A few months ago, six of us from the class of '62 at Diocesan Girls' School visited the campus one last time. We were attending a ceremony before the old buildings were razed on the site in Jordan Road, Kowloon.
The senior school science laboratory remained recognisably the same, down to the high stools with five small round holes in the centre. One hot summer's day, one girl began inserting her fingers into each hole to see how far they could go. She got to her index finger, which went in but refused to come out. The janitor and gardener escorted her, with finger firmly attached to stool, past goggle-eyed girls to matron.
That, I think, was my only interesting science class at DGS.
Last year, I took my mother to a special alumni concert in the school hall and she immediately recognised the chairs. But then she would, from the speech days she attended, since all five girls in our family were educated at DGS. This was quite common; sisters attended DGS and brothers went to DBS.
Our classrooms in junior school were large bungalows with a corrugated roof. When it rained, water would plop onto our desks and books. When it was hot, our uniforms were blotched with perspiration. I didn't mind the rain or heat too much. But I did mind the very young birds dropping on my desk from nests built on the wide crossbeams. Very messy.
For a short period in the 1950s, this famous girls' school had five boys in primary school, and their only privilege was their own bathrooms. For the 121 girls, it was a scrum for the remaining limited number of toilets at breaks.
My favourite lessons were English history, geography and English. I couldn't stop reading books, often to the detriment of my homework. Domestic science, music and drama were all part of the curriculum in a school that extended itself as a finishing school for girls, but I hated sewing samplers and the scones I baked were looked upon with bemusement by my parents. I remember the excitement of morning prayers in the new junior school hall - a proper roof! - then a big gym and tennis courts followed. Sports included hockey, which I hated, and rounders, which I loved.