Diocesan Girls' School, Hong Kong

Diocesan Girls' School (DGS; 拔萃女書院)is one of the earliest Anglican girls school (founded in 1860). DGS is currently located at 1 Jordan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Administered under the Grant Code and using English as the medium of instruction, it is also one of the most outstanding and all-rounded schools in Hong Kong.

Early History

It was originally Diocesan Native Female Training School in 1860, when it was founded at Bonham Road and Eastern Street on Hong Kong Island. The school was set up by Mrs. Smith, wife of Bishop Smith the first Bishop of Hong Kong who was sent by the Society for the Promotion of Female Education in the East, a sub-society of the London Missionary Society. At first, it took only girls. In 1866, it was renamed Diocesan Female School. In 1869 the School had to confine its service to orphans and destitute Chinese girls due to financial problems. Later, it became the Diocesan Home and Orphanage and accepted boys as well.

Despite its humble beginnings, the School quickly became an educational success. The School first received government financial assistance in 1878 and was placed under the Grant-in-aid scheme, officially limiting its intake to girls only. The boys were to continue at the new Diocesan Boys' School.

In 1913, the School finally moved to its present site in Kowloon, formerly a paddy field for rice-growing. In the 1920s, the school motto, Daily Giving Service, was adopted. During the Japanese occupation in World War II, the School was taken over as headquarters of the Japanese gendarmerie until it re-opened in September 1945 by Mrs. Gibbins, the present headmistress, who was imprisoned in Stanley during the war. To her credit, she hurried back to the Campus to reclaim the School upon her release, thereby saving the building from being looted by angry residents.

Modern History

In the 1950s, with the close-down of the adjecent town-gas depot, the School made its timely expasion. The old Edwardian ediface was pulled down and three school blocks were constructed to accommodate the enlarged student body. Recently, the School Council embarked on a large scale school expansion project and two extension blocks were opened respectively in 1993 and 1996. A new phase of expansion is currently underway and a new block would soon be added for the Secondary section.

Academics

Diocesan Girls' School is locally known to be one of the best girls' schools, with students receiving top results in the HKCEE and the HKAL continuously throughout the years. Students continued their tertiary education at local and overseas universities, while not infrequently they may find themselves landing in institutions such as Oxford, Cambridge, London School of Economics, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Cornell, Northwestern, Washington University in St. Louis, University of California Berkeley, Tufts Universities. Girls also participate in internationally-acclaimed competitions such as ThinkQuest. Many have been placed in such events. DGS is an EMI school which is acclaimed for its high standard of English. It emphasizes on the development of billingual and trilliterate abilities, and prepares the girls in the oral and written English, written Chinese, as well as training in Putonghua. Most girls speak Cantonese, another dialect of Chinese as their mothertongue.

Extra-curricular Activities

The school places special emphasis not only on the intellectual growth of the students, but also on the character growth of students. Morning assemblies with Christian teaching are conducted every morning before lessons in both English and Putonghua. DGS girls are often regarded as strong and daunting opponents at various choral, music and debate competitions. The school is well-known for her accomplishments in various areas of Hong Kong Division I. sports and music. Their sports teams, along with their choirs and orchestras, are one of the highest standard in Hong Kong, receiving outstanding results in the Hong Kong Schools Sports Federation Inter-school competitions and Hong Kong Schools Music Festival, as well as in the Hong Kong Schools Speech Festival. Among their students are Olympic swimmers, Inter-port runners and a Gold-medal recipient choir in the International Choir Olympics.

Music

DGS is acclaimed for their wide range of fine school musical groups including the Junior Choir, the intermediate choir, the senior choir, the madrigal teams (with DBS), the full orchestra as well as the string orchestra. They also join with their fraternal school Diocesan Boys' School to form the Diocesan Schools Choral Society with a Junior Mixed Choir and a Senior Mixed Choir. These musical groups are well-known locally as well as internationally for their accomplishments in both local and international festivals. Chinese Music is also a part of Music Life in DGS which also boasts a fine chinese orchestra, numerous chinese ensembles and a diverse system of instrumental lessons.

Sports

Being an All-rounded institution, DGS also excels in many areas of sports. Their many school teams including Athletics, Swimming, Life-saving, Orienteering, Tennis, Badminton, Table-tennis, Fencing, etc. are all top of their league within Hong Kong Inter-school competitions. Whether individually, or as a team, they display great technique and sportsmanship.

Other Related Associations

DGS has an Old Girl Association named Diocesan Old Girls Association (DOGA). St. Andrews Church of the SKH West-Kowloon Diocese is the local parish church of DGS.

See also

• Education in Hong Kong

External links

• Diocesan Girls' School – Official Homepage
• DGS E-class Intranet
• Diocesan Girls' Junior School – Official Homepage
• Diocesans Old Girls Association – Official Homepage
• Unofficial Web forum Diocesan Boys' School Diocesan Girls' School