St. Louis School, Hong Kong

St. Louis School (Chinese: 聖類斯中學), in Sai Ying Pun (historically West Point, Hong Kong) is a private, Catholic primary and (government-subsidised) secondary English grammar school. There are about 800 secondary students and 350 primary school students. History Early history During the 1840s, the present location of St. Louis School was the site of a small battery, called the West Point Battery or Elliot's Battery. St. Louis School was founded in 1864 by the Fathers of the Catholic Mission; St Aloysius was chosen as the patron of the school. The school was initially known as the West Point Reformatory. The Brothers of the Christian Schools (commonly known as the La Salle Brothers) succeeded the Fathers in the management of the school in 1875 and managed the school until 1893. In 1921, Dominic Pozzoni, the ordinary of Hong Kong, asked the Maryknoll Fathers to take over. Some of the boys were orphans while the rest were remanded by the Hong Kong government, the government giving a small monthly grant for each student. The Maryknoll Fathers renamed the school St Louis Industrial School and equipped it with a printing press. The students became expert in this, and seven years later when the Paris Foreign Missions Society started their polyglot press at Nazareth in Pokfulam, they took into their employ many of these boys. When Brother Albert Staubli arrived, he added manual training to its curriculum in the way of carpentry. The American Maryknoller Fr James Edward Walsh, who was one of the first four American missioners to arrive in China and the last Western missioner to be released by the Communist China in 1970, spent some time at the school too. Early in 1926, Maryknoll's father superior and one of the co-founders, Fr James Anthony Walsh, visited to his fledgling mission fields in South China and spent some weeks in Hong Kong before visiting Kongmoon (now called Jiangmen) and Kaying (in Meixian). In the course of his stay, the position of the industrial school was reviewed and it was eventually handed back to the diocese. Salesian Fathers In 1927, the school was given to the Salesian Fathers and has been run by them since then. The year 1927 is now regarded as the founding year of today's school. The school was transformed from a vocational school to an English grammar school in 1948. Facilities The school consists of four wings: East, North, Central and West. The oldest one is the East Wing (Block A), which was built in 1936. The North Wing was damaged by a typhoon in 1942, and a new building was subsequently erected. The Central and West Wings were constructed and opened in 1941 and 1967, respectively. The school's sports facilities include a football playground (with a stand for about 1,100 people), a basketball court and a covered playground. Principals and Rectors 1927-1934: Fr Vincenzo Bernardini; 1st Rector and Principal 1934-1937: Fr Teodor Wieczorek; 2nd Rector and Principal 1937-1946: Fr John Guarona; 3rd Rector and Principal 1946-1949: Fr Pietro Pomat; 4th Rector and Principal 1949-1955: Fr John Clifford; 5th Rector and Principal 1955-1958: Fr Bernard Tohill; 6th Rector and Principal 1958-1964: Fr Lam Yum-ching; 7th Rector and Principal 1964-1970: Fr John Foster; 8th Rector and Principal 1970-1976: Fr Alexander Smith; 9th Rector and Principal 1976-1982: Fr Giuliano Carpella; 10th Rector and Principal 1982-1988: Fr Luigi Rubini; 1st Supervisor 1982-1986: Fr Patrick Deane; 11th Rector and Principal 1988-1994: Fr Clement Wong; 2nd Supervisor 1986-2016: Fr Simon Lam; 12th Principal; 3rd Supervisor 1994–2016 2000-2003: Fr Alphonsus Cheng; 14th Rector 2001-2002: Fr Joseph So; 13th Principal 2002-2012: Fr Peter Ng; 14th Principal 2012–2016: Dr Yip Wai-Ming; 15th Principal 2016–Present: Fr. Matthew CHAN Hung-Kee; 4th Supervisor 2016–present 2016-2021: Mr Peter Yu Lap-Fun, 16th Principal 2021–present: Dr Victor Yick Ho-Kuen; 17th Principal Conservation The East Wing of St. Louis School, built in 1936, is listed as a Grade II historic building, "Buildings of special merit; efforts should be made to selectively preserve". St. Louis School is part of the Central and Western Heritage Trail, Western District and the Peak Route. References Further reading Early History of St. Louis School (1863-1922) Carpella, J. (1 October 1977). St. Louis School, Hong Kong, A Short History Written for the Golden Jubilee of Salesian Administration. 黃棣才 (2015). 圖說香港歷史建築 1920－1945 [Illustrating Hong Kong Historical Buildings 1920 - 1945]. Chung Hwa Book Company (Hong Kong) Limited. pp. 32–33. ISBN 9789888340200. External links St Louis School official website St Louis School (primary section) official website St Louis Old Boys' Association (Alumni Association) Pictures of the East Wing of St. Louis School