Boy Genius Youngest to be accepted into HKU

Despite learning challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, 13-year-old Peter Liu took the initiative and made good use of his time to enrol and completed four Massive Online Open Courses (MOOC) from various internationally renowned universities to further deepen his love for Mathematics. He subsequently sat for the International A-Levels (IAL) exams in 2021, scoring high marks in Mathematics; Advanced Mathematics as well as getting an A grade in Physics.

Peter Liu, a 13-year-old Secondary Three student from HKFYG Lee Shau Kee College (HLC) in Tin Shui Wai becomes the youngest student to be admitted into The University of Hong Kong’s Engineering Science faculty and starts his semester in the Bachelor of Engineering programme in September 2022.

In hindsight, Peter shares that it was the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak that accelerated his knowledge and deeper learning for Mathematics. “In Secondary One, I took a total of four MOOC courses, namely: International English Language Testing System (IELTS) at The University of Queensland; Mathematical Calculus at The University of Adelaide; the University of Adelaide’s basic human biology on cells and tissues; and Python Programming at the Harvard University.”

“Among them, the completion of the Mathematical Calculus self-study course boosted my confidence in self-studying Mathematics. The Python programming class also sparked my interest in computing and laid the foundation for my future college choice.”

Despite being an accelerated learner, Peter remains humble and thanks his parents, teachers and classmates profusely. “Although I am a grade skipper, my classmates are very friendly to me and helped me integrate well into the new class in September 2020.

I have become good friends with some of them.”

Promotion of three ‘Self’ motivations

HKFYG Lee Shau Kee College’s (HLC) Principal, Mr Lim Chun Pong shares that Peter’s initiative to sign up for the MOOC courses demonstrates the College three ‘self’” motivations – ‘self-learning’, ‘selfdiscipline’ and ‘self-confidence’. Since co-organising MOOC courses with the University of Hong Kong (HKU) from 2016 onwards, HLC students are allowed to take elective courses from world-renowned universities via online learning to broaden their horizons and cultivate their ability to be independent learners.

Mr Lim adds, “while other students may find virtual learning to be challenging especially during COVID-19, Peter seized and adopted every opportunity.

About the HKFYG Lee Shau Kee College

The HLC was established in 2006 and has been a directsubsidy English secondary school for 16 years. It has achieved outstanding results in school development and English performance. Other than the MOOC course collaboration with HKU since 2016, HLC was also shortlisted for the 2019 Reimagine Education Award, which is the first for a secondary school in Hong Kong. In line with the development of the MOOC curriculum, the College also launched the “HLC Top Excellence Programme” in 2019, allowing students with outstanding academic performance to apply for skipping grades from Secondary 1 to Secondary 3, or Secondary 2 to Secondary 4.

In response to Peter’s success story, HLC plans to further develop the “HLC Top Excellence Programme” in the next school year, so that capable Secondary 3 students can apply for admission to the Secondary 5 International Programme (IAL).

HLC aims to create a nurturing environment where its teachers and students learn, grow and realise their dreams together.