Our History

Island School is one of five secondary schools within the ESF (English Schools Foundation). It is located in Mid-Levels area of Hong Kong Island. The School opened its doors to 237 students and 12 teachers on 19th September 1967 at 10 Borrett Road, a former British Military Hospital. It moved to its current location at 20 Borrett Road in late 1973.

At that time, the school’s population consisted of mainly British and other expatriate children. At the time of opening, Island School, King George V and St George's Forces School provided the only education for expatriates in Hong Kong. 42 years later there are now around 70 international schools in Hong Kong. Parents have a large range of choice and Island School competes, not only with other international schools but also with 2 through schools within the ESF for its clientelle.

From a predominately British (and small American) community, Island School currently has students from 33 nationalities, with the largest group being Hong Kong residents of Chinese ethnicity. The significant growth of the English Schools Foundation in the last 12 years has mirrored International Schools worldwide and is attributable to the Hong Kong Government encouraging this growth by allowing 'local' students to attend international (and ESF) Schools. The school currently has about 1170 students on role.

The nominal maximum capacity is 1200, but enrolment has occasionally exceeded this. In the years when West Island School was first established, Island School had 7 forms of entry (30 students) in the senior years and was over-full. Since then the school has settled on 6 forms of entry, within the limits of the current building, whilst other ESF schools have expanded further to meet the growing demand. 

For a complete history of Island School, see Chris Forse's book: "No ordinary School".

"No Ordinary School" - Island School Turns 40