Diocesan Girls' School

This article is about the school in Hong Kong. For the school in New Zealand, see Diocesan School for Girls (Auckland).

Diocesan Girls' School Chinese: 拔萃女書院
Diocesan Girls' School crest Daily Giving Service
Location
1 Jordan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Information
Type	DSS, Grant School, primary, secondary
Denomination	Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui (Anglican Episcopalian)
Established	1860
School district	King's Park
Headmistress	Mrs. Stella Lau, JP
Grades	P1 – S6
Gender	Girls
Colour(s)	Persian blue
Website	dgs.edu.hk

Diocesan Girls' School, one of the oldest girls' schools in Hong Kong, was founded in 1860 by the Anglican (Episcopalian) Church to provide an all-round secondary education for girls in Hong Kong. Commonly known as DGS, the school is governed by the Council of the Diocesan Girls' School, a group of administrators who ensure that the school is well-managed and adheres to DGS's School Mission. Having run as a grant-aided school since it was founded, the school commenced operation in the DSS mode starting with Secondary One classes in September 2005. It uses English as the medium of instruction, and has always been ranked as one of the top secondary schools in Hong Kong, with students known to be high achievers in academics, music and sports etc. DGS counts a total of 43 winners of the Hong Kong Outstanding Students Awards, ranking first among all the secondary schools in Hong Kong, and outnumbering the combined number of winners of the next two schools. The school is also a member of the G20 Schools group. It has a "feeder" primary school known as Diocesan Girls' Junior School ("DGJS").

Diocesan Boys' School is a sister school of Diocesan Girls' School. The schools have a close relationship, and are collectively referred to as the Diocesan Family.

History

Pre-war

DGS was originally named Diocesan Native Female Training School in 1860, when it was founded at Bonham Road and Eastern Street in Hong Kong Island. The school set up by the wife of Bishop Smith. He was the First Bishop of Victoria sent by the Society for the Promotion of Female Education in the East, a sub-society of the London Missionary Society. At first, it admitted only girls. In 1866 it was renamed Diocesan Female School. Because of financial problems the school had to restrict its services solely to orphans and destitute Hongkongese girls in 1869. Later, it became the Diocesan Home and Orphanage and accepted boys as well.

The school first received government financial assistance in 1878 and was placed under the grant-in-aid scheme, officially establishing itself as a girls' school. The boys would continue their education at the newly founded Diocesan Boys' School.

In 1913, the school finally moved to its present site in 1 Jordan Road, Kowloon, formerly a rice paddy field. In the 1920s, the school motto, Daily Giving Service, was adopted. During the Japanese occupation in the Second World War, the school was taken over as headquarters of the Japanese gendarmerie until it was re-opened in September 1945 by Ms. Gibbins, then headmistress, who was interned at Stanley camp during the occupation. Immediately upon her release, Gibbins hurried back to reclaim the school premises despite difficulty in crossing the harbour, thus saving the building from being looted.

Post war

In the 1950s, with the closure of the adjacent town-gas depot, the School was able to expand. The old Edwardian edifice was pulled down, and three school blocks were constructed to accommodate the enlarged student body. The school embarked on a large scale school expansion project, and two extension blocks were opened respectively in 1993 and 1996. A new phase of expansion had been completed and was opened officially on 12 January 2007.

In 2005, DGS joined the Direct Subsidy Scheme, so as to enhance the facilities to meet the demand of increased number of classes. In site redevelopment has been chosen against the use of a new site provided by the Education Bureau, based on costs considerations. The new school was designed by an award-winning architect, and the preliminary designs was reviewed and polished by a group of alumni. A fund-raising campaign was launched in 2008 for the redevelopment of the old school campus, which targets on HKD 380 million. In 2009, the classes in DGS were temporarily relocated to 101 Castle Peak Road, Sham Shui Po, whereas DGJS was moved to Tseung Kwan O, as the reconstruction begins. In September 2011, the school returned to 1 Jordan Road upon completion of the new campus.

School Vision

The school's vision is to produce women of excellence, equipped with a noble mind, who blend naturally Christian values, Chinese traditions and culture, democratic ideals and to contribute proactively in the international and local communities as well as their homes and families.

The school's mission focuses on the notions of (1)a holistic development strategy based on Christian principles and sound moral values; (2) their identity as Hongkongese nationals and global citizens;(3) an all-rounded education to cultivate a spirit of intellectual exploration and to develop analytical, creative and critical thinking skills; (4) a wide range of other learning experiences (OLE).

Headmistresses

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	Name	Tenure
1.	Susan Baxter	1893–1899	Miss Baxter was the first headmistress of the school. She first arrived in Hong Kong as a missionary with the Female Education Society in 1860. The number of children in the Diocesan Native Female Training School was 30 in 1863.
2.	Elizabeth Skipton	1899–1921
3.	Miss Ferguson	1921–1986	Miss Ferguson gave the school its motto "Daily Giving Service"
4.	H.D. Sawyer	1925–1939	Miss Sawyer became Headmistress in 1925 on Miss Ferguson's death. The number of pupils was 222.
5.	E.M. Gibbins	1939–1946	Miss Gibbins made the study of Chinese compulsory for all but European girls. Miss Gibbins also successfully prevented looting of the school during wartime. The war ended in 1945 and the school was re-opened on 1 October.
6.	A.W. Hurrell	1946–1953	Though faced with such difficulties as the destruction of the school building, the absence of books and a library, Miss Hurrell was able to continue with the expansion of the existing school buildings, first with the conversion of a large dormitory from the old playshed.
7.	C.J. Symons	1953–1985	In March 1953, Dr. Symons returned as headmistress having served twice before as Acting Headmistress. The school then numbered 644 from Kindergarten to the Upper Six. Dr. Symons served the school for 32 years before retiring and returning to England.
8.	Elim Lau	1985–1999	Mrs. Elim Lau, an alumnus of the school, took over as headmistress from Dr. Symons in 1985. During her term as headmistress, she oversaw the completion of the new Building Extension Phase I in 1993 and Phase II in 1996, which allowed the Junior School to expand from 12 to 18 classes with an improved teacher-pupil ratio, and further equipped the Junior School with a new library and various special rooms for effective teaching and learning. She retired in July 1999, having served the school for 14 years.
9.	Stella Lau	1999 to date	Mrs. Stella Lau is also an old girl of the school. She took over from Mrs. Elim Lau in September 1999.

Houses

The five houses are named after headmistresses of the school.

House
Hurrell (H)
Skipton (Sk)
Gibbins (G)
Sawyer (S)
Symons (Sy)

Other related associations

• DGS has an Old Girls Association named Diocesan Old Girls Association (DOGA).
• St. Andrews Church in the Diocese of Western Kowloon in Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui is the parish church of DGS.

Alumni

• Solina Chau
• Sarah Liao

See also

• Education in Hong Kong
• List of secondary schools in Hong Kong
• Diocesan Boys' School
• Diocesan Native Female Training School

References

External links

• Diocesan Girls' School – Official Homepage
• Diocesan Girls' Junior School – Official Homepage
• Diocesans Old Girls Association – Official Homepage