Hong Kong team triumphs in International Physics Olympiad (with photo)

     A team of five secondary students representing Hong Kong achieved remarkable results at the 49th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO), winning one gold medal, three silver medals and one bronze medal.
      
     The IPhO aims to promote physics education, enhance contacts and co-operation among scientists and educators all over the world, and nurture and inspire teenagers who are highly talented in physics. This year, the IPhO was held from July 21 to 29 in Lisbon, Portugal, with the participation of around 400 students from 86 countries or regions. 
      
     Rahul Arya (King George V School) won a gold medal in the competition. Gaurav Arya (King George V School), Chau Chun-wang (St Margaret's Co-educational English Secondary and Primary School) and Joshua Leung (La Salle College) each won a silver medal, and the bronze medallist was Sean Mann (Diocesan Boys' School).
      
     The Acting Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, congratulated the Hong Kong team today (July 30) on their outstanding performance. 
      
     "The impressive results achieved by the Hong Kong team this year demonstrate our students' great potential in physics and high level of critical and creative thinking ability," Dr Choi said.
      
     "The Education Bureau is committed to promoting STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education, and will continue to work in collaboration with the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education (HKAGE) and relevant professional bodies in providing challenging learning experiences for talented students, including participating in national and international STEM-related competitions. We believe the potential of talented students could be further stretched through engaging them in these quality STEM learning activities," she added.
       
     The members of the Hong Kong team, which was fully funded by the EDB to join the competition, had earlier distinguished themselves in last year's Hong Kong Physics Olympiad. They subsequently received training under the Physics Enhancement Programme jointly arranged by the HKAGE and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. The best performing students in the programme were then selected as contestants representing Hong Kong to participate in the IPhO this year. The success of the Hong Kong team once again showcased the fruitful collaboration among relevant parties in nurturing talented students in Hong Kong.
      
     To nurture more talents, the EDB is proposing to the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council an injection of $800 million into the Gifted Education Fund to support the enhancement of services of the HKAGE and to provide quality advanced learning programmes for gifted students by different gifted education providers, so as to further enhance the development of gifted education in Hong Kong.