Around 3,000

45

USA

15%

Yes

Yes

Mandarin; Spanish; French

23

20

Yes

Reception 1 - Grade 2: iPads are available for use in the classroom.
Grade 3 - 5: Each student has an iPad provided by the school that stays on campus.
Grade 6 - 12: Bring Your Own MacBook program

Yes

HKIS is grounded in the Christian faith and respects the spiritual lives of all.

HKIS welcomes children of all faiths including those who do not associate themselves with any religion or religious traditions.

HKIS offers an academic program of different religions in which students are encouraged to share their own worldviews and spiritual/religious understandings. Religious education at HKIS features an ongoing exploration of the deep questions of existence and meaning, as well as the study of Christianity and other world religions. Our goal is that each student develops a stronger sense of his or her own spiritual identity.

Yes

This varies by division and is a gradual build-up to the heavier academic loads of a college preparatory program. For example, a 2nd Grader may have only 20-30 minutes of homework per day while a 7th Grader may have up to two hours per day, and by the time a student reaches high school they may have as much as 20 hours per week.

Nearly 100% of a typical class pursues tertiary study, over 80% of them at colleges and universities in the United States.

All students accepted into HKIS, including those students with special needs, join regular HKIS classes and study alongside the other students.

HKIS provides supplemental services for students with mild learning needs. Students with special needs are admitted when their individual needs can be met through the amount and kind of support that HKIS currently provides.

This does not exclude students who receive additional specialized support outside HKIS, provided this support helps them to be successful in the regular school program. It should be understood however, that those students who need extensive support by the school outside the regular classroom setting, may have difficulty gaining admission.

Parents whose child has special needs are encouraged to consult directly with HKIS before applying for admission, to determine if the specific necessary resources are available.

Supporting documents for the admission of students with special needs should include the child's most recent Educational and Psychological Assessment reports as well as copies of the Individual Education Plan (IEP) from the applicant's current school.

The Student Service Centers at each division have specially trained faculty who collaborate with classroom teachers in meeting the educational and social-emotional needs of students.

Student services works closely with each divisional administrative team to ensure provision of appropriate services and support. When appropriate, the school refers students to additional medical, counseling and assessment resources within the local community.

Reception 1 - Grade 2: An in-person assessment (developmental readiness and developmental skill level) will be held with all students applying for Reception 1 through Grade 2 and will take place between January - March of the intended academic year of entry.
Grades 3 - 12: Applicants for Grades 3 - 12 must take the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) administered by the Northwest Evaluation Association.

Each student’s ability to achieve success in an atmosphere of high expectations and an environment of self-discipline and responsibility to the school community is carefully assessed.

In making this assessment, HKIS will evaluate each applicant with regard to:

English Language Proficiency
Demonstrated Academic Achievement
Personal Characteristics
Fit to HKIS’ Student Learning Results

Chances for admission vary across grade levels and from one academic year to the next. HKIS accepts applications year-round and operates a wait pool rather than a wait list. When a space becomes available, we select the applicant who will best fit into our school community, rather than considering how long he or she has been waiting for admission. As space availability varies from grade to grade, we encourage families to contact our office at soon as possible to begin the application process.

We have openings across several grade levels and accept applications year-round.

Repulse Bay
Half Day Program:
Morning session: 7:55 a.m. - 10:55 a.m.
Afternoon session: 11:45 a.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Long Day Program:
7:55 a.m. - 1:45 p.m.

Tai Tam Campus
Half Day Program:
MORNING SESSION: 8:00 a.m.
AFTERNOON SESSION: 11:30 a.m.

Long Day Program: 8:00 a.m.

Please Note: The curriculum is the same at both campuses.

LOWER PRIMARY RECEPTION 2, GRADES 1 & 2 (Tai Tam only): 8:00 a.m.
UPPER PRIMARY: 7:55 a.m.
MIDDLE SCHOOL: 7:45 a.m.
HIGH SCHOOL: 7:50 a.m.

Reception 1 & 2 (Lower Primary): 8 a.m. - 1:50 p.m.
Grades 1 & 2 (Lower Primary): 8 a.m. - 2:50 p.m.
Grades 3-5 (Upper Primary): 7:55 a.m. - 2:50 p.m.
Grades 6-8 (Middle School): 7:50 a.m. - 3:05 p.m.
Grades 9-12 (High School): 7:45 a.m. - 3:10 p.m.

HKIS operates mandatory busing for Lower and Upper Primary students. Optional bussing is available to Middle and High School students.

Primary has a wonderful cafeteria that offers healthy and balanced lunch options for our children. Purchasing lunch is an option. Parents may purchase lunches online and view monthly menus. The cafeteria will serve meal options daily, or students may also opt to only purchase a snack option, which will be served family-style on a daily basis at the tables. Parents who prefer to send healthy lunches from home are welcome to do so.

Middle and High School - a catering company provides a balanced hot lunch program. Students have a choice of daily lunch specials, noodle bar, salad bar, sandwiches and also a range of hot/child snacks, fruits, health bars, dim sum, and bakery items. Items can be purchased using an Octopus card.

Lower and Upper Primary School students in R1 to Grade 5 wear uniforms that consist of navy blue bottoms (blue shorts, blue jeans, a blue skirt, etc.) and red or white collared shirts with the HKIS emblem sewn on. Shorts and shirts can be purchased from the Dragon Shop (school store), or you can provide your own and purchase from either campus a sew-on HKIS emblem. Most shoes are fine. However, for safety purposes, clogs and sandals without a heel strap are not allowed. It is recommended that your child wear sneakers for designated PE days.

