St. Mary's Canossian College

St. Mary's Canossian College (Chinese: 嘉諾撒聖瑪利書院) is a Catholic girls secondary school in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The school was founded in 1900, and is situated at the junction of Austin Road and Chatham Road South.

St. Mary's Canossian College (SMCC)
Location
162 Austin Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Information
Type	Grant, secondary
Motto	Cor Unum et Via Una  (in Latin) (One Heart and One Way)
Denomination	Catholicism
Established	1900; 123 years ago (1900)
School district	Yau Tsim Mong
Chairperson	Sr. Cynthia Chan
Principal	Ms. Janet Wong
Forms	Form 1 to Form 6
Gender	Girls
Area	Approx.10,000m^2
Website	http://www.smcc.hk

St. Mary's Canossian College
Traditional Chinese	嘉諾撒聖瑪利書院
Simplified Chinese	嘉诺撒圣玛利书院
Literal meaning	Canossian St. Mary College
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Jiānuòsā Shèng Mǎ Lì Shū​yuàn Yue: Cantonese Jyutping gaa1 nok6 saat3 sing3 maa5 lei6 syu1 jyun6*2

The school building near Chatham Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

St. Mary's Canossian College

Main Building of St. Mary's Canossian College

The school, known as St Mary's School in the past, was originally aimed at educating the Portuguese girls living in Kowloon, Hong Kong. In 2010, the school's main building and St. Michael Building were both confirmed to be Grade I historic buildings in Hong Kong. Other Catholic buildings, like the Rosary Church and the St. Mary's Canossian School, are adjacent to the school.

School history

St. Mary's Canossian College was founded in 1900 by the Institute of the Canossian Daughters of Charity, a Catholic religious institute founded by Magdalen of Canossa of the ancient noble family of Verona, Italy. Magdalen was canonised on 2 October 1988 for her sanctity and is honoured by the Church as St. Magdalen of Canossa.

The school started with only two classrooms for boys and girls in response to the need for a school in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. The small school admitted 30 pupils and was named St. Mary's School. The school developed rapidly as the population in Kowloon grew. In 1960 the enrolment was 2500 including the Primary Section. In the same year the Secondary Section was named "St. Mary's Canossian College", a grant-in-aid school for girls while the Primary Section was renamed "St. Mary's Canossian School".

Exam results

St. Mary's Canossian College has produced 2 perfect scorers "10As" in the history of Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) and 5 "Top Scorers" and "Super Top Scorers" in the history of Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE).^[1][2]

7 x 5** "Top Scorers" are candidates who obtained perfect scores of 5** in each of the four core subjects and three electives.

8 x 5** "Super Top Scorers" are candidates who obtained seven Level 5** in four core subjects and three electives, and an additional Level 5** in the Mathematics Extended (M1/M2) module.^[3]

Notable alumni

• Teresa Cheng, Secretary for Justice
• Nancy Ip, President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
• Fanny Law, Permanent Secretary for Education and Manpower^{[citation needed]}
• Maggie Cheung Ho-yee, actress
• Sonija Kwok, actress^{[citation needed]}
• Natalie Wong, actress^{[citation needed]}
• Mandy Cho, actress^{[citation needed]}
• Kearen Pang, director^{[citation needed]}
• Gloria Chang, activist^{[citation needed]}
• Adrienne Lau, singer^{[citation needed]}

References

1. "DSE狀元". HK01. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
2. "歷屆223狀元". Ming Pao Daily News. 3 August 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
3. "HKDSE exam results reveal eight top scorers from eight schools". The Standard. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.

Sources

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to St. Mary's Canossian College.

• School Homepage
• Primary School Homepage

22°18′11″N 114°10′35″E / 22.30306°N 114.1763°E / 22.30306; 114.1763