German Swiss International School

German Swiss International School Deutsch-Schweizerische Internationale Schule
Location
11 Guildford Road, The Peak Hong Kong 162 Pok Fu Lam Road, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
Information
Type	Private, international, kindergarten, primary, secondary, vocational, co-educational.
Established	1969
Enrollment	approx. 13001
Years	Kindergarten, Klasse 1–12, Years 1–13, Wirtschaftskolleg
Website	http://mygsis.gsis.edu.hk/

German Swiss International School
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	德國瑞士國際學校
Simplified Chinese	德国瑞士国际学校
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Déguó Ruìshì Guójì Xuéxiào Cantonese (Yue) - Yale Romanization Dākgwok Seuihsih Gwokjai Hohkhaauh
German name
German	Deutsch-Schweizerische Internationale Schule

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 opening year, GSIS now has more than 1,200 students from over 30 countries.

Mission Statement

GSIS' mission statement is to “encourage and foster the talents of our students – as well-rounded individuals, responsible team members and open-minded citizens of the 21st century. We help our students explore the traditions that surround, shape and enrich us: the worlds of the German and English-speaking countries as well as of our host country China.”

Curriculum

GSIS enrolls students from kindergarten to secondary in two parallel streams known as the English Stream and the German Stream. It also has a Business College (German Wirtschaftskolleg), which offers Wholesale & Foreign Trade and Transport & Logistics Management training programmes.

English stream

Primary department

The official Primary curriculum of the English Stream offers English/Language, Mathematics, General Studies (covering science, history and geography), Library, Learning Technology, Music, Physical Education and Religious Studies. The German language is taught from Year 2 and remains compulsory until after Year 11. Chinese (Mandarin) is introduced in Year 4.

Secondary department

The English Stream currently follows the British education system, completing GCSE and I/GCSE examinations at the end of Year 11. GCE A-Levels are taken at the end of Year 13. The examining boards are Cambridge and Edexcel, depending on what subject is being taken.

At GCSE/IGCSE level, compulsory subjects include English Language, English Literature, German and Mathematics. Students also choose electives from the following subject pools:

• Languages (French and Mandarin)
• Humanities (Economics, History and Geography)
• Sciences (Physics, Chemistry and Biology)
• Arts (Art, Music, Drama)

Additionally, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is also available as an elective. The same subjects are available at AS-Level and A-Level with the exception of English Language, which is only offered to AS level, and Music. There are no compulsory AS- or A-Level subjects, only that a minimum of three A-Levels are taken. Many students also take the SAT I/II or the Sprachdiplom for applications to universities in the United States or Germany respectively.

The English Stream will adopt the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma programme for Year 12 and 13 in 2013, replacing the GCE A-level programme.

German stream

In line with most German states, the German Secondary Department offers an eight-year Gymnasium course. The curriculum is based on the core curriculum of German schools in Southeast and East Asia, which in turn is based on the curricula of the state of Thuringia.

The school offers English, French, Latin and Mandarin programmes. GSIS is one of the first German Schools Abroad to offer the bilingual German International Abitur Examination (DIAP). As much as 50 percent of the Abitur exams can be taken in English. In order to prepare students for these exams, Geography is taught bilingually from K07 to K09 and in English from K10; history is taught bilingually in all years from K08.

Facilities

Campuses

In 1969, GSIS first opened its doors to 73 students in a house at 1 Barker Rd, The Peak. In view of growing student numbers, the school relocated some or all of its classes multiple times until 1975 when the school was able to open its first school building on Guildford Road. Today the Peak campus comprises three buildings, including the Upper Building, Middle Building and Lower Building. GSIS currently leases Shop 2 in the Dairy Farm Shopping Centre on Watford Road for its current cafeteria at the Peak, known as "The Lounge". The cafeteria is operated by Compass, the catering company contracted by GSIS.

In 2007, the Hong Kong Government awarded GSIS a second campus at 162 Pok Fu Lam Road, Pok Fu Lam, which in 2010 became the new permanent home for the Kindergarten and a temporary home for the Lower Primary: Y01-Y02 in the English stream, and Deutsche Vorschule (German Preschool) to K01 in the German stream.

The Business College is located in Sai Ying Pun.

Campus Development Plan

In 2008, the Boards of GSIS developed a Campus Development Plan aimed at making better use of the space available for the current number of students and facilitate future curricular requirements. The Upper Building are intended to house the Primary Departments, while the Lower and Middle Buildings will house the Secondary Departments.

The plan consists of five phases, as follows:

• Phase I (completed in 2008): Art Studios on a newly built sixth floor of the Middle Building
• Phase II (completed in 2010): refurbishment of the Pok Fu Lam campus; relocation and enlargement of the senior library at the Peak campus (an intermediate step towards library plans in Phase III); an additional science room; and refurbishment of the cafeteria.
• Phase III (scheduled for 2012–14): renovation and refurbishment of the Middle Building; the addition of a new gymnasium, cafeteria, black-box theatre, music classrooms, IT facilities, classrooms and senior library, as well as the relocation and conversion of the swimming pool for year-round use
• Phase IV (scheduled for 2014–15): Lower Building
• Phase V (scheduled for 2015–16): Upper Building

In order to minimize disturbance to classes over Phases III to V, GSIS secured a private campus in Wan Chai which will temporarily house both streams of the Upper Primary (K02-K04 in the German stream and Y03-Y06 in the English stream) from 2012 for a period of up to four years. Once all renovation works at The Peak are complete (expected in 2016), the entire Primary section of both streams will return to occupy the Upper Building.

Dress code and school rules

Like most schools in Germany, students at GSIS are not required to wear uniforms, including during Physical Education classes. There is a regulation PE uniform that is available in the school shop but it is not mandatory, as long as the student wears appropriate clothing for the activity.

External links

• German Swiss International School's Website