About Us

The first week of the academic year brings with it a fresh wave of possibility, and it’s been a wonderful start here at DC. From the fresh, bright red uniforms and excited smiles on our new Year 1 learners, to our Secondary students confidently stepping back into the building ready to learn, the energy across the college has been inspiring.

At Discovery College, we take immense pride in being a school for each learner. As a Y1-Y13 IB world school, our primary commitment is to honor every student’s individual journey, meeting them where they are, celebrating their unique strengths, and nurturing their personal growth from their very first steps in Primary all the way through to graduation. 

As we continue to gear up into the full swing of routines next week, I am constantly reminded of what makes this community so vibrant. Together, we are creating an environment where every young person is empowered to Grow, Discover, and Dream, stretching their minds through inquiry, uncovering new passions, and reaching for ambitious goals.

As a reminder, we have some small updates regarding online learning procedures, and it is helpful to have these in the back of our minds as we enter a rainy weekend ahead. We encourage all families to check the Severe Weather Procedures page in the Parent Handbook this time of year. These procedures have been developed from both the EDB and ESF-wide policies. Further sector-specific details will be communicated by the Primary and Secondary Leadership Teams. 

Thank you for your partnership, your warm energy, and for trusting us with your children. Please remember that our doors are always open. If you ever have questions, feedback, or simply want to share a story from the week ahead, please don't hesitate to reach out to myself or any member of our staff.

I wish you all a wonderful, restful weekend after a busy first week!

On Thursday, 27 August from 4.00pm - 7.30pm, Discovery College will be hosting its annual Parent Information Fair. 

For those who are new to the college, the Parent Information Fair is a very important date on our calendar for all parents, whether you have been at DC for several years, or are brand new. 

This evening is for parents only and is an important time to meet your child's teachers, to ask questions and to find out more about what the year has in store. 

An overview of the evening is available on our Parent Information Fair Website.

We look forward to making you welcome on campus on 27 August and appreciate you making time to engage with us at the start of the academic year. 

Further information will be shared with you closer to the event, for now please save the date!

A few highlights from last year's Paent Information Fair.

What an incredible afternoon! Today, our Secondary campus was buzzing with energy, friendly competition, and pure House pride during our Secondary Interhouse Team Building event.

Designed to bring our community together right out of the gate, students from Years 7 to 12 joined forces in mixed-age House teams. Together, they tackled a variety of fun, high-energy challenges designed to test problem-solving, communication, and collaboration.

A special shout-out goes to our Year 13 leaders, who stepped up to facilitate and run the challenges throughout the afternoon. Their encouragement, organisation, and enthusiasm kept the momentum going and ensured every student felt included and ready to give their all.

No DC event would be complete without a memorable finish! To round off the afternoon, our heroic House Captains took centre stage - leading literally from the front - in a hailarious and fiercely contested giant rabbit relay competition. Watching our student leaders dash (and hop!) across the finish line with a House-coloured rabbit's costume as the baton, was a highlight of the day.

It was a fantastic way to wrap up our very first week back at Discovery College. Beyond the House points and the laughter, today showed the true strength of our community. House spirit is officially fully ignited, and if today was anything to go by, we are in for an unforgettable year ahead!

The ESF Chairman’s Awards are a prestigious evening, where over 250 graduating students from across ESF are brought together to be recognised for their academic excellence and outstanding achievements in areas including leadership, sport, creativity and community service.

We were delighted to celebrate with our class of 2026, who were honoured at the awards ceremony this week. Beyond the awards themselves, the evening was a wonderful celebration of our graduates' hard work, resilience, and unique learning journeys.

We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to our parent community and staff for walking alongside our students and making these accomplishments possible.

Congratulations to all of our award recipients on this well-deserved honor!

On August 12-13, Year 7 students completed a two-day Induction Programme to prepare for the MYP. Every subject's first lesson explored a central question: how to feel ready and belong when transitioning to the MYP. Across all subjects, our goal was simple: help students feel capable and connected before asking anything more of them. 

Here is a glimpse into how they settled in: 

• Building Community: Students explored "belonging" through Theatre exercises, shared overlapping stories in English, and curated collaborative exhibitions in Visual Arts.
• Establishing Routines: To ease the transition, teachers walked students through essential daily habits, from understanding PHE kit expectations to successfully setting up Google Classroom to manage their digital files. 
• Safe Research & Teamwork: Individuals and Societies students practised safe digital research using kid-friendly search engines, working in groups to investigate news stories and rotate presentation roles. 
• Embracing Challenges: In Design, students explored their “Learning Zones” (comfort, stretch, and panic), learned that true growth happens in the stretch zone, and created clay prototypes to map their own comfort levels. 
• Looking Ahead: In Maths and Science, students discussed their hopes and fears, providing teachers with an honest starting point for the months ahead. 

