On the first anniversary of President Xi Jinping's reply letter of encouragement to students at Piu Kiu Middle School, the Education Bureau held a sharing session at the school where over 400 people attended the assembly.

Today’s sharing session reviewed how the bureau and the education sector have realised the spirit laid down in President Xi's reply letter and efforts to plan the way forward.

Speaking at the event, Secretary for Education Choi Yuk-lin said that President Xi's reply letter on July 24 last year conveyed his earnest expectations for the young generation of Hong Kong.

Over the year, the bureau has been striving to live up to the spirit of President Xi's reply letter and nurture young people's affection for and sense of belonging to the country, driven by the mission to cultivate values and nurture talent.

Apart from continuous enhancement of the curriculum, development of learning and teaching resources and the provision of professional development for teachers, the bureau has been supporting schools in organising diversified life-wide learning activities, including Mainland exchange programmes (MEPs) and study tours, with a view to broadening students' horizons.

Ms Choi expressed her gratitude for the staunch support from the education sector and the enthusiastic participation of students in a wide variety of MEPs and study tours.

She noted that upon the full resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland early last year, the bureau had promptly launched Mainland study tours on the senior secondary subject of citizenship and social development, attracting participation from nearly 95,000 students so far.

She added that the bureau will continue to optimise various MEPs and study tours, providing more opportunities for students to understand the country's latest developments and achievements from multiple perspectives, and assisting them to combine reading and travelling.

At the sharing session, Pui Kiu Middle School's teacher and student representatives shared their inspirations gained from President Xi's reply letter.

The student representatives talked about how Mainland visit activities enabled them to delve into the history and culture of the country, while the teacher representative outlined how the school's work aligned with curriculum development in promoting patriotic education inside and outside the classroom.

Students from Pui Kiu Middle School and other schools then engaged in group sharing sessions on their learning experiences related to aerospace development, exchange activities on the Mainland and in the Belt & Road regions, and physical and aesthetic development.