and interactive forums. The South China Morning Post received 65 awards in 2013 for excellence in editorial, marketing and technical capability. Other titles in the Group include the Sunday Morning Post, the Chinese editions of Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar, ELLE, ELLE Men, Esquire and CosmoGirl!, HK Magazine, The List, Where Hong Kong, and Where Chinese.