German Swiss International School

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. History The school was established in 1969 by German and Swiss parents led by Ingrid Buchholtz, with its first campus located at 1 Barker Road. This had followed two unsuccessful attempts at creating a German-Swiss school in 1967 and 1968. The German expatriate community in Hong Kong desired a German medium school but felt that alone it would not be able to support such an endeavour. A group in the Swiss community wishing to establish a German medium school determined in 1964 that it alone could not sustain such a school. Impetus to create a German language school snowballed in 1966 when a German community suggested collaborating with the Swiss. The 1967 Hong Kong riots interrupted the plans, which continued in 1968. To establish the school, $117,000 Hong Kong dollars were contributed by 25 companies from West Germany, while $78,000 Hong Kong dollars were contributed by 18 companies from Switzerland. The concept of a bilingual German-English curriculum was present from the start. The kindergarten was located at Union Church on Kennedy Road, due to the long waiting list. The original school was on Barker Road; it was not owned by GSIS, and so the school rented the property. Its initial enrolment was 73, with German and Swiss students collectively being the majority. In 1972 the Hong Kong Government provided the school with land on Guildford Road, free of charge, with construction of the current upper building beginning in 1973. Also in 1972, the West German government sent Hans Kraus to be appointed as the Principal, as increasing enrolment forced the school to move some primary classes to May Road, followed by all non-kindergarten classes moving into the former hospital on Borrett Road in 1973. The Guildford campus had a cost of $7 million.