Middle School students are required to wear school uniforms. This consists of a choice of navy blue or white polo type shirt with HKIS embroidered on its left sleeve. This shirt is sold through the Dragon Shop. The bottoms consist of any typical shorts, skirts, or long trousers in blue, black or khaki color. Denim is acceptable.

No uniform is required in Grades 9-12. Instead, students are expected to exercise good judgment by selecting clothing that is moderate and in good taste.

PE uniforms are required for both Middle School and High School and can be purchased from the Dragon Shop upon arrival. This is a unisex uniform that consists of dark blue shorts and a dark blue T-shirt.

The four programs outlined in this section are designed to expose students to a variety of sports, activities, and personal pursuits. Allowing students to explore and have fun while developing fundamental skills, healthy habits, and physical literacy. They include:

Extra Curricular Activities (ECA's): Extra Curricular Activities at the Lower & Upper Primary level should focus on inclusivity, provide progressive development in foundation skills and are delivered in a safe and fun environment. The 3pm Activities are inclusive and are not ability based or select in nature.

Sports Academies: This platform provide students an opportunity to pursue their passion for sports in programs that value a culture of excellence, commitment, and respect. These programs enable students to reach their full potential as athletes while maintaining a healthy life balance.

Aquatics: The Aquatics program’s mission is to provide a developmentally appropriate swimming program for students at Hong Kong International School. Each student will be offered swim lessons and a variety of aquatics activities at their level & ability, thus ensuring students experience success, enjoyment, improvement of their skills, and development of their knowledge & understanding of water safety concepts & skills.

Associated Clubs: These external sporting associations offer HKIS students an opportunity to register and participate as part of their club. Practices and competitions may take place on campus or at various facilities throughout Hong Kong.

HKIS offers a wide range of co-curricular activities after school and throughout the weekends. The program in Lower and Upper Primary is offered through a combined Sports and Activities Office. In Middle and High School separate offices provide Activities and Athletics programs.

The Sports and Athletics programs follow a Long Term Athlete Development model: The aim of which, is to promote appropriate literacy and all-round sports development for recreational or aspiring competitive athletes. In most cases early specialization should be avoided in favor of development of movement skills and general athleticism.

HKIS Middle School offers a broad and varied school athletic program for students wishing to compete in interscholastic sports. Our program offers over forty teams across 14 sports that compete in the U12 and U14 inter-school leagues and tournaments offered through both the ISSFHK (International School Sports Federation of HK) and the HKSSF (Hong Kong School Sports Federation) competitions.

HKIS High School is proud to have a competitive extra-curricular sports program that features 14 sports during our Fall, Winter, and Spring sports seasons. Student-athletes will learn, practice, and compete under our qualified coaches, and also will be presented with the opportunity to travel abroad to participate in tournaments hosted by other international schools.

HKIS is currently part of local leagues for regular season games (HKSSF/ ISSFHK) as well as international leagues (China Cup/ APAC/ JPAC/ Invitational Tournaments) for tournaments throughout the school year to provide an all round season.

HKIS redeveloped its elementary schools in Repulse Bay, creating a state of the art educational facility for their youngest learners in lower primary, designed specifically with play in mind. It features an innovation lab, community rooms, and customized playgrounds for each grade level, an indoor swimming pool and more; all of which create settings that engage children in experiential learning that is developmentally appropriate and inspires playful exploration. In Upper Primary we have flexible spaces, a STEM lab, the makerspace Garage, a Chinese Cultural Center, and touches of nature are all part of a space designed to provide a dynamic learning environment for inquiry and project-based learning.

The renovated spaces in Middle School and High School campus in Tai Tam boast world-class facilities including robotics labs and maker spaces, classrooms equipped with modern learning technology, science labs, music and art studios, performance spaces, a swimming pool, tennis courts, and a large track and sports field.

Our campus boasts world-class facilities including; a fully equipped workout gyms, swimming pools, tennis courts, basketball and netball courts, a baseball batting cage, and a large track and sports field.

In 2024-25 school year, the Student Activity Center will open. This multi-story building will house sporting facilities for our Middle and High Schools, with a pool, tennis courts, climbing walls, and massive multi-purpose rooms to create new spaces for applied science and engineering. Our students and teachers will have new spaces for their work with physical science, biology, and physics. With the Student Activity Center, we reaffirm our commitment to health and wellbeing by creating spaces to support our full community— for our students who will use it daily, and for the Hong Kong community, who will access it through our extensive activities program and community partnerships. It will also have over 180 much-needed parking spaces.

A co-educational private day school with a grounding in the Christian faith, Hong Kong International School (HKIS) serves Reception 1 through Grade 12 students from around the world who seek an American college-preparatory education. HKIS is accredited by the United States Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and is a member of the East Asia Regional Conference of Overseas Schools (EARCOS).

HKIS uses a comprehensive standards-based curriculum in which we teach for understanding. Students understand when they acquire important new knowledge and skills, make meaning of big ideas related to the knowledge and skills, and transfer this learning to new and authentic situations.
The Understanding by Design (UbD) model, which seeks to structure teaching for understanding, guides us in the formulation of our written curriculum. We align curriculum, instruction, and assessment to allow students to demonstrate understanding by developing enduring understandings and building on previous learning experiences and previously learned knowledge and skills. HKIS teachers regularly update and revise curricula to reflect current best practices and research.