Li Po Chun United World College

Coordinates: 22°25′53″N 114°14′53″E / 22.43139°N 114.24806°E / 22.43139; 114.24806

Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong
Li Po Chun UWC Logo
Location
Hong Kong Wu Kai Sha, Hong Kong
Information
Type IB World School
Established 1992
Faculty 28
Number of students 250
Affiliation United World Colleges
Website www.lpcuwc.edu.hk

Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港李寶椿聯合世界書院), established in 1992, is an International Baccalaureate school in Wu Kai Sha, Hong Kong. It is one of 17 schools and colleges around the world in the UWC (United World Colleges) movement. UWC is a global educational movement with the mission to make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.

The UWC movement was founded in 1962 with the opening of UWC Atlantic College, and now spans four continents, as well as 155 UWC National Committees who help to select students from their country. The majority of schools and colleges admit students exclusively for the last two years of school in order to complete the internationally-recognised IB Diploma Programme. A number of schools and colleges also offer a Foundation IB year to help students prepare for the rigorous pre-university course that is the IB Diploma, and several offer opportunities for students as young as 3 to experience an education focused on fostering peace and international understanding.

Admissions

Aerial view of Li Po Chun UWC Campus

Located in Hong Kong, Li Po Chun UWC states one of its goals as building understanding between students from Chinese cultural backgrounds and those from the rest of the world. Students have the opportunity to learn about China first hand.

The school admits students from over 110 countries[1] and from many local Hong Kong schools. The student body is made up of roughly 42% local and 58% overseas students.

While "overseas" students are selected by the national selection committees of their home countries, Hong Kong students (or "local students") are chosen by a selection committee appointed by the Home Affairs Bureau. Hong Kong selection has 3 rounds. The first short-listing is based on the written applications. Then from those applications, a group of students is chosen to participate in "Challenge Day." Challenge Day consists of group activities and is organized by teachers and students. Afterwards, individual interviews are conducted by the Principal and a committee formed by government officials. Each year, more than 500 students from Hong Kong apply for places, and from these, 50 places are awarded to Li Po Chun UWC plus an extra 12 to 14 places at overseas schools and colleges in the UWC movement.[2]

Academics

Li Po Chun United World College (LPCUWC) takes advantage of its location as a meeting place of east and west. The College offers Chinese at all levels, from beginners to advanced literature. Chinese Studies a course to study Chinese history and culture, was designed, developed and is offered at LPCUWC. Li Po Chun UWC's average IB grade has hovered around 38 points in recent years, one of the highest averages worldwide.

Students at the College undertake the 2-year International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.

Quan Cai

The CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) program is a part of the requirements of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. It requires a set number of hours in each of the 3 areas. Li Po Chun UWC's adaptation of this system is called the "Quan Cai" program (meaning "all-round development" in Chinese).[3] The program has 5 components, community service, creativity, action, campus support and global concerns. The services are unique in that students sign up for a service for an entire year, while the other 4 activities are generally only 1 term (half a year) activities. A student is required to officially participate in 4 terms of service, 3 of campus support, 3 of global concerns, 2 of action and 1 term of creativity in their 2 years at LPCUWC.

Generally the most emphasis is placed on the community service aspect. Community services include a variety of projects ranging from helping asylum seekers, to visiting nursing homes and aiding the elderly, helping underprivileged children with schooling and the lending of facilities to services outside of Hong Kong such as Initiative for Peace. The school also competes in most of the sports available as Quan Cais. This includes soccer, basketball, athletics, volleyball and badminton. The flexibility of the Quan Cai program allows students to start new activities (called an "initiative") at any time, and if successful the school adopts the activity, making it official.

Other On Campus Activities

Café

The Café team organizes performance evenings that consist of the College community sharing dances, songs and poems with each other. It is an event that works to boost morale on campus and bring together the College for one night. The Café team also cooks a wide variety of baked goods that are sold throughout the show with the proceeds going to a different charity each Café. Café is considered one of the most popular activities on campus.

Global Issues Forum

Within the academic timetable, which works on an 8-day cycle, the last block of day 8 is reserved for Global Issues Forum. The entire student body and members of the staff gather to listen to a presentation, given by fellow students, on a global issue, and then topic is opened for discussion. Past topics have included democracy in Hong Kong and globally, unsustainable fishing, censorship in China and around the world, the future of the EU, the impacts of migration and cultural immersion, sexism, the value of education etc. Not only is it a chance for community members (students and staff) to learn about events and issues worldwide from invaluable sources, but it is also a venue for the sharing of diverse political perspectives.

Cultural Evenings

The Chinese Cultural Evening takes place every year, while the other evenings, namely the North American Cultural Evening (NACE), Latin American Cultural Evening (LACE), Middle East, South and Central Asia Cultural Evening (MECASA), Asia-Pacific Evening of Culture (APEC), African Cultural Evening (ACE) and European Cultural Evening (ECE) take place once every two years, with 3 other regions every year.

Special Trips

China Week

Unlike other United World Colleges, first year students travel to China, do community service, and experience everyday Chinese life. Annual China week projects include: Teaching English to children of the Yao Tribe in China, visiting an elderly home and helping mentally and physically handicapped children in Guangdong province, working with lepers in Yunnan province and working with the Amity Foundation, China, and Habitat for Humanity. A popular trip involves hiking, cycling, kayaking and rock climbing in the Yangshuo area.[4]

Project Week

Annual project weeks last nine days in March and are for students to lead and work on projects in East, South, and Southeast Asia. Some recent projects have included: Helping rehabilitate a tsunami-struck school in Sri Lanka, performing plays for children in Bangkok, working with children at the Christina Noble Children's Foundation in Ho Chi Minh City and travelling to North Korea to learn about life and affairs in a country that much of the world knows little about, and working in several children's orphanages run by the Happy Tree Organisation in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Some students also take on other challenging projects during this time such as travelling to Vietnam overland from Hong Kong and human rights evaluations in Philippines. Some students also stay in Hong Kong, where there are opportunities to do service locally.

Graduates

Students can choose from several options for post-Li Po Chun experiences. Some graduates receive offers from top universities around the world, with most students earning or qualifying for significant scholarships. Others choose to pursue "3rd year options" which can range from service to traveling, most of which have some sort of cultural immersion. Others go straight into the work force or return to their home countries for a gap year.

Notable alumni

Notable teachers

  • Mr. Magan Savant (2003 –), Teacher of IB Physics at Li Po Chun United World College, IB Physics WorkShop Leader, Moderator, examiner, badminton player

List of Principals

  • Dr. David Wilkinson (1992-1994)
  • Mr. Blair Forster (1994-2003)
  • Dr. Stephen Codrington (2004-2011)[5]
  • Mr. Arnett Edwards (2011–present)

See also

References

  1. ↑ Li Po Chun United World College: About LPCUWC Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ Li Po Chun United World College: Events Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ Li Po Chun United World College: Quan Cai Archived 3 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ Li Po Chun United World College: About LPCUWC Archived 4 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ↑ "Stephen Codrington". Biography. Stephen Codrington - The Website. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
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