香港墨爾文國際學校創辦人及行政總監蘇婕祖籍福建，十二歲隨家人移居香港，正好適齡入讀中一。當時最讓她感受到中港教育差異的，是「課外活動的真實存在」。「整個小學我大概只上過兩三堂體育課，因為總是被替換成上中文或數學。來到香港的學校，體育、音樂、美術課都會如期發生，學校更會鼓勵學生組織學會，或參加童軍，並非一味追求學科分數。 」

課外活動近年流行喚作體驗式學習（experiential learning）。「回想起來，體驗式學習在我的中學年代並不及現今多，但僅有的幾次也足以影響一生。」她曾以學校環保大使的身分到新加坡交流，對當地街道的整潔程度歎為觀止；畢業那年和全年級的同學參加聯校北京交流團，更是眼界大開。

「老實說，中學學過的書本知識，有多少還記得住？然而多年以後我們仍會清晰記得，中學時參觀過哪些新奇地方，思維受到啟蒙；又或是演過哪齣話劇，學會了溝通合作。這些經歷才是真正打開我們視野，繼而影響未來發展路向的關鍵時刻。」

其後她考入中大，主修專業會計，同時積極投身各類課外活動。她當過會計學院系會會長，到過美國和加拿大參加會計及商業管理個案比賽，副修日文的她還待過九州一段時間寄宿遊學。「我經常會想，如果能把體驗式學習帶給國內的孩子，他們的成長會健康快樂很多！」

這就是為甚麼蘇婕在畢業後並沒有像大部分同學一樣應徵四大會計師行；在哈佛商學院修畢MBA課程後也沒有順勢躋身華爾街，反而於2011年自立門戶，創辦貝隆教育有限公司。她給自己定下人生目標——在國內辦一所最好的中學，於是想出和英國傳統寄宿學校合作的策略。她親自到英國和多家名校洽談，最終以誠意和切實可行的計劃打動百年學府墨爾文學院，授權蘇婕的公司在青島成立分校。

在國內開辦國際學校，解決文化差異引發的溝通問題成為蘇婕每天工作的一部分。「例如下雨該不該取消戶外體育課，這曾掀起激烈爭論：英國人認為除非傾盆大雨，否則必須照常進行；中國家長則認為即使毛毛細雨也應取消戶外活動，否則孩子會感冒。再如紀律問題，英國和中國尺度又是大相徑庭。特別是中國北方人，他們認為男孩之間打架很普通，不值得大驚小怪，不明白英國人為何動輒以重罰甚至開除來處理 。」

最讓蘇婕有成就感的，是親睹學生的蛻變。「很多孩子剛入學時羞澀孱弱，連籃球都拿不動；兩三年後脫胎換骨，愛運動，懂音樂，能和英國老師流利溝通，去到不同場合會主動發問，精神面貌和國內一般中學生已截然不同。」

短短五年內，蘇婕把墨爾文國際學校的版圖從青島擴張到成都，2015年更獲香港政府批出大埔科學園附近地皮，開辦香港分校，提供小學至高中課程。

在寸金呎土的香港難以有足夠地方支撐宿舍興建，但蘇婕說為了秉承英國寄宿學校校風，香港分校將實施社堂制度。「每天午膳時間，學生會回各自社堂，跟一位老師和六位同學一起進餐，聊天談心。高年級學生更有定期的晚上共膳，飯後和社堂成員一同做功課，增進感情和社堂凝聚力。」

蘇婕說未來十年除了繼續完善三所分校，更希望把全人教育的理念和實踐分享給更多的國內中學。「中學生處於最易受影響的年齡，品格、價值觀都是在那段時間塑造起來的，錯過了就無法重來。我希望讓更多的中國孩子和家長意識到，學習不等同求分數。探索世界、認識自我才是建立豐盛人生的最好準備。」

Jacqueline So, co-founder and chief executive of Malvern College Hong Kong, discovered what differentiated Hong Kong’s education system from that of mainland China after she moved to the city with her family at the age of twelve.

