Several students and a former teacher have described experiencing racist incidents at the school. But one student who said he opposed the petition described the accusations as an attempt to attack the school’s reputation.

In a letter addressed to parents, Greer vowed to strongly pursue the matter. “I wanted to give you my assurance that this is being treated extremely seriously – and at the highest possible level,” she said. “While we pride ourselves on the values we hold as an organisation and place a huge emphasis on developing the character of the young people in our schools, we must listen when we hear the experiences that have been shared with us by some of our students in the past few days.

“Perceptions are real and we cannot afford to dismiss them or to be defensive in any way.”

Hong Kong school group teachers accused of racism, inappropriate behaviour

Greer said the group would “never shy away from looking critically at ourselves” and would take further steps to ensure they were meeting equality standards.

“Over the course of the summer, we will develop very specific action plans to strengthen diversity and equality procedures across ESF and ensure that the practices experienced by every student meet our high safeguarding standards,” she said.

ESF, which is Hong Kong’s biggest international school operator, runs 22 schools from kindergarten to secondary level, including five secondary ones and three covering “all-through” education. KGV in Ho Man Tin has about 1,800 students enrolled.

Principal Mark Blackshaw earlier invited all Year 13 students, including the author of the open letter, to a meeting to “work through the concerns raised”.

He added in a reply on Wednesday: “What we have heard these past few days has been deeply concerning to us – and we will be taking immediate action.”

It is understood the meetings had not yet taken place, but a student said some of his peers were willing to sit down with the school representatives.

A Year 13 student at KGV, who asked to remain anonymous, said he was still considering whether to attend. “I think they actually have to change at least something if they want parents and students to have confidence in the school,” he said.

A black former teacher sent a letter to Greer this week in which she claimed to have witnessed racism at the school.

“Working at KGV was demoralising and exhausting for these reasons. I never had a voice, I was gaslighted for even suggesting that such a happy and inclusive school could ever have a problem with race, and for this reason I felt devalued most of the time,” she wrote in the letter.

The teacher, who resigned last year partly because of problems stemming from race, told the Post she wrote to Greer to show support “so that the online petition did not look like an unfounded student rant”.

“For the most part, my experience was positive,” the teacher said. “However I often felt like I had to constantly tone down my opinions on the deficiencies of the acknowledgement of unconscious bias in the school.”

The teacher expressed hopes that ESF teaching and support staff could undergo diversity and race sensitivity training. “I know that there will be other international schools in Asia and further afield that will also have some soul-searching to do on racism in their own communities. Hopefully ESF will lead the way and set an example as to how this could be done,” she said.

The hidden racism plaguing Hong Kong, and how one student is fighting back

Other students and alumni have complained to the Post about their experiences at the school. A former pupil of Indian origin said he was told by his teacher to shut his mouth when he yawned in class “as he can smell curry coming out of it”.

Another former KGV student, who was the only black student at the school when she was attending, said she had experienced “bullying and racism” from students and teachers on multiple occasions, describing these incidents as “traumatic”.

The 17-year-old recalled a male student had once said the “N-word” to her. Teachers were informed and he was made to apologise but that was the extent of the punishment, she said. “They [teachers] said that because they hadn’t physically seen him say it, they couldn’t do anything, despite there being three witnesses,” she said. This eventually led her to experience a breakdown, she said.

But one current student said he believed the petition was written “in an attempt to slander the KGV community as well as the members of staff who put their utmost efforts in ensuring that [the] school is a safe and welcoming space for all”.