Гонконгтағы католик ұлдар мектебінің тарихы мен архитектурасы

Catholic all boys secondary school in Hong Kong

The north and west blocks of the College are declared monuments of Hong Kong. The extension of the campus at 26 Kennedy Road is also a Grade I historic building. The school has educated Olympians, local public figures and a Nobel laureate (Professor Charles Kao, Father of fibre optics), and members of Hong Kong's most prominent families.

The College was previously a Portuguese commercial school named St Saviour's College, located on Pottinger Street in 1860. Father Timoleon Raimondi, the bishop of the Colony, convinced Rome to send the Lasallian Brothers to the British Colony. On 7 November 1875, six Lasallian Brothers arrived in Hong Kong: Brothers Hidulphe Marie (Director), Hidulphe de Jesus, and Hebertus from the Boarding school of Marseilles, Brother Adrian Edmund and Aldolphus Marie from the Novitiate of London and Brother Isfrid from Paris. They renamed the school after Saint Joseph, the patron saint of workers and of the Universal Church. At the time of the takeover, the school had just 75 students. Later that year, however, hundreds of Portuguese families had taken refuge in Hong Kong after a disastrous typhoon had swept over Macau causing the school's enrolment to double after just a few weeks. As a result, Brother Hidulphe had to suspend the intake of Chinese students. To accommodate the increased number of students, Buxley Lodge, a house at 99 Caine Road, was purchased in 1876. The College resumed classes after the war. In 1962, Club Germania was demolished and the modern eight storey New Building was erected under Principal Brother Brenden Dunne.

The College is near the central business district of Hong Kong. Its architecture is a combination of typical colonial European (British Imperialist) and modern styles. The Charles Kao Block (Old Building, north block), constructed in 1920, houses most of the classrooms. The Chapel Block (west block) houses the Old Hall, music room, laboratories, lecture room and the school chapel. These buildings were built in a Colonial style reflecting European influences. The two blocks are declared monuments of Hong Kong since August 2000. The modern New Building (south block), which replaced the original Club Germania on the site, houses the New Hall, senior laboratories, a library, computer rooms and a basketball court. In 2016, the College successfully acquired the former St. Paul's Co educational Primary School at 26 Kennedy Road, a Grade 1 Historical Building, from the Education Bureau. This block houses F4 and F6 classrooms, and the music hall. A plan called "Vision 22" was in place to renovate the New Building (south block) in 2021. New student facilities including a student facility hub, a faculty hub, a heritage and appreciation hub, and a learning hub are to be renovated from the current library, staff rooms and previous senior classrooms. In the long term, the New Hall block will be rebuilt, featuring a multipurpose basketball court, a swimming pool and other sports facilities. The triangular playground will have a performance hub built in, along with a new entrance at St Joseph's Path. A life experience hub will also be built under the atrium, providing short term accommodation for junior students. The project is expected to progress gradually, with the long term plans expected to be complete in more than 20 years time.

The College is governed by the School Management Committee. Members of the committee include the supervisor, the principal, two vice principals, a teachers' representative, a Parent Teacher Association representative, an Old Boys' Association representative and three Lasallian Brothers. The faculty includes 67 classroom teachers, a careers mistress, a discipline mistress, a counselling mistress, a sports master, a librarian, one Native English Speaking (NET) teacher, and a French teacher. Laboratory technicians, IT technicians and a library assistant are also employed. A part time social worker is accessible to the students. The current school supervisor is Brother Chan Jeffrey.

In 1877, two years after its establishment, the College held the first local inter school sports competition with St. Paul's College, and in 1880 it established one of the first modern football teams in China. The first local inter school athletic meet with Queen's College and Diocesan Boys' School was held in 1899, and in 1903 the first local inter school football league was formed with the two schools.

The College established a Scout troop in 1913, which was the first within the Catholic Church community in Hong Kong. As other Boy Scouts in Hong Kong were connected with the Protestant Boys' Brigade and British Boy Scouts, the St Joseph's College troop registered with The Boy Scouts Association of the United Kingdom as its first Hong Kong Boy Scout Troop, two years before The Boy Scouts Association established a branch in Hong Kong. On 1 November 1967, an ambulance cadet division of the St. John Ambulance Brigade was established at the College and was the first ambulance cadet division after the first re organization in the 1950s.

Since 1974, the College has taken part in the champion title in Male Voice Quartet, Folk music, Solos and Duets, the Dorothy Smith Trophy (Boys Junior: Treble Choir), the Music Society Shield (Mixed Voice Choir), the Dr. Karl Hohner Shield (Melodica Band) and the Moutrie Challenge Trophy (Piano Solos: Final) in the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival. The school has set up different music groups so as to enhance student's interest in music through various performances and joint school events. The School Orchestra was established in 2000 and has performed in different public events and concerts. In March 2013, the School Orchestra performed with Tonbridge School Orchestra from the UK during its overseas Tour to Hong Kong. The school has established various music groups such as the Chamber Boys' Choir, Chamber Orchestra, Junior Choir, Senior Choir, Melodica Band, Symphonic Band, String Orchestra and Chinese Drum Band. Each year, the school organises the "Green and White Concert" in early July. The 10th G&W Concert was organised at City Hall in 2012 with various special features.

St Joseph's College developed an Apache web server in the 1990s, and launched Green & White Online, one of the first secondary school websites in Hong Kong.

The school motto Labore et Virtute (Latin); "勤勞與美德" (Chinese); Labour and Virtue (English) — is meant to summarise the life of Saint Joseph. The badge of the College displays a shield divided into three divisions. The top division shows the Signum Fidei (a sign of faith) a five pointed, radiant star, which is taken from the insignia of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. It reminds people of the spirit of faith in the Institute. The right lower division shows three chevrons symbolizing broken bones, reminding students of the bravery and zeal the Saint promoted. The left lower division shows the book of knowledge on top (with the Alpha and Omega inscribed) and a lamp below; together they symbolise the importance of education, something which Jean Baptiste de la Salle emphasised. The shield stands with a compartment with supporters each of the French lily, as the Lasallian family originates in Rheims, France. The top features a ribbon with the name of the College, and a crest with a cross and a crown (used to symbolise Hong Kong as a British Crown Colony before 1997). Below the shield are three shells symbolising baptism. The motto of the college is displayed at the bottom of the badge. The combination of green and white has become the College's official colours over the years. Green represents Ireland's shamrock, while white represents France's fleur de lis. The Lasallian Brothers of the College mostly come from Ireland and France. The school rally is based on a traditional Irish song O'Donnell Abú. Brother Marcian James Cullen (1868–1938), an Irish brother and director of St. Joseph's College in 1921, adapted the song and wrote the lyrics for the rally. Brother Marcian James was posted to other Lasallian schools in Malaya and Singapore and brought the same song into use at a few of those schools.

St Joseph's College has produced eminent men in a number of fields.