What if a school building could talk? What stories would these walls at Po Kok Secondary School whisper if they could? Here we stand, before the modern Po Kok Secondary School. But its tale begins long before this concrete structure took shape, in 1931. A woman named Cheung Bik Kok founded Po Kok Righteous School in Causeway Bay. Her vision was simple yet profound: to educate underprivileged girls. Four years later, the school moved to 15 Shan Kwong Road in Happy Valley, taking root in the “Tung Bik Kok House”.
After World War II, the government lent its support. In 1951, the Happy Valley campus expanded. A three-year vocational middle school section was added. This became the precursor to the Po Kok Secondary School we know today. Between 1963 and 1965, a five-year program for the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination was introduced. In 1986, the middle school section was renamed “Po Kok Girls’ Middle School”, transitioning from a vocational to a grammar school.
The journey wasn’t always smooth. Starting in 1998, the Tung Bik Kok House twice applied to the Education Department for funding to rebuild the school. They hoped to improve facilities, expand curriculum, and add more classes. Their efforts were unsuccessful. Undeterred, Po Kok again participated in the School Allocation Exercise in 2000. Finally, in August of that year, the government approved their relocation to a new millennium school building in Tseung Kwan O.
In September 2000, while the new campus was under construction, classes began at the borrowed campus of Yan Chai Hospital Wang Wah San Middle School in Tseung Kwan O. They welcomed their first co-educational class of Form One students, preparing for the eventual move to Choi Ming Street. The official transition to Tseung Kwan O happened in 2001. Po Kok Secondary School broke with its tradition of admitting only girls and opened its doors to both boys and girls. Students from the original Happy Valley campus, except for the graduating classes, made the move to the new modern campus.
Even then, the journey had a few more twists. In 2002, with the True Light Middle School of Hong Kong and its primary section still under construction, Po Kok shared a portion of its classrooms with their primary school students for half a year. The new building, the one we stand before now, was officially opened on June 22, 2003, marking the completion of their relocation project. Po Kok Secondary School stands as a testament to resilience. From humble beginnings in Causeway Bay to this modern facility, it has continually adapted to meet the needs of its students. Its story reminds us that education is not just about buildings and classrooms. It’s about the unwavering dedication to learning and growth, a spirit embodied by Po Kok Secondary School for almost a century.