Dear KGV Families,

One phrase that is often used in education is student agency. The central idea is how students take ownership of their learning. This can include seeking clarifications from their teachers, acting on feedback, and taking the lead in developing their educational experiences.

One remarkable example of student agency is KGV MUN. Last weekend we hosted over 300 students from a range of schools as they engaged in intensive debates across two days. This event was organised, developed and implemented by a number of KGV students and it was also wonderful to see so many of our students participating. It is these traits of our students taking ownership of their learning as they strive to be the best they can be, both within and beyond the curriculum, that makes them stand out. We will continue to encourage students to take ownership of their learning in each aspect of their educational experience. 

You may have also seen a message earlier this week regarding our annual stakeholder survey. The link will be shared next week, and if you can take 10 minutes to complete the survey, it would be greatly appreciated. Your feedback helps to improve what we do.

Thank you for your continued support, and have an enjoyable weekend ahead.

Best regards,

Mark Poulsum

Ensuring the safety of our students whilst on campus is a key priority. We continually review our approach to security and I would like to draw your attention to the following points:

• All visitors need to register with the guards and show their HKID card when entering the campus. Visitors will also be given a lanyard to wear whilst onsite. 

• Once registered, visitors should report to the reception office to meet the relevant member of staff who will accompany them whilst onsite.

• Visitors should only use ‘all access’ washrooms. Our staff will inform you of the locations of these washrooms. Visitors must not use student washroom facilities.

• Please note that visitors must not take photographs or video recordings whilst onsite.

• The school gates will be locked between 8.15 and 3pm. They will also be locked once the buses leave campus.

• The side gate entrance will also remain closed after 8.15am. Visitors must use the front gate to enter campus.

These approaches reflect our commitment to safeguarding and security. We appreciate your support with these measures.

Please see below our message sent to all Year 12 IB students taking part in Core Week next week and to our BTEC / IBCP students who begin their work placements on Monday.

IBCP/BTEC and Work Experience:

• Ensure you have made contact with your employer and thanked them for the opportunity.
• Ensure you are clear about timings for your working day, who your contact person is when you arrive and where you need to go.
• Know what expectations, if any, there are surrounding what is appropriate to wear.
• Always be polite and respectful and just ask if you are unsure about something. You should not be expected to know everything straight away. They know that you are learning.
• Be punctual.
• Make a positive impression so they are confident to give future KGV students an opportunity.
• If you are also studying an IB subject, please check the subject targets document and aim to complete this before you return to school.

IB Diploma and Core Week:

• Ensure you have engaged with the schedule and the subject targets documents.
• It is expected you will attend the subject-specific workshops relevant to you (Chemistry, Biology, ESS, SEHS etc)
• When you are not scheduled to be in a Core Week session at any time, follow your normal school timetable (Week 2). Your teachers are expected to be in their classrooms at the times they should be teaching you to provide consolidation work or intervention support sessions. These are optional for you to attend unless you have been invited to attend by your teacher. Check with your teacher/email for any details.
• You do not have to be in school if you are not scheduled for a Core Week session or have not been invited by your teacher to attend a lesson.
• All IB Diploma students must attend the following:
  • Higher Education sessions
  • Interhouse Maths sessions
  • ToK and EE sessions
• Group 6 sessions on Thursday P2-4 are for Theatre, Visual Arts, Film and Music. Details to be communicated by your individual teachers.
• All IB Diploma students should aim to complete the targets outlined in the subject target document above by the end of the week.

Wishing you a great weekend.

In assembly this week, we celebrated a number of successful students: Timothy Ngai for dressage, Eunis Man for swimming, Enoch Wai for piano and Sean Chiu, Ryan Chung, Alex Fisher, Atharva Mongia, Kavya Patel and Alex Wong from the Cross Country team.

The Year 11 Ball committee presented to students, announcing the theme of James Bond and Casinos. We reminded students that attendance at the ball must not come at the expense of classroom time and that if they are unable to attend classes that day then they cannot attend the Ball.

We launched Challenge Week as well, reminding students to look at the website, discuss choices with their families, and that signup is next Tuesday (Y11) and Wednesday (Y10).

Kindness week is next week. It is a chance for us all to show our appreciation for the people around us and the things they do.

