This paper reports on a study that examined the effects of student-level orientation to schooling on students perceptions of a desirable school environment. The study involved 762 students in grades 7-12 in 4 Hong Kong secondary schools. The students completed a survey on their perceptions of independent learning, affinity to teachers, learning repertoire, and orientation to learning. Students with high orientation to learning (those with scores at or above the mean) were compared with students with low orientation. Analysis of variance found that students high in orientation to learning scored significantly higher in the other three measures. The results showed that students who looked forward to lessons, worked hard, put in a lot of effort, and believed that hard work would be rewarded were likely to be independent learners who got on well with teachers and coped well with the learning and teaching patterns of the school. This suggests that school-improvement policies or initiatives that aim to facilitate independent learning, nurture students affinity to teachers, and provide a favorable learning repertoire should also consider students positive orientation to learning that would assist them to become lifelong learners. (Contains 1 appendix and 26 references.) (AUTHOR/WFA)