Established 1969 Enrollment approx. 1250 Founded 1969 | Principal Annette Brandt-Dammann Phone +852 2849 6216 | |
 | ||
Type Private, international, kindergarten, primary, secondary, vocational, co-educational. Years Kindergarten, Klasse 1–12,
Years 1–13, Wirtschaftskolleg Address German Swiss International School (The Peak Campus) Upper Building, 11 Guildford Rd, The Peak, Hong Kong | ||
The German Swiss International School (GSIS) is an international school in Hong Kong established in 1969 by German and Swiss families looking for a bilingual German-English education in an international setting. Beginning with 73 students in its inaugural year, GSIS now has approximately 1,250 students from over 30 countries.
Contents
History
The school was established in 1969 by German and Swiss parents.
Curriculum
GSIS enrolls students from kindergarten to secondary in two parallel streams known as the English Stream and the German Stream. It also has a Business College (German Wirtschaftskolleg), which offers Wholesale & Foreign Trade and Transport & Logistics Management training programmes.
Primary department
The official Primary curriculum of the English Stream offers English/Language, Mathematics( covering geography), General Studies (covering history), Library, Learning Technology, which is known as ICT to students, Music, Physical Education, Science and Religious Studies, although GSIS has no established religion requirement. The German language is taught from Year 2 and remains compulsory until after Year 11. Chinese (Mandarin) is introduced in Year 4 and Science is introduced in Year 5.
Secondary department
The English Stream currently follows the British education system, completing GCSE and I/GCSE examinations at the end of Year 11. Exams will be taken at the end of Year 11. The examining boards are Cambridge and Edexcel, depending on what subject is being taken.
At GCSE/IGCSE level, compulsory subjects include English Language, English Literature, German and Mathematics. Students also choose electives from the following subject pools:
The English Stream adopted the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma programme for Year 12 and 13 in 2013, replacing the GCE A-level programme. Many students also take the SAT I/II or the Sprachdiplom for applications to universities in the United States or Germany respectively.
The same subjects above were available at AS-Level and A-Level, with the exception of English Language and Music, which are only offered at AS-Level. There were no compulsory AS- or A-Level subjects, only that a minimum of three A-Levels were taken.
German stream
In line with most German states, the German Secondary Department offers an eight-year Gymnasium course. The curriculum is based on the core curriculum of German schools in Southeast and East Asia, which in turn is based on the curricula of the state of Thuringia.
The school offers English, French, Latin and Mandarin programmes. GSIS is one of the first German Schools Abroad to offer the bilingual German International Abitur Examination (DIAP). As much as 50 percent of the Abitur exams can be taken in English. In order to prepare students for these exams, Geography is taught bilingually from K07 to K09 and in English from K10; history is taught bilingually in all years from K08.
Campuses
In 1969, GSIS first opened to 73 students in a house at 1 Barker Road, The Peak. In view of growing student numbers, the school relocated some or all of its classes multiple times until 1975 when the school was able to open its first school building on Guildford Road. Today the Peak campus comprises three buildings, including the Upper Building, Middle Building and Lower Building. The cafeteria is operated by Compass, the catering company contracted by GSIS.
In 2007, the Hong Kong Government awarded GSIS a second campus at 162 Pok Fu Lam Road, Pok Fu Lam, which in 2010 became the new permanent home for the Kindergarten and a temporary home for the Lower Primary: Y01-Y02 in the English stream, and Deutsche Vorschule (German Preschool) to K01 in the German stream. In 2012, the school moved its Upper Primary (Y03-Y06 / K02-K04) classes to a decanting site in Wan Chai on 30 Oi Kwan Road while construction works are being carried out at the Peak Campus. The site was originally in Ma On Shan, until opposition came from parents.
The Business College is located in Sai Ying Pun.