The following two days we ran workshops for Year 11 students about how to responsibly and safely use AI for revision ahead of their exams - see the specific notice about this in the newsletter.

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Our Year 7 students are continuing to impress the Year 7 team with their maturity, energy and engagement towards all the opportunities presented to them at KGV. Two shout-outs this week go to students who have demonstrated commitment to activities outside their subjects.

Nikhil Chandiramani (C03) participated in last week's HK Model United Nations (MUN) Conference. This event saw over 300 students coming together from across HK to discuss and debate some of the hottest topics of the moment. Nikhil joined a delegation looking to solve drug trafficking as well as child labour. He worked with predominantly Year 10-13 students, presenting motions and discussing these big world problems.

Keefe Liu (C02) demonstrated a real benefit mindset this week as he championed the need for us to support those less fortunate than ourselves. Keefe bought and prepared 25 stationery sets for the school’s Stationery Drive, aimed at providing resources to children and underprivileged communities who face barriers to learning due to a lack of essential school supplies.

Next week, KGV will celebrate Kindness Week, a special time dedicated to promoting and honouring acts of kindness within our community. This week serves as a powerful reminder of the positive impact that kindness can have on individuals, communities, and the world. We encourage everyone to engage in intentional acts of kindness, helping to cultivate a culture of compassion and generosity.

Kindness Week invites us to pause and reflect on how we can strengthen our relationships, enhance our outlook on life, and deepen our sense of community through compassionate actions. Our goal at KGV is to enhance individual well-being by implementing proven strategies centred on gratitude, kindness, and social connection. Through a variety of whole-school events and activities, we aim to foster a sense of belonging and strengthen our social ties.

An overview of the activities taking place at school can be found on the KGV Kindness Week 2025 slides.

Have a lovely weekend.

Dear Parents,

Next week, KGV will celebrate Kindness Week, a special time dedicated to promoting and honouring acts of kindness within our community. This week serves as a powerful reminder of the positive impact that kindness can have on individuals, communities, and the world. We encourage everyone to engage in intentional acts of kindness, helping to cultivate a culture of compassion and generosity.

Kindness Week invites us to pause and reflect on how we can strengthen our relationships, enhance our outlook on life, and deepen our sense of community through compassionate actions. Our goal at KGV is to enhance individual well-being by implementing proven strategies centred on gratitude, kindness, and social connection. Through a variety of whole-school events and activities, we aim to foster a sense of belonging and strengthen our social ties.

An overview of the activities taking place at school can we found on the KGV Kindness Week 2025 slides. 

Here are a few ways you can get involved in kindness week at home:

• Perform Acts of Kindness: Throughout the day, consciously perform acts of kindness, such as helping a neighbour, complimenting a colleague, or donating to a charity.

• Spread Positivity: Share uplifting and positive messages on social media to inspire others to be kind and compassionate.

• Volunteer: Offer your time to volunteer for a local charity or nonprofit organisation that aligns with your values.

• Donate: Make a donation to a charitable cause that you believe in, whether it’s for humanitarian aid, education, or healthcare.

• Teach Kindness: Educate children and young people about the importance of kindness and empathy through storytelling or classroom activities.

• Random Acts of Kindness: Surprise someone with a random act of kindness, such as buying a stranger’s coffee or leaving an encouraging note for a friend.

 Let’s come together to make this week a memorable celebration of kindness!

Hope you have a lovely weekend.

Year 13
Students should continue to keep their H.E. Counsellors informed about their applications and regularly check Google Classroom for updates and resources related to higher education.

Year 12
Google Classrooms for Y12s are set up to share H.E.-related information is shared.

The Y12 1-1 H.E. meetings have started Feb. Our HE Counsellors have started meeting Y12s individual to discuss their post-KGV plans and intentions. Full information on making appointments and details of the meets are shared to students via Google Classroom. All appointments are now scheduled. Students should refer to the schedules posted on Google Classroom for their appointments.

Y12 Core Week – H.E. Sessions. During Core Week (3-7 Mar), the H.E. Team will go through extensively: 1. Personal Statement; 2. UCAS for 2026 entry conducted by UCAS representative: 3. Exploring Unifrog.

