CURRICULUM

IAL

IAL

Principal’s Message


St. Paul’s College is dedicated to providing the best possible educational outcomes for its students. In order to do so, we are constantly revising and updating our curriculum offerings in order to suit the needs of our future graduates. The College had long been considering the possibility of offering alternative curricula to match the specific educational goals of our students.

After considerable review, analysis and examination, we implemented a new curriculum, which commenced in Form 5 in the 2018-2019 school year. The IAL curriculum is offered to Form 5-6 students. Many of our students, we recognize, have greater facility in mathematics and science-oriented subjects, and wish to pursue these in greater depth. Similarly, we recognize that some students prefer not to undertake a curriculum which concentrates on language skills.

While SPC is, and will remain, an overwhelmingly DSE school, we are also pleased to offer an opportunity for our students to explore alternative pathways. As parents and students investigate the qualification they wish to pursue, we would like to present the opportunity of studying the IAL curriculum as a viable and attractive alternative pathway for their senior education.

By broadening our curriculum choices, we are in a better position to serve each of our students according to their particular needs and academic orientation. We look forward to remaining strong partners with our students, parents, alumni and community in helping them to choose their pathways for a brighter future!


Background

 

St. Paul’s College is an Anglican school established in 1851. We are endowed with an English teaching tradition within the local curriculum. In 2002, we changed the subsidy mode to the Direct Subsidy Scheme in order to benefit from the autonomy in manpower, resource allocation and student admission of the scheme. To acknowledge the different educational needs of our students, we started to offer the IAL curriculum in the school year 2018-2019 to a group of our Form Five students. Our students are free to pursue the IAL qualification or the HKDSE qualification. 

To provide a broad-based education to all our students regardless of the qualification they will obtain at the conclusion of their secondary education, all F.4 students study Chinese, English, Mathematics, Liberal Studies and some elective subjects.


GCE A Level/IAL Courses On Offer

1. Chinese
2. Mathematics
3. Further Mathematics
4. Physics
5. Chemistry
6. Biology

Students taking IAL courses also need to take IELTS in order to gain an English language qualification. Students are assisted in this process at the College.


IAL Class Timetable

Subject Form 5 (IAL) Form 6 (IAL)
English
Chinese
PE/RS/VA/Music
Mathematics  
Further Mathematics ✔# ✔#
Physics
Chemistry
Biology ✔# ✔#

Students are only required to take either Biology or Further Mathematics in Form 5 and Form 6.

Pathways


All Hong Kong UGC universities recognize the GCE and IAL qualification. Hong Kong students can be assessed as non-JUPAS candidates. Each university has a separate mechanism for evaluating students, just as they do for DSE candidates. In addition, many Hong Kong universities have an early-admission scheme based on prior exam results or predicted grades, as is the case in the United Kingdom.


PowerPoint Presentation from the IAL Talk for F.3 on 2023-10-13