Seven children dressed in black have their movements restricted to a three-metre square. A sombre judge rings a bell and tells them that in one minute their time will be up.
This may sound like a form of medieval punishment, but it's just one element of a competition called Tournament of Minds (TOM), designed to promote and test students' ability to think outside the box and use their spontaneity and ingenuity to devise creative solutions to innovative problems.
The inaugural tournament for Hong Kong primary schools recently took place at Glenealy School. Students from nine English Schools Foundation (ESF) schools competed for the opportunity to participate in the Australasian finals against schools from Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. The finals take place in Brisbane in October.
'The whole thing started in 1987 as an offshoot of the Australian Association for Gifted and Talented Children,' said recently-appointed Tournament of Minds overseas director Carol O'Donnell, who has been involved with the programme for 17 years.
She stresses, however, that the skills promoted by the tournament are valuable for all students, whatever their ability.
'Anyone can implement the strategies in every class in every school. We want to encourage experimentation and risk-taking and to expand and reward enterprise and creative and divergent thinking. The tournament mirrors what business does,' she says. 'Employers value these things.' Other programmes offer similar challenges to students but Ms O'Donnell feels that TOM fulfils a need. 'We wanted a more cost effective alternative to some similar programmes already on offer. We are a not-for-profit organisation. We try and keep [costs] manageable for everyone.'