Visits to local universities in Term 3.  We are exploring opportunities for campus visits at local universities in Term 3 and have secured one to HKUST’s Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies, 28 Apr, in the afternoon.  Details for Year 12 students to signup will be available soon.

H.E. Events on our KGV Careers Calendar.
KGV is not responsible for the quality of any external events. All information is subject to change by event organisers.

H.E. Visits @ KGV School. Due to the short duration, H.E. visits are open to students only.
11 Mar: University of Colorado Boulder (SSC1-2)
13 Mar: Keele University (SSC1-2)
17 Mar: University of Calgary (SSC1-2)
19 Mar: EU Business School (SSC1-2)

H.K.
1 Mar: University of London Programmes @ HKU SPACE – Info Day
14 Mar: CDNIS Global University Fair (open to public)

U.K.
20 Mar: Undergraduate admissions info session with Cambridge & Imperial @ CIS HK
Various dates in March: Falmouth University online event, various topics

U.S.A.
4 Mar: Women’s Colleges Panel @ CDNIS HK

Singapore
1 Mar: NUS Undergraduate Admissions Open House 2025 (Online)
8 Mar: NUS Undergraduate Admissions Open House (on campus)

KGV Careers & H.E. Team

We believe AI provides opportunities for revision that students have not had in the past. We’ve briefed students on strategies for using AI to support their GCSE revision. Importantly we focused on writing out answers by hand and being guided by their syllabus statements. AI tools can boost efficiency by creating practice questions, explaining tricky topics, and giving instant feedback—helping students revise smarter, not just harder. Research shows active engagement with material improves memory, and AI helps to guide that process and make it more accessible to students.

However, we’ve advised caution. AI can sometimes give wrong info or show bias, so students should cross-check with textbooks and syllabi. We’ve also told them not to share personal details (like names or addresses) for safety. Our detailed guidance ensures they use AI responsibly as a study aid, not a shortcut.

Some of our approach and methodology has been informed by this academic paper 

Please talk to your child about the opportunities this new technology affords. Feel free to contact us with any questions!

Students in Years 7 to 11 will sign up for Challenge Week options over the next week and a half. Challenge Week involves all staff and students during the week of November 3rd to 7th.

Please make sure you have looked at the activities on offer with your child. All activities are listed on the Challenge Week website here. 

Please encourage your child to consider more than one activity as they can sometimes fill up quickly.

Students will make their choices during tutor time on the days shown below. You will receive automated emails when they have successfully signed up.

If your child wishes to travel outside of Hong Kong, they must upload a clear image of their passport/Home return card and HKID to the system before signup day.

Signup days:

• Y11 - Tuesday March 4th
• Y10 - Wednesday March 5th
• Y9 - Thursday March 6th
• Y8 - Friday March 7th
• Y7 - Tuesday March 11th

The system will remain open until Thursday 14th and students can adjust their choice up until then.

Dear Parents,

To celebrate our 130th Anniversary, KGV and its PTSA warmly invite you to a Gala Dinner for our community. This unforgettable evening promises celebration, camaraderie, and philanthropy. Funds raised will be used to support student projects and development.

Please see the attached poster and scan the QR code for more information and to sign up. If you’re interested in donating for our auction, participating in any volunteer performances or have any questions, please contact Kathy.ribeiro@kgv.edu.hk

Just a gentle reminder, no students or children are allowed.

KGV Sporting Stories

Well done to our fencers who took part in the HKSSF competition over the weekend. We achieved some great results actress the different disciplines and age groups.

FENCING

Boys result:

Raphael WONG was placed 6th in Boys Epee (Group B).

Adrian LING (Year 10) was placed 9th in Boys Sabre (Group B).

Justin TSUI (Year 7) was placed 8th in Boys Sabre (Group C).

Girls result:

Eunis TSUI (Year 7) was placed 3rd (Bronze medal) in Girls Sabre (Group C).

Belva CHEUNG (Year 10) was placed 2nd (Silver medal) in Girls Sabre (Group B).

Congratulations to all these athletes on their success!

