Hong Kong has allocated two campus sites to prominent institutions, aiming to expand international school capacity and attract global talent. Photo: Jelly TseTwo vacant campus sites in Hong Kong have been allocated for up to 1,000 international school students. These sites have been given to a prominent educational institution and a foundation established by the family of a late shipping tycoon. This initiative is part of the city’s efforts to attract talent from mainland China and abroad.
The Chinese International School (CIS) said the government’s decision to allocate it a campus at Braemar Hill in North Point would allow the institution to significantly increase its enrolment.
Meanwhile, the YK Pao Education Foundation, set up by Anna Pao Pui-hing, the daughter of Pao Yue-kong, and her son Philip Pao Sohmen, will launch its first school in the city after receiving a campus in Kowloon Tong.
Earlier this week, the Education Bureau shared the results of its 2023 allocation exercise for two vacant sites to help support international schools after announcing it had received a “very positive” response from the sector last year.
Authorities earlier estimated the two sites had a combined student capacity of about 1,000, adding that the campus in North Point could accommodate a minimum of 340 pupils and the one in Kowloon Tong could cater to at least 480 students.
The bureau said the schools could start operating at the sites from around the 2027-28 academic year or the one after – depending on their tenancy arrangements and whether the institutions opted to make any approved renovations or construction work.
The bureau said both campuses in the allocation exercise had to offer at least 70 per cent of their school places to non-local students. The operators are also required to offer a non-local curriculum, but cannot run a mainland one.
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CIS said the allocation reflected the government’s commitment to bringing global talent to Hong Kong and meeting the demand for top-notch school places.
The 31,215 sq ft site in Braemar Hill was previously occupied by the Hong Kong Japanese School and is located on the same road as CIS’ existing campus.
“[The redevelopment] will permit a significant increase in the school’s overall enrolment across its expanded campus, creating opportunities for additional families to join the CIS community,” the school said.
It added that starting from August 2028, the new site would house students from Years Two to Six.
The school’s primary section, spanning reception to Year Six, comprises 673 pupils, according to its website.
CIS also pledged to extend its financial aid programme to ensure that students from diverse backgrounds would “benefit from its world-class educational offerings”.
The school said the new campus would be able to accommodate plans to grow enrolment without disrupting traffic flows in the local neighbourhood.
The new campus would have an innovation lab that focused on teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and a centre for intercultural understanding that included a performing arts space, the school said.
“Both facilities will be vibrant spaces for fostering STEM excellence, artistic expression and intercultural dialogue of lifelong benefit to CIS students,” it added.
The school’s student population comprises pupils from 31 countries and regions, mainly Hong Kong, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and the mainland.
Its annual tuition fees are the highest among the city’s international schools. Reception classes cost HK$206,200 (US$26,500), while the price tag for Years 12 and 13 students is HK$327,000.
Its second-hand debentures also have the highest prices in the market among all international schools with debentures, standing at HK$10 million.
Debenture holders, the siblings of enrolled students and the children of alumni or staff enjoy priority in the admissions process.
An annual report from the school showed that more than half of its graduates in 2024 pursued further studies in the US, another quarter went to the UK and eight students chose to remain in Hong Kong.
The YK Pao Education Foundation, meanwhile, was granted the 40,000 sq ft site in Kowloon Tong.
In 2007, the foundation set up the YK Pao School in Shanghai, with a programme covering Years One to 12 and integrating elements of the Chinese National Curriculum and international curricula.
Annual tuition fees at the school in Shanghai for Years One to 12 students ranged from 168,000 yuan (US$23,000) to 216,000 yuan.
The foundation has been approached for comment.