1964–2010
In 1964,a Hong Kong-based committee of the Lutheran Church –Missouri Synod (LCMS) first submitted a proposal to have the school built. [4] The Repulse Bay Lutheran Church and School Project conducted a survey of Americans in July 1964. The results showed the majority of respondents were in favor of establishing an American school,with 100 new families anticipated to arrive each year. [5]
In 1965,the Board of Missions of the LCMS and the Hong Kong Education Department approved a land grant and loan for the construction of the school. The LCMS matched the land grant with its own grant and loan,and the American business community in Hong Kong raised additional capital. [5]
With the establishment of regional headquarters of the Dow Chemical Company and Pan Am in Hong Kong,a number of American families arrived in 1966. [5] The HKIS Board of Managers agreed to establish and open an "HKIS Provisional Elementary School" program for the 1966–1967 school year in a leased apartment building at Chung Hom Kok with a capacity for 195 students. [6]
In April 1966,the groundbreaking ceremony was held for the first permanent school building in Repulse Bay,with a capacity for 630 pupils. The campus included a cafeteria,library,and gymnasium. It became the first school in Hong Kong with a U.S. education program. [7] The school facilities were completed in 1967,with the Church of All Nations also located on the campus. [5]
HKIS officially opened in Repulse Bay in 1967,with more than 600 students in kindergarten through to grade 12. [6] By 1969 this had grown to 900 students from 26 nationalities,with 80% being U.S. citizens. [8] The campus was as dedicated in 1975. [9] In the 1970s the school had both American students and students of other nationalities. [10] In 1971,HKIS became WASC accredited,five years after the school opened. [5]
In 1974,the HKSA was incorporated as the operator of HKIS. [11]
In 1985,the Hong Kong government approved a land grant in Tai Tam. The groundbreaking ceremony for the new campus was held in 1986. The campus was completed in 1989,in time for the 1988–1989 school year. Hong Kong Governor Sir David Wilson dedicated the new campus. In 1989,the school had grown to 1,7111 students across its two campuses. [8]
In 2001,the student count was 2,650. That same year,Charles Dull announced that he would not stay on after the end of his period as the head of the school. William Wehrenberg succeeded him. [12] Wehrenberg left his position in 2004. [13]
In 2003,HKIS and BrainPop collaborated on an episode of the latter about SARS/MERS.
By 2004 the school had established an extracurricular summer school that was one of the largest in Hong Kong. [14]
The Middle School completed a new Middle School Annex overlooking Tai Tam Bay in 2009 or 2010,including administrative offices,a boardroom,Modern Languages classrooms and a seminar/meeting space. The Middle School has also developed 5 houses,Tai Tam,Peak,Lantau,Central and Shek-O.
2010–present
HKIS announced in June 2011 that it would be redeveloping the Lower Primary school building in Repulse Bay for three years,with the old building being leveled during the process. In 2013,HKIS announced that lower primary students would move to the Tai Tam campus starting in the 2014–2015 school year. Offices and support staff rooms were retrofitted into classrooms,with space in the Middle School being turned over to Lower Primary. Work began in 2014,with the new campus featuring an indoor swimming pool,auditorium,gymnasium,learning spaces,and housing.
The school undertook a complete renovation of the Lower and Upper Primary Campus in Repulse Bay in 2017 and 2018,respectively. The Lower Primary school received six new playgrounds,swimming pool,auditorium,cafeteria,and Wonder Lab. The Upper Primary school received major renovations with all classrooms increasing in size and including art,science,and Design Garage rooms,a Chinese Cultural Center,cafeteria,multiple purpose sports room,and two-story indoor place area. [15]
The school was listed by The Schools Index as one of the world's 150 leading schools and amongst top 15 in China and Southeast Asia in 2021. [16] [17]
According to the South China Morning Post ,in 2022,the relationship between the LCMS in the United States,and school operator HKISAL began to deteriorate after LCMS asked for a site tour of the Repulse Bay campus with property agents to assess the value of the land. The LCMS planned to sell the school and redevelop the land because the valuation of the campus would be worth as high as US$1.1 billion if it was turned into residential and commercial development. [1]
In 2025,the LCMS moved to assert direct control of the school. In a lawsuit against HKISAL the LCMS demanded the resignation of the entire board of directors,and for the board to be replaced by new members of their own choosing. If this did not happen,they requested the eviction of the existing management company from the grounds so that a new entity could take over the real estate of the school and establish a replacement. [18] [19] After the announcement of the lawsuit,the LCMS opened a website for a Hong Kong Pacific School,the intended replacement of the existing school. The Education Bureau of Hong Kong said they received the application from LCMS,but the bureau will not process the application at this stage due to ongoing litigation. [11] Responding to the lawsuit,the HKIS announced that it remains fully operational and unaffected by the proceedings. [20]
