- Yew Chung Yew Wah Education Network will operate new facility in Tin Shui Wai, with plans to open in 2026
- Site beside a wetland park spans 93,000 sq ft, larger than a typical public secondary school in Hong Kong
The existing local branch of Yew Chung International School in Kowloon Tong. Photo: HandoutAn international school chain in Hong Kong has secured a site near the border in a bid to become the city’s first institution to offer a mainland Chinese curriculum by 2026, a year later than previously planned by authorities.
The Education Bureau announced on Thursday that Yew Chung Yew Wah Education Network Limited, which runs international schools from kindergarten to secondary levels in 11 cities across the mainland and Hong Kong, was selected as the “most suitable applicant” for a private school with a mainland curriculum.
The campus will be built on an empty plot of land in Tin Shui Wai.
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“With the vibrant development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area and Hong Kong’s commitment in promoting the interflow of talent with the mainland and creating strong impetus for growth, it is expected the demand from mainland families in Hong Kong for mainland curriculum school places will rise,” the bureau said in a statement.
The site, beside a wetland park, spans 93,000 sq ft, larger than a typical secondary public school in Hong Kong at 74,809 sq ft.
Yew Chung is expected to commence operation of the campus in the 2026-27 school year at the earliest and will offer about 900 primary and secondary places in phases.
The organisation will work towards offering 12 years of primary and secondary education with mainland curriculum, with most students being non-local.
The international school group will meet the press in the afternoon to announce more details.
In 2021, the bureau started to invite submissions from the private sector for establishing a non-profit school specialising in mainland-style teaching, with officials saying the plan would help retain talent.
The targeted launch date at the time was around the 2025-26 school year.
In 2021-22, there were about 40,000 students in international primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong, around 6 per cent of the total school demographic.
There are at present more than 50 international schools offering different non-local curriculum, catered to children whose parents are working in Hong Kong.
The group currently operates 18 schools covering early childhood, primary and secondary education on the mainland. It has two kindergartens, one primary, one secondary school and one college offering bachelor programmes in Hong Kong.