Hong Kong · History
From three pupils in a residents' club to a Lantau landmark
Discovery Bay International School opened in January 1983 to serve a brand-new community on Lantau Island. More than four decades on, it runs three campuses and sends graduates to universities worldwide.
Origins
The Cha family, owners of Hong Kong Resorts International (HKRI), unveiled plans for an independent residential community on Lantau Island at the start of the 1980s. They understood that families would not move without a school nearby. DBIS's own history pages record the result: the school opened in January 1983, just one month after the first residents moved in.
The beginning was deliberately modest. Three students, Ann and Jean Evans and Edda Hansen, were taught at the Discovery Bay Residents Club by teacher Ms Anne-Marie Naughton and founding principal Mrs Wendy MacCallum. Office manager Ms Connie Ting joined at the same time and would go on to become the school's longest-serving staff member.
Growth came quickly. By the start of the 1983 to 1984 academic year, enrolment had climbed sharply enough to prompt a move to a custom-built campus, the core of the school's current estate. That first intake of 69 students already represented a broad spread of nationalities, a diversity the school has kept at the centre of its identity ever since. From the outset, DBIS was also among the first international schools in Hong Kong to recruit specialist teachers in Mandarin, Music, and Physical Education.
Growth and headship
For more than two decades, Ms Naughton anchored the school's early-years and primary programme. She retired in 2005 after 23 years of service. The following year, Mr Grant Ramsay took over as principal and steered a significant expansion in the built environment, overseeing two new buildings: the Discovery Centre and a purpose-built home for the secondary school. By 2013, DBIS was accepting students from Nursery through to Year 11.
Mr Paul Tough succeeded Ramsay in 2014. During his five-year tenure the school focused on individual learning experiences and built the academic structures that underpin the school today. Most significantly, it was under Tough that the Sixth Form was established: the Class of 2019 became the school's first cohort of A Level graduates.
Mr Stuart Bridge joined as Head of School in 2020. His tenure oversaw further expansion of the Sixth Form alongside what the school describes as record-breaking IGCSE and A Level results. The school navigated the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic during this period and continued to grow its reputation for post-16 provision.
Curriculum and identity
DBIS follows the National Curriculum for England, tailored to its international setting. The school describes its offer as an international curriculum with British characteristics, a distinction that matters on a campus where students represent approximately 50 nationalities. Early Years provision is shaped by the EYFS framework and draws on Reggio Emilia-inspired, child-directed environments. Primary education uses a concept-driven inquiry approach that continues through Key Stage 3 as the school's own Discovery Curriculum.
In secondary, students sit GCSEs and IGCSEs in Years 10 and 11, then choose between A Levels and BTEC Level 3 qualifications in the Sixth Form. DBIS is one of a small number of schools in Hong Kong to offer both A Levels and a parallel BTEC pathway. The Discovery Lab, which opened in 2018, gave further momentum to a STEAM-based approach, with facilities for robotics and virtual reality. The school was also the first in Hong Kong to introduce Forest and Beach Schools to its early years curriculum, a programme that has since expanded into primary.
Mandarin is taught in every year group. French and Spanish are available as options in secondary. The school has held accreditation from the Council of International Schools (CIS) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), and joined FOBISIA in 2010.
Present day
DBIS now operates across three campuses in Discovery Bay. The Early Years campus sits opposite Discovery Bay Plaza. The Primary and Secondary campus, built around an all-weather sports pitch, includes a heated pool, Globe Theatre, STEAM and Design Technology suites, science labs, and the Discovery Lab. The Sixth Form has its own dedicated centre at North Plaza, with access to main campus facilities. The school draws students from across Lantau and is accessible from Central by ferry.
The school community numbers around 1,000 students from more than 50 nationalities, spanning Nursery to Year 13. Stuart Bridge remains Head of School. The oldest international school on Lantau Island, DBIS has run continuously on the same site for more than 40 years, from three children in a residents' club to a full through-school sending graduates to universities including Cambridge.