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School History – Timeline

SJC has a history of 146 years. It was established by the Christian Brothers (De La Salle Brothers) in the nineteenth century. In 1875, six La Salle Brothers took over St. Saviour’s College, which was founded in 1860, and renamed it as St. Joseph’s College.

In 1876, the College expanded and moved from its original premises in Pottinger Street to a larger one at 9 Caine Road, known as Buxley Lodge. Five years later, a lack of space again resulted in the College being moved to Glenealy below Robinson Road. Then, in 1918, an earthquake caused severe damage to the premises and the school had to move again to the present site – 7 Kennedy Road, formerly known as the Club Germania (the German Club).

The Old Building where the S1‐3 classrooms are now situated was erected in 1920; at that time the number of students was about 650. In 1925, the Chapel Block was completed and in 1963 the block on Kennedy Road was replaced by the present building. The New Building was opened by Sir Robert Black, the then Governor of Hong Kong. In 1968, in order to admit more students, the primary section was transferred to an independent establishment at 48 Wood Road, Wanchai. In 1974 St. Joseph’s Kindergarten was established on the top floor of the Primary School Building.

In 2005, we started the process of building a new annex‐Agabeg Annex, as an essential addition to the modernization of our school facilities. The Annex was eventually established in the summer of 2007. It is located at the former table tennis court, which is next to the basketball court under the New Building, comprising a new staff room, an ITLC, an art room and a multi‐purpose room. It is named after the late Mr Godfrey Avryl Agabeg, a devoted alumnus who generously donated a total of three million dollars for the development of our school campus.

In 2016, the Education Bureau allocated the vacant school premises at 26 Kennedy Road in the Central & Western District to the Director in Hong Kong of St. Joseph’s College for the physical extension of the St. Joseph’s College. The new facilities, which include classrooms for Secondary Four and Six students and venues for a variety of extra‐curricular activities, has come into service since September 2018.

After years of growth, SJC now provides education for around 2,000 students in the Primary and the College. The College has produced highly competitive and versatile students, and a large number of them have been successful in their careers.


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