29 Hong Kong students achieve top scores in IB exam despite tricky maths section

At least 29 students in Hong Kong have achieved top marks in the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme, even after a global outcry from test-takers over concerns that the mathematics subject was too difficult.

More than 2,600 Hong Kong students sat this year’s IB exam on May 15, 16 and 21, showing a nearly 20 per cent increase from 2021, with the results released this Sunday.

The IB exam assesses students’ knowledge of several key academic subjects and plays a key role in their university applications.

Kristen Lo Man-yi, 17, was the only student from St Paul’s Co-Educational College to achieve a perfect score of 45, while eight of her classmates got a score of 44.

Lo, who said she “didn’t expect this [result] at all”, immediately thanked her friends and classmates for their support throughout the two-year slog throughout the programme.

“I think IB is like a marathon, and so I think a lot of work is actually continuous because we have to test two years’ worth of knowledge,” she said.

“So I think making sure that every step of the way, you’re doing the right preparation, such as making notes and all that … makes the lead-up to the final stretch before exams much easier to handle.”