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Uppingham’s 16th House
Dr the Honourable Sir David Li Kwok Po (H 54) paid a special visit to Uppingham on 5th September to visit the new Day House which has been named in his honour.
Li Kwok Po House opened its doors to pupils at the start of this academic year. Formerly known to many OUs as ‘The Thring Centre’, the building once housed the School’s original Design & Technology Department – the first independent school DT department in the country – though its use has diminished in recent years. The House itself has a rich and varied history; believed to have been built in the 1600s and added to in the 1800s, the building was privately owned until it was bought by the School in 1966.
With welcoming and thoughtfully designed spaces in which to unwind, refuel and check-in with fellow pupils and staff, the House is a place of friendship, care and encouragement, where pupils are supported to achieve their full potential. The only difference from Uppingham’s other boarding houses is that staff and pupils return to their homes in the evening.
Sir David was the first pupil from Hong Kong to attend Uppingham and exactly 70 years later he returned to enjoy meeting the pupils of Li Kwok Po House and to wish them every success. Over the decades David has been a huge supporter of and ambassador for Uppingham, and it was a special occasion for him to reconnect with the School in this way. He was delighted to be joined on his visit by former schoolfriends Clive Burton (WB 54) and Richard Murmann (H 55).
Dr the Hon Sir David Li Kwok Po arrived at Uppingham in 1954 on the recommendation of the then Chairman of Trustees, Sir Harold Hewitt. He went on to study Mathematics at Imperial College, London, before reading Economics and Law at Selwyn College, Cambridge. Subsequently earning a professional qualification as Fellow of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Dr Li joined the Bank of East Asia in 1969, rising to become Chairman and Managing Director. Active in public affairs, he served on Hong Kong’s Legislative Council and Executive Council, and played a crucial role in the development of Hong Kong’s banking infrastructure for over 30 years.
Dr Li has served on the Board of Directors and Advisory Board of a number of leading international public companies, as well as well-known Hong Kong and mainland companies. He has been Pro-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong since 2001.
In 1982, Dr Li founded The Prince Philip Scholarship to support bright Hong Kong students to study for an undergraduate degree at Cambridge. To date, more than 250 students have benefited from the scheme, which covers up to the full cost of an undergraduate education.
In the course of his lifetime, Dr Li has been awarded many honours, including honorary doctorates by the University of Cambridge and Imperial College. He was made a Knight Batchelor in the Queen’s birthday honours in 2005 for services to British education; received The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon from the Japanese Emperor that same year; and was appointed Commandeur dans l’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur by the French Government in 2012.
Dr Li has a 70-year-long connection with Uppingham, during which time he has known and offered support and counsel to seven headmasters.
An ever-generous OU, Dr Li founded the Friends of Uppingham School in Hong Kong in 2005 and served on the board for the next 14 years. He has supported numerous capital projects and bursary campaigns, countless pupils from Hong Kong have followed in his pioneering footsteps and attended Uppingham, and he was awarded a Fellowship of Uppingham in 2014.
His generosity and leadership have been of immense value to Uppingham over many decades and we are delighted to recognise his importance to the School with the naming of the new Day House in his honour.