A Note from the Year 7 Dean Mr David (Dai) PUGH

Our Year 7s have made a wonderfully positive start at Discovery College! My opening assembly emphasised the strong network of support helping students build routines and foster belonging. Guided by our Learning Advisors, students are exploring new spaces, meeting peers, and supporting one another. Ask them to share their highlights during dinner tonight!

We have had a wonderful start to the new academic year. As students settle into their school routines, we would like to update you on our approach to mobile device use for the year ahead and to seek your support. 

As part of our ongoing commitment to supporting effective learning conditions and community building, we would like to remind you of the expectations of all students in relation to mobile device use during the school day, specifically, mobile phones and laptops.

Mobile Device Expectations:

1. Students are required to power off their mobile phones and store them in their school bags prior to entry and until departure from the school campus at the end of the day (3.30pm), with the following exception: Students may pay for food in the cafeteria if they only have a digital octopus on their phone. After completing their purchase, the phone must be powered off, and placed back in their bag. 

2. Students are permitted to use their laptops only as a learning tool when instructed to do so by their teacher. 

3. To help each student stay focused during each lesson, they are required to have only one browser window open on their laptops, and it must be relevant to the learning taking place at the time. 

Parent-Student communication during the school day. 

If you need to communicate with your child during the school day, please call or email the front office, and the message will then be relayed to them. Similarly, if a student needs to contact you, they can do so through the front office. We understand that this approach may differ from what you are accustomed to, and we appreciate your understanding as we implement this change. These steps are a key part of our broader strategy to create the best possible learning environment, free from unnecessary disruptions.

Please note that direct messages to a student's phone will not be received until the end of the school day. 

We would be grateful for your support in having a conversation with your child about the expectations above, and to help them plan their day without the need to use their mobile phone whilst on the school campus.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your child's Learning Advisor in the first instance.

Please note that students in Years 1 - 6 are dismissed in the following areas and at the following times:

• Years 1 - 3 finish school at 3.10pm from the Foreshore
• Years 4 - 6 finish at 3.20 from the Main School Entrance

Please refer to the Parent Handbook for detailed information.

Timetable via ESF App

Please note that that the timetable which is shown via the ESF App does not include accurate timings for primary students. This is due to a functionality issue, which allgins timings of the day with secondary lessons. The college is looking forward to transferring to a new information system which serves our whole community in the near future.

The Primary Newsletters, which are sent by Phase Leaders and Teachers, include all you need to know for the Primary School Day and will confirm PE days and when reading books will be swapped.

YRock is excited to be offering two rock/pop band programmes at DC this term:

1. YRock 101 (a beginner’s programme), and
2.  YRock School (at least 1 year experience is required).

Lessons are held at the DC Secondary Music Room LD1. Total of 11 lessons this term, $315/lesson ($3,465 total), paid directly to YRock. All YRock students will be invited to perform at the End of Term Concert held on 5 or 6 Dec at The Wanch.

YRock 101 (Y4+)

• Beginners Band Programme where students will learn the basics of all the essential band instruments: guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and vocals; as well as how to play together as full bands.
• Complete beginners are welcome
• Can choose either Monday after school or Saturday mornings
• Total 11 lessons $3,465 for the term

• Students form bands, pick their own songs, learn how to rehearse and listen to each other, and perform
• At least 1 year experience on any instruments or vocals is required 

• Two timings on Saturday mornings: 10am or 11am
• Total 11 lessons $3,465 for the term

 

Saturdays (10:00-10:55am / 11:00-11:55am)

5, 12, 19, 26 Sep

3, 10, 31 Oct

7, 14, 21, 28 Nov

 

Please contact Miriam on WhatsApp at 6180-0817 or via email at miriam@yrockhk.com for more details on how to enrol. Watch our students jamming in the video here.

 

The enrolment for Semester 1 peripatetic music programme is now open.

Located in our school's dedicated music rooms, Discovery College offers music lessons taught by highly experienced peripatetic music tutors. These independent professional musicians provide private instruction outside of the standard curriculum. These cover a diverse range of instruments from woodwind and brass to strings, guitar, bass guitar, piano, voice, and drum kit. A brief biographical profile for each tutor is available here.

Lessons commence from Monday, 7 September 2026 until Friday, 22 January 2027, providing a total of 15 sessions.

The following options are available:

• Individual Lessons (30-minute): $355 per lesson
• Paired Lessons (30-minute): $225 per student (for singing, electric/acoustic guitar only)
• Individual Lessons (1-hour): $710 per lesson

Payments are to be arranged, and made directly with your music tutor(s). Please note that payment must be received by the tutor prior to the commencement of the first lesson.

Discovery College is also pleased to support students in our peripatetic music programme by providing free hire of brass, strings, and selected woodwind instruments. Instruments are loaned on a first-come, first-served basis, with consideration for the suitability of the instrument for each student.

To enrol, please complete this Google form by 10:00pm, Sunday, 30 August 2026. Please submit one form per child / instrument.

Specific time slots are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Music tutors will contact parents directly to schedule accordingly.

Any questions regarding the music programme can be directed to musicprogramme@dc.edu.hk.