Hong Kong · History
Founded by parents in 1976, Kellett grew into Hong Kong's oldest British independent school
What began as two classes of 44 children in 1976 is now a dual-campus school of around 1,550 pupils, shaped entirely by its founding model: parent-owned, not-for-profit, and resolutely British.
Kellett School opened in 1976, the Chinese Year of the Fire Dragon, driven by a group of Hong Kong parents who wanted smaller classes and a richer curriculum than they could find elsewhere. They called it Starters. Its first principal was Vivienne Steer, and its first two classes enrolled 44 children drawn from British, American, Australian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Pakistani, Iranian, Norwegian, and Swedish families. The school was registered with the Hong Kong Education Department as an international kindergarten and primary school, structured from the outset as a not-for-profit association governed by its parent community, a model it has never abandoned.
Origins
The name Kellett came later, taken from the geography of its adopted home. The school is named after Irish Royal Navy Captain Sir Henry Kellett, whose name already marked several features of the harbour city, including Kellett Island, Kellett Bay, and Mount Kellett. Within a year of opening, the school had tripled to 122 students and relocated to leased premises in Taikoo Shing. A facility there began operations in January 1978. By then the Kellett School Association Limited had been formally established and registered.
Growth and campus moves
In 1980 the school moved to a purpose-built facility in Wah Fu, in Hong Kong's Southern District, overlooking Kellett Bay. The first phase opened that year; a second phase followed in 1981. That site, at 2 Wah Lok Path, Pok Fu Lam, at the foot of Mount Kellett, remains the school's original campus today. By August 2007 the school had completed a sixth phase of development at Pok Fu Lam, achieving what its founders had originally envisioned. That same year the board updated the school's name to Kellett School, the British International School in Hong Kong, reflecting its position in the territory.
The growing shortage of senior school places in Hong Kong prompted the board to extend the Pok Fu Lam school to age thirteen in 2005. A senior school was established in 2007, initially sharing a temporary site in Shau Kei Wan with Elsa High School of the Carmel School Association, less than a kilometre from the school's earlier Taikoo Shing site. The arrangement worked, but demand kept rising. In August 2009 the Hong Kong government awarded Kellett a greenfield site in Kowloon Bay to build an additional preparatory school and a purpose-built four-form senior school. That campus, at 7 Lam Hing Street, opened in September 2013. The Kowloon Bay campus won a merit award at the Quality Building Awards and the International Property Award for Best Public Service Architecture in Hong Kong.
Leadership
Vivienne Steer led the school from its founding until her retirement in 1996, when Ann Mc Donald took over as the second principal. Under Mc Donald, Kellett grew from a small prep school into an all-through institution with more than 1,300 students across two campuses. She retired in 2019 and was awarded an OBE in that year's Queen's Birthday Honours for her services to education and the British community in Hong Kong. In recognition of her tenure, the school established the Ann Mc Donald Fund for bursaries. Mark Steed, Kellett's third principal and CEO, arrived in July 2019, bringing experience from the Berkhamsted Schools Group and Jumeirah English Speaking School in Dubai. In 2023 Diana Vernon served as interim principal and CEO. Paul Tough joined as the fourth full-time principal in April 2024, moving from The British School in Tokyo, where he had previously led the school through a period of significant change. Before Tokyo, Tough had served as principal of Discovery Bay International School in Hong Kong. Kellett has had four full-time principals in nearly fifty years.
Curriculum and identity
The school follows the English National Curriculum from the Early Years Foundation Stage through to IGCSE and A Level. In Years 12 and 13, students choose three or four A Levels alongside electives including an Extended Project Qualification, a LAMDA public speaking course, or a Mini-MBA. According to the school's Wikipedia profile, in the 2024 to 2025 examination cycle 85.1 per cent of GCSEs were awarded at A* to A, and 60.6 per cent of A Levels were at A* to A.
Kellett is a founding member of FOBISIA, the Federation of British International Schools in Asia. Both prep schools became members of the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS) in 2018, the first schools in Hong Kong to be granted that status. The senior school has been a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) since 2019. In December 2021 the school was awarded Patron's Accredited Membership by COBIS, the Council of British International Schools, the first school in Hong Kong to receive that status and one of only a handful across Asia. A BSO inspection in 2023 rated the school outstanding across every category.
Present day
Kellett now operates across two campuses with around 1,550 pupils aged four to eighteen. The Pok Fu Lam campus is a three-form preparatory school on Hong Kong Island. The Kowloon Bay campus houses a two-form preparatory school and a four-form senior school for up to 600 students, separated from Pok Fu Lam by the harbour but run as one institution under one principal. The school represents 43 nationalities, with British pupils forming the largest group. It remains a not-for-profit, parent-governed association. The Kellett Foundation, established in 2020, operates as a separate charitable entity supporting learning and education in Hong Kong. The school's current strategic plan, Kellett Vision 2035, is titled Inspiring Minds, Enriching Lives.