Wan Chai Campus
Wan Chai Campus is a temporary campus for children in the upper primary (Y03–Y06 and K02–K04) while the main campus up the peak is under renovation. This campus was originally owned by the Wan Chai Kai Fong Welfare Association until its sale in 2011. GSIS will return to this campus by mid-2016. This campus is three floors in height with a rooftop playground. The campus has a library, a science laboratory, two music rooms, an art room, a computer room, a ballet room (dance room), a basketball court, an indoor sports hall, and classrooms.
Buildings in the Peak Campus
The school consists of 3 buildings: the Upper Building, the Middle Building and the Lower Building. The Lower and Middle Buildings recently finished renovations, with the Upper Building re-opening in August 2016.
Upper Building
The Upper Building houses most of the German Secondary Department (GSD) and the senior years of the English Secondary Department (ESD). The building is three levels high and consists of a basketball court, known as the Courtyard, in the center of the building. The Old Gym is now used as an examination hall. Older students and staff are also free to go to the Wellcome supermarket, located right across the road at 2-4 Watford Road, during breaks, free lessons and lunchtime.
Middle Building
The Middle Building houses ESD and GSD subject cluster classrooms, the library, Three Mackerels Cafeteria as well as the black box drama theatre. This building also includes the Ingrid Buchholtz Hall, known commonly as the IB Hall, which is the main multi-purpose hall/theatre in the school. The building used to house the school's outdoor swimming pool, which sat at the very top of the building. It went under renovation as part of Phase III of the Campus Development Plan from June 2012 to August 2014. In November 2014, when the building's renovations were complete, an opening ceremony was held in the newly refurbished IB Hall.
Lower Building
The Lower Building is situated at the lower end of Guildford Road. It used to house the Primary sections of both streams. As for the meantime, the Primary students have been relocated to the Wan Chai Campus while renovations are still ongoing. This was done in order to minimize the dangers and distractions of a construction site. Most of the building, from the basement to the fourth floor, is currently closed due to ongoing renovation, a part of Phase IV of the Campus Development Plan. Level 4 of the building, which used to be a playground, was converted to temporary classrooms when the Middle Building was closed down. The Lower Building also houses a sports hall and a new year-round heated swimming pool that replaced the one in the Middle Building.
Campus Development Plan
In 2008, the Boards of GSIS developed a Campus Development Plan aimed at making better use of the space available for the current number of students and facilitate future curricular requirements. The Upper Building is intended to house the Primary Departments, while the Lower and Middle Buildings will house the Secondary Departments. The plan consists of five phases, as follows:
In order to minimize disturbance to classes over Phases III to V, GSIS secured a private campus in Wan Chai which will temporarily house both streams of the Upper Primary (K02-K04 in the German stream and Y03-Y06 in the English stream) from 2012 for a period of up to four years. Furthermore, construction work usually begins after 1:15 pm, before most of the younger students in secondary finish class. Once all renovation works at The Peak are complete (expected in 2016), the entire Primary section of both streams will return to occupy the Upper Building.
School Buses
Similar to other international schools in Hong Kong, GSIS has outsourced its transportation services to reputable bus companies who specialize in providing student bus services. The companies that provide bus services to GSIS are Kwoon Chung Motors Co. Ltd, Kingsview Bus Service Company, and Mr Lau Hon Por. The seating capacity offered on the various routes is sufficient for students holding multi-trip passes.
School Shop
The GSIS school shop provides stationery and (optional) physical education uniform for purchase. The shop is run by members of the Parents' Committee, any member of the committee can volunteer to help out at the store.
Dress code and school rules
Like most schools in Germany, GSIS students are not required to wear uniforms. However, for students in Year 9 or below (equivalent to K08), they must wear the school PE kit during PE lessons. For students in Year 10 and above (equivalent to K09), the rule is that students can wear anything that is suitable for PE lessons; however, it is still suggested and enforced that students wear the School PE kit.
Student body
As of 2016, there are 1305 students from 30 countries attending the school. Of students who were not German, Austrian, nor Swiss, most of them were from Hong Kong families. Others were children of mixed marriages, mainly with German, Swiss, or Austrian fathers and spouses who held passports of other countries.