"Rock-star image
Richard Eng from Beacon College is often credited with being the first of Hong Kong's "star tutors". A former secondary school teacher, he says he got the idea after he featured in photographs advertising his sister, a performance artist.

"In school all the teachers look the same, there's no excitement," he said.

Richard Eng has brought a show business approach to the world of improving exam grades

His own image appears on special ring-binders and folders containing study tips, or pens which harbour a pull-out scroll with his picture and other gifts. Such items became so sought after that they propelled him to near-rock star status among young people.

The celebrity tutor phenomenon is a result of the huge growth in out-of-school tutoring in Asia.

It is fuelled by highly pressured examination systems and ambitious parents wanting their children to secure places at top universities and high-status secondary schools."