The mainland immigrant of Fujian ancestry was at that time admitted to secondary one. ‘Throughout my entire primary education on the mainland, I attended no more than two or three physical education classes. That was because the class hours were used to teach Chinese or mathematics instead. After coming to Hong Kong, I found that physical education, music and art lessons would go ahead as planned, and the schools here encourage their students to form clubs and join societies, and not just pursue academic results for the sake of good marks,’ she recalled.  

Some extracurricular activities have been dubbed ‘experiential learning’ in recent years. In Jacqueline’s secondary school days, such learning was not in abundance as it is now but ‘enough to influence my life.’ Once, she was sent to Singapore on an exchange programme as a School Environmental Ambassador and to her amazement, found the streets there spotlessly clean. During her graduation year, she joined an exchange tour to Beijing which turned out to be another eye-opening experience.  

‘Honestly speaking, how much knowledge could we still retain from the books we studied in our secondary school? Yet, after many years, we could still vividly remember the novel places we had visited that stimulated our thinking, or the stage drama we acted in that taught us the importance of communication and cooperation. It was these experiences that truly expanded our horizons and even influenced our future developments and orientation.’

Jacqueline later enrolled in CUHK and majored in professional accountancy while being actively immersed in the University’s various extracurricular activities. She chaired the Society of Accountancy, took part in an Accounting and Business Case Competition in the US and Canada, and, as a Japanese language minor, went on a homestay in Kyushu, Japan. ‘I always believe that if we could bring experiential learning to the children in mainland China, they would grow up more healthily and happily!’

For this reason, Jacqueline did not apply to the Big Four accounting firms as most of her classmates had done after graduating. Nor did she seize the opportunity to work in Wall Street after finishing her MBA at Harvard Business School. On the contrary, she set up her own business, Babylon Education Limited, in 2011.

The life goal she formulated for herself was to run the finest secondary school in mainland China and to this end, sought partnership with the traditional British boarding schools. Jacqueline flew to the UK to negotiate with several elite schools and finally, with sincerity and a feasible plan, won over the century-old Malvern College that authorized her to establish its overseas campus in Qingdao, China.   

Battling communication problems fuelled by cultural differences became a part of her everyday routine. ‘For instance, whether or not an outdoor physical education class should be cancelled due to rainy weather became a matter of heated controversy. While the British believe it should proceed barring heavy downpours, Chinese parents opined that any outdoor activity should be scrapped even in a light drizzle lest their children would catch a cold. Another burning issue was discipline. Northern Chinese, in particular, thought nothing of boys fighting in school and found it hard to comprehend why the British were so ready to impose heavy punishment on those involved, even to the extent of expelling them from school.’

Jacqueline has derived a huge sense of accomplishment from the transformations she witnessed in her students. ‘Many children were shy and feeble when they joined our school initially. Some could not even lift a basketball. But after two or three years, they changed into completely different persons, who loved sports, appreciated music, were able to communicate fluently with their British tutors and took the initiative to ask questions on diverse occasions. They have become vastly different from other secondary students in spirit and character.’

Within five short years, Jacqueline expanded the presence of Malvern College on the mainland, from Qingdao to Chengdu. In 2015, she secured from the Hong Kong Government a land grant to establish a new flagship campus in Tai Po. Opened in 2018, Malvern College Hong Kong provides education from primary to upper secondary levels.   

While it’s implausible to build student hostels in land-scarce Hong Kong, Jacqueline pushes for the implementation of a House System at Malvern College Hong Kong so as to continue the British boarding school tradition. ‘At lunchtime every day, the students will return to their respective houses where they eat and chat with their teachers and six other housemates. Communal dining will be arranged for senior students on a regular basis. With dinner over, they will join their housemates to do their homework together as this will strengthen their sense of camaraderie and cohesiveness.’

Besides continuing to improve the three overseas campuses of Malvern College, Jacqueline also hopes to spread the whole-person education concept and its practices to more secondary schools on the mainland. ‘Secondary students are at a most impressionable age as their character and values are formed during this critical period. I hope more mainland students and parents will realize that learning is not equivalent to chasing high academic scores. Exploring the world and learning more about oneself constitute the best preparation for an abundant life ahead.’