The workshop for Primary One Admission was held on the 23^rd of January 2015. Education Ladder is honored to have Mr Peter Chiu, the former vice-principal of La Salle College, as our guest speaker on that day. As the seminar progressed, gales of laughter and rattles of Cantonese rattled around the room. Parents had their eyes glued on the speaker, jotting notes attentively and asking questions intermittently.

‘You have to beat the system,’  Chiu said. ‘It is the only way to stand out from the pack and ensure a place in elite schools.’ He offered a detailed explanation on the mystery ‘hereditary pass’ that would ensure students a place in their desired institutions.  ‘Hereditary pass’, despite its crucial importance, is often neglected by parents when plotting strategies to score as high as possible in the point system.  Chiu added that ‘hereditary system’ is insignia of the reputation of a school; the number of students admitted through this system is excellent statistics for parents’ references.  After listening to the explanation of Chiu, parents admitted that they are now not only well-versed on the secrets of Primary One Admission System, but also more confident about applying for their target schools. Hitting the bull’s eye is no longer out of reach.

Chiu also mentioned tactics on form-filling. He made reference to Game Theory; a famous theory propagated by John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern in 1944, and suggested parents adopt this approach when filling in choices on the admission form. One thing essentially leads to another; every step has to be calculated to ensure ultimate success. Mr Chiu mentioned an almost surefire way when arranging choices on admission forms, and helped parents come to grips with the relevant formulas and figures. Some parents immediately took out their phones and started tapping on them to practice the formulas.  Mr Chiu also introduced parents to aggressive and conservative strategies so they know how to fill in the forms. 83 school net, Kwai Chung and Tin Shui Wai, for instance, top the list of aggressive strategies.

A veteran educator and seasoned speaker, Chiu possessed many years of experiences in teaching and extensive knowledge on elite schools. Many parents stayed and asked questions even after the seminar had ended, as they found themselves hugely benefited from Chiu’s presentation. Education Ladder also invited Mr Li, a representative of Flying Colors Learning Studio and former English teacher from Yau Ma Tei Catholic Primary School, to introduce parents to the many English classes he personally taught, so they can better equip their children with the skills essential to excel in interviews.