International schools in Hong Kong

Search for the best international schools in Hong Kong; you can find a list of selected schools at the bottom of this page. Use the search filters to select only girls' or boys' schools, prep schools, senior schools or sixth forms; or you can search for schools that offer a particular curriculum, such as the International Baccalaureate, the UK national curriculum, a US-style model or the International Primary Curriculum. 

Hong Kong has a large and vibrant international education sector with more than 100 schools offering curriculums of the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Singapore and the International Baccalaureate. 

There are 65 IB World Schools, of which 33 are authorised to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma.

Some 17,700 students of more than 60 nationalities attend the 16 schools and six kindergartens that are run by the English Schools Foundation, Hong Kong’s largest provider of English-medium international schooling. 

Set up with government funding to provide a British curriculum for children from English-speaking families, the ESF has now largely switched over to IB programmes and some 70 per cent of its students are permanent residents.

Competition is intense for international school places, which are in high demand from local and expatriate families. Schools face an acute shortage of space due to a lack of building land and the government has provided several new school sites over recent years. Two British schools and one American international school were among those benefiting from new campuses.

Harrow International School Hong Kong, the city’s first international boarding school, was launched by Britain’s prestigious Harrow School in 2012, with the preparatory-age Kellett School opening a second prep department and a new senior section the same year.

Fees vary widely but have risen across the sector. Many international schools also charge a debenture or building levy. Following run-away inflation, debentures are now priced at up to HK$6.5million.

Education is compulsory from age six to 14. Government and aided schools teach the Hong Kong curriculum in English or Chinese. Six years of primary education is followed by three years of junior secondary and three years of senior secondary education. Net enrolment in secondary schools was 88 per cent in 2015. 

If you are looking specifically for International Baccalaureate World Schools in Hong Kong, you can find selected schools on our sister website: www.ibyb.org.