Island School (Chinese: 港島中學) is a co-educational international school located on the Mid-levels, Hong Kong. Established in 1967, it is a founding member of the English Schools Foundation. The school has been accredited by international organisations such as the Council of International Schools and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The school currently houses over 1,300 students across 33 nationalities.
The school has relocated itself twice since its establishment. Using the site of a former British military hospital from 1967 to 1972, the school permanently settled in 20 Borrett Road, Mid-Levels from 1972 to 2017. However, due to redevelopment work, the school temporarily moved to two campuses in Sha Tin District in December 2017. The school has since returned to 20 Borrett Road as of August 2022 after 4 years of redevelopment work.
Island School is a registered IB World School and offers the IB diploma program along with an alternative BTEC program in the senior years. Island School also offers the IGCSE in Years 10-11.
Contents
History
The school opened in 1967 to meet increasing demand for schooling for the children of expatriates living in Hong Kong. As there were no secondary schools for English speaking children on Hong Kong Island, the Hong Kong government established the English Schools Foundation (ESF) in 1965 to provide additional schools for expatriate British children. Island School was the first ESF secondary school, adopting the Chinese name of 英童中學 (jing1 tung4 zung1 hok6, lit. "secondary school for British children"). It was located in a former British military hospital from 1967-72 until it permanently settled in 20 Borrett Road, Mid-Levels from 1972-2017.
The first principal of Island School was the Reverend Geoffrey Speak who was appointed from St Paul's College in 1967. Rev. Speak, a graduate of Selwyn College, Cambridge, combined the principalship with managing the ESF between 1967 and 1971, during a rather inauspicious time. In 1967 the Cultural Revolution was in its throes with bombs detonated in Central, water was rationed to four hours every fourth day and with Prime Minister Wilson's devaluation the prospect of working in Hong Kong became less financially appealing. The Rev. Speak will be remembered at Island School for his introduction of the "House System" as the basis of pastoral care and for teaching, a system which is still in place today, and as a pioneer of extracurricular activities.
In 1971 C. Ronald Rivers-Moore was appointed to succeed Rev. Speak as principal. Rivers-Moore, a Cambridge graduate, continued Rev. Speak's vision both in academic policy and through the continuation of the extracurricular program. The introduction of the Nepal Trek, the School Camp, a school zoo and the Student Union are examples of his commitment to that vision. Chris Forse, former Deputy Head and Island School Historian, referred to Rivers-Moore as a man who combined his "integrity with liberal benevolence in roughly equal proportions".
Succeeding Rivers-Moore in 1978 was Charles Jonathan Driver (commonly known as "Jonty Driver"), a graduate of Trinity College, Oxford. Driver had been the President of the National Union of Students in South Africa and had been detained by Police in this role for his opposition to apartheid. Driver extended the Island School curriculum to include Drama, Photography and Computing and a pastoral curriculum. A believer in community education, Driver founded the Island School Evening Institute which provided adult education to parents and friends of the Island School community. It was also during Driver's tenure that Island School's lasting student periodical, "The Islet", was established, succeeding the original student newspaper "The Echo". Driver left Island School in 1983. He later published a book about his experiences, at Island School and others, under the title Some Schools.
Campus
Island School's former campus consisted of seven blocks ranging from five to seven floors high, with blocks 1 to 6 arranged in a rectangular fashion. Students could travel to adjacent blocks by linked walkways or footbridges. As the campus was situated on mountainous terrain, blocks located close to the mountain were placed at a higher altitude than their counterparts, and as such the floors between different blocks were often not correlated. In 2018, the former campus was demolished and all learning was diverted to the two decant campuses located in the Sha Tin area.
The two decant campuses, Sha Tin Wai and Tai Wai, housed two different sets of levels. Sha Tin Wai housed Years 7, 8, 12 and 13, while Tai Wai housed Years 9, 10 and 11.
In August 2022, Island School returned to Borrett Road with a new campus. This newly built campus includes a performing arts centre, an indoor swimming pool, a sports hall, basketball courts, sky gardens, a black box theatre, and creative studios. As well as a range of other facilities there will be designated parking for school buses under the school buildings to facilitate pick-up and drop-off, thus relieving traffic pressure from Borrett Road itself.
Academics
Middle Phase: Years 7–10
In Years 7, 8 and 9 students take part in the ‘Island Learning’ program, which has been accredited by the IB organisation as part of their MYP programme. The students there get to do subjects like humanities, theatre, music or languages.
As students move on to Years 10 & 11, Island Futures is divided into four different areas: entrance, elements, explorations and escape. The students there will have theatre, music and art combined into one subject named: Creative Arts.
Senior Phase: Years 11–13
After completing their IGCSEs/GCSEs in Years 10 and 11, students will choose whether to study the IBCP (careers programme) or the IBDP (diploma programme) in their senior years.
Island School offers the International Baccalaureate (IB) career programme. The IBCP offers students who want to focus their education on preparing for their career a specialist pathway. Students on the IBCP choose a mixture of IB diploma courses and BTEC subjects.
The International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma programme requires students to choose six subjects for the full IB diploma. This must include at least one from each group 1–5. Students then opt to take up a Group 6 Subject or choose an additional elective subject from groups 1–5. Students must choose 3 subjects at higher level and 3 at standard level. All IB diploma students have to complete the IB Ccre. This includes the extended essay, theory of knowledge, and CAS (creativity, activity, and service).
Island School offers a great variety of IB subjects:
Group 1 - Studies in Language and Literature (A): English Literature (HL/SL), English/ Chinese Language & Literature (HL/SL), Self Taught Language (SL)
Group 2 - Language Acquisition: Chinese B (HL/SL), French B (HL/SL), French Ab initio (SL), Spanish B (HL/SL), Spanish Ab initio (SL), Japanese B (HL/SL), Japanese Ab initio (SL)
Group 3 - Individuals and Societies: Business & Management, Economics, Geography, History, Philosophy, Global Politics, Psychology (all offered at HL or SL)
Group 4 - Sciences: Computer Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Design & Technology, Sports, Exercise and Health Science offered at HL or SL, Food Science at SL
Group 5 - Maths: Mathematics applications and interpretations and Mathematical analyses and approaches both at HL and SL
Examinations
In Island School, students take a selection of IGCSE, GCSE, IBDP or IBCP examinations.
Notable alumni and staff
Alumni
Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg
Jay Haddow — professional footballer for Kitchee SC
Mark Chapman — New Zealand and Hong Kong cricketer
Richard Juan — actor, TV host and entrepreneur
Christine Loh — former Hong Kong Legislative Councillor, founder and CEO of Civic Exchange and founder of Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor
Harry Hill — comedian, author and TV presenter, attended for two years from age 14
Mia Kang — fashion model, Muay Thai fighter and television host
Annemarie Munk — HK Olympic swimmer
Alice Patten, actress and daughter of Chris Patten (the last Hong Kong governor), best known for the 2006 Indian film Rang De Basanti
Fiona Sit — singer and actress
Anand Tucker — Thai-born film director and producer based in London, of Indian and German parentage.
Hannah Wilson — HK Olympic swimmer.
Melanie Wilson — GB Olympic rower, silver medal at 2016 Olympics
Neelam Kothari — Indian actress
Nina Wadia — British-Indian actress and comedian; awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to entertainment and charity
Max Denmark - HK National Rugby Team
Staff
Jonty Driver (principal, 1978–83) — wrote a book about his experiences at the school
Chris Binge (principal 2009–17)
Stephen Loggie (principal 2017–24) — previous principal at the school
Nina Gunson (principal, 2025–) — current principal at the school