Student of the Year Awards Spotlight Exemplary Young Talent

HONG KONG, March 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The South China Morning Post celebrated the 37^th annual Student of the Year Awards on Saturday (March 17), recognising nineteen exemplary Hong Kong secondary school students.

The awards presentation ceremony, which took place in the Grand Ballroom at the Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel, featured Guest of Honour the Hon. Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, HKSAR Chief Secretary. Solely sponsored by The Hong Kong Jockey Club and with support from the Education Bureau, the Student of the Year Awards spotlight students' outstanding talents and accomplishments, recognising achievements in academic subjects, linguistics, sports, performing and visual arts, science and mathematics, and community service contributions. Last year, two new awards, "Best Devotion to School" and "Best Improvement," were debuted, totalling nine award categories.

The winning students underwent several rounds of rigorous group discussions, auditions, interviews, and other forms of assessment adjudicated by a number of subject experts. Over 675 students were nominated from 152 schools in Hong Kong to participate in the tight competition for the top Student of the Year Awards honours.

"The Student of the Year Awards serve to highlight the talents and accomplishments of Hong Kong's incredible youth," remarked SCMP Chief Executive Officer Mr. Gary Liu at the ceremony. "It is truly an honour for the SCMP to recognise the hard work, diligence, and dedication of the nominees, finalists and winners of the Awards. These awards are about more than just achievement. We endeavour to unearth and acknowledge students with high values and strong character. Today these students serve as role models for other youth in Hong Kong. As they grow and accomplish even more, they will continue to serve as examples of service and humanity."

Mr. Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive Officer of The Hong Kong Jockey Club said, "I am sure I speak for all members of the advisory board, and our judges, in saying how impressed we have been by the calibre and dedication of all this year's candidates. The depth and diversity of their talent gives us enormous hope for the future of our city. It is with the future in mind that the Jockey Club has made youth development one of its key areas of focus in charity. Equipping primary students for the digital world of the future, developing mental as well as physical strength through sports programmes; and helping teenagers map their life and career paths through mentoring initiatives. I believe the values which inspire the Jockey Club - world class leadership, uncompromising integrity, continuous development and serving the community - have great applicability to our young people."

The awards received support from the judging panels as well as the Advisory Board, which consisted of the following Hong Kong leaders: Mr. Gary Liu, SCMP Chief Executive Officer; Mr. Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive Officer of The Hong Kong Jockey Club; the Hon. Bernard Charnwut Chan, Hong Kong Deputy, National People's Congress; Convenor, Hong Kong Executive Council; Dr. Allan Zeman, Chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Group; and Mr. Lau Ming-wai, Chairman of the Commission on Youth.

Misha Hui Yan Fischer, a student at German Swiss International School, was named Student of the Year -- Grand Prize and received a HK$25,000 scholarship. Winners of the Performing Artist, Visual Artist, Linguist, Sportsperson, Community Contributor, and Scientist & Mathematician categories each received a HK$10,000 scholarship. First and second runners-up were awarded scholarships of various values. Each of the ten winners in the Best Improvement and Best Devotion to School categories received a HK$5,000 scholarship. The winners of the Student of the Year Awards 2017 are as follows:

The Student of the Year Awards 2017 ceremony was successfully held on March 17.

ABOUT SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

South China Morning Post is a leading news media company that has reported on China and Asia for more than a century with global impact. Founded in 1903, SCMP is headquartered in Hong Kong, where it is the city's newspaper of record. The SCMP teams span across Asia and the United States, working together to connect with news consumers around the world. SCMP is committed to informing and inspiring through journalism of the highest standards. The company's vision is to "Elevate Thought" and its mission is to "Lead the global conversation about China". SCMP develops news content 24/7, driven by world-class journalists, editors, visual artists, photographers and videographers, all guided by the principle of "Truth and Fairness". Its editorial teams are powered by emerging digital technologies to create innovative ways to tell Asia's most important and compelling stories. Against the backdrop of shifting discovery and consumption behaviours, SCMP reaches users across distributed media platforms including scmp.com, smartphone and tablet apps, social media and messaging platforms, as well as our flagship newspaper. Additionally, SCMP is Asia's leading magazine publisher with a portfolio of premium lifestyle and fashion titles including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Esquire, Harper's BAZAAR and The PEAK. SCMP is also home to cpjobs.com, a big data-powered recruitment platform that matches jobseekers with their dream jobs.

Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20180320/2084308-1