INLINE SKATING

Well done to Chloe Chiu who has been awarded the Shine Tak Foundation

Outstanding Junior Athlete Award (by the Hong Kong Sports Institute for the third quarter of 2024. Chloe was presented this award for her achievements in the China National Championships in August 2024 in which Chloe won one gold and two silver medals:

1st in Long Distance Slide (Youth Category, 13 to 18 years old)

2nd in Battle Slide (Open Category)

2nd in Free Jump (Open Category)

Well done Chloe on your continued success in inline skating.

CROSS COUNTRY

Well done to the KGV X-Country team that competed at the HKSSF Championships last week.

Both the Girls and Boys teams have stayed up in Division 1 level, which is the most prestigious division in Hong Kong School Sport.

Well done to the C-grade girls team who came 5th out of 13 Schools - their outstanding efforts and points managed to keep us up in Division 1 despite us unfortunately not being able to gain points from B grade and A grade due to sickness and unforeseen circumstances.

The C-grade boys came an amazing 2nd out of 14 Schools with Raphael Yuan in 5th place and Jacob Mak (Year 7) in 6th place. B-grade boys came 6th out of 14 Schools with Atharva Mongia coming in an amazing 2nd place. A-grade boys came 9th out of 14 Schools. With their points combined, they achieved 4th place Overall (even beating LaSalle Boys School) which is truly remarkable. This is the best result we have seen from the boys' teams in the last 10 years! Well done and congratulations to all runners that took part.

The X-Country team also competed in the ISSFHK championships earlier this Term and also achieved some outstanding results.

In U12 races we have some great individual performances with Jacob Mak winning the U12 boys race and Amber Ng placing 3rd along with Charlotte Chan placing 5th. The U12 girls team were crowned champions of their division while the boys placed 4th overall. The Under12 Girls Team consisted of; Gemma Brewin, Amber Ng Scarlett Cheng, Sophie Chiu, Charlotte Chan, and Ella Barnes.

In the U14 category, the boys team had some strong performances with 4 top 10 finishes. Sean Chiu placed 2nd, Jayden Liu placed 3rd. This resulted in the boys being the Champions - 1st placed team for U14s. The team consisted of Sean Chiu, Jayden Liu, Alex Fisher, Harvey Riding, Ayden Ngai, Keith Hung, Jack Barnes, Theo Zhang, Raphael Yuan, Caerwyn Tai, Alex Ha,  The girls team also had some good results with Cwensuela Chan placing highest 5th place and the team placing 3rd overall.

The U16 boys team was lead by Atharva Mongia who was narrowly beaten to finish in 2nd place, while in U16 girls Chloe Chiu was the first KGV runner home in 10th place. The girls placed a commendable 4th for the team event.

The U20 races were tough in the midst of exams for year 13s and Yr 11s so the teams were reduced. The runners gave great effort across the course but were up against some strong schools. Ollie Byrne was the best of the boys in 17th place while Devika Bhojwani was the first girl home.

Well done to all the KGV runners across the two competitions. We have some really talented runners and we look forward to having more success next year on the courses.

School References & Grade Summary
 

The KGV Careers Office coordinates all our student references and grade summaries, including potential exit & summer programmes.

To protect our students’ privacy, parental permission is required before KGV can release any student information to external parties. KGV will only fulfil requests once we have received this permission.

To request a school reference or grade summary, parents are kindly asked to complete this form.

Students should not use their KGV account to log in to this form. This is to ensure that parental consent is obtained before we release any student information.

Students should reach out to teachers to invite them to be recommenders. It is beneficial for students to provide teachers with information about the programme for which they are applying, as this helps in preparing meaningful recommendations.  Please be mindful of additional workloads on teachers when making these requests.

Typical lead time for teachers to prepare reference is four working weeks.

School references for higher education applications are managed in a separate process.

If students are pursuing external extension programmes outside of KGV, they should read and follow the information on this website: https://sites.google.com/kgv.hk/kgv-extension-opportunities .

KGV Careers & H.E. Team

Spring Camp 2025

7th to 25th April

Embrace the season with ESF Explore and embark on an exciting adventure! We offer a wide array of educational courses for students of all ages, including Languages, Sports, Coding, Business, Arts, and Playgroup. Your children will have fun while learning and sharpening their skills this Spring! Enrol Now!

Discover our Spring Camp programmes HERE

Check out programmes in the Kowloon District HERE