GSIS will move pupils to temporary site despite parent protests
The board of the German Swiss International School is to go ahead with the move of some of its youngest students to a temporary site in Ma On Shan despite facing a parents' rebellion over the issue.
Board members of the international school made a 'unanimous' decision this week to stick to the Ma On Shan temporary school site offered by the Education Bureau while The Peak campus is being renovated. Upper primary students will be sent away to make room for construction and the lower primary students will be moved to a new campus at Pok Fu Lam from summer 2010. The decision comes after a majority of parents who attended two extraordinary general meetings last month voted against the proposal and threatened to remove the board.
The popular international school, which offers German-medium and English-medium streams, has been seeking to expand its campus for years to ease acute overcrowding.
In May last year, the board approved a development plan to revamp existing buildings and build a new campus in Pok Fu Lam.
Some students will be taught elsewhere while construction work is taking place.
The development is scheduled to be completed in 2014.
However, the plan has since met with an outcry from parents and the school has reportedly been losing students because of the plan.
The board said the decision was taken to protect the school's long-term interests.
Chairman Ulrich Buchholtz said it was a very difficult decision.
'However, we are convinced that the majority of the parents will support our strategy to protect the long-term quality and performance standards of GSIS. Our school development plan is also supported by the German and Swiss consulates, the Central Agency for German Schools Abroad and the Education Bureau of Hong Kong,' Mr Buchholtz said.
A spokesman for the school added that the board had formally advised the government of its final decision to accept the Ma On Shan site and a formal lease agreement would be signed when the terms had been finalised and prior to the start of the lease.
In response, a mother with a child who will be moved to Ma On Shan said she was not surprised by the board's decision but was 'deeply saddened'.
'There will be a response from parents and it'll be strong ... We'll take this as far as possible,' she said, adding that it would include the possibility of removing the board. 'The school's announcement will only make people want to fight more.'
