Discovery College

Discovery College sits in Discovery Bay on Lantau Island, in a scenic residential area surrounded by hills and coastline. Many students live locally, but the school also runs bus routes from Tung Chung, Tsing Yi, South Lantau and parts of Kowloon to bring students in.

Discovery College is a Year 1 to Year 13 through-school, meaning children typically join at age 5 and continue through until around age 18. It delivers the full IB continuum (PYP, MYP, DP, CP) across those years.

The school is a co-educational day school.

Discovery College runs a Learning Diversity Team that works with teachers to provide individualized planning, targeted support, curriculum adjustments, small-group work or short one-to-one withdrawal as needed.
However, under ESF’s policy, Discovery College does not provide full Learning Support provisions; it only accommodates students up to Levels of Adjustment 1 and 2 per ESF’s framework.

The school is part of the English Schools Foundation (ESF) in Hong Kong, and is not formally tied to any particular foreign country’s government or education system.

Discovery College is non-denominational and does not have a religious affiliation.

Buses deliver students typically between 7:30 am and 7:50 am (with adjustments for Tuesday) and the school’s refectory and café are open from 7:15 am to 3:30 pm.

In the afternoon, the last lessons finish at 3:10 pm for primary and 3:25 pm for secondary, with buses departing between 3:30 and 3:40 pm after students are escorted to the waiting areas.

The school provides a contracted bus service via Kwoon Chung Motors Co. Ltd. (KCM) for students who live outside Discovery Bay. Each bus has a bus supervisor who monitors student safety and behaviour.

Discovery College offers the full IB continuum from Year 1 to Year 13. For Years 1–6, students study the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP), working through transdisciplinary units around six themes. For Years 7–11, the school offers the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP), with a focus on connecting learning to real-world contexts, student inquiry, interdisciplinary units, and a Personal Project in Year 11. IBCP students combine at least two DP courses with a career-related study and complete a IBCP core (Reflective Project, Service Learning, Language Development, Personal & Professional Skills).

Discovery College embeds wellbeing and social-emotional support in its school structure. Students can access student counsellors (one focused on primary, one on secondary) for therapeutic counselling, skills building, in-class support, and referrals. The school also works with Hong Kong government-funded social workers who run group work and workshops addressing resilience, self-esteem, social skills, and emotional challenges. Students may self-refer or be referred by teachers or parents. The counselling team collaborates with teachers and external professionals as needed.

Discovery College operates a Learning Diversity Team to support students with “Individual Needs (IN),” including learning, language, and social or emotional needs. The team partners with classroom teachers to deploy strategies such as guided small groups, co-teaching, front-loading, re-teaching, and occasional short one-to-one withdrawal. In more exceptional cases, students might receive more intensive personalised support outside class time. The school is not a specialist SEN institution; its SEN support is integrated within a mainstream, inclusive model.

Discovery College’s Learning Diversity roles explicitly include EAL support, meaning that specialist staff plan and deliver support for students for whom English is not their first language.

Mental well-being is supported through the counselling service, which handles issues such as anxiety, depression, family relationship challenges, self-esteem, and more. The counsellors provide short-term or longer intervention plans depending on student needs. They also coordinate with the social workers and external agencies to extend support when needed. Wellbeing is framed as a shared responsibility among staff, students, families, and the school’s care structure.

Discovery College maintains a structured network for safeguarding and child protection, with staff trained to respond to concerns. The school’s safeguarding framework is part of its broader student support and wellbeing policy. Parents and students are encouraged to raise concerns with trusted staff members, and there is a coordinated care framework involving deans, counsellors, Learning Diversity, and leadership roles to manage welfare issues.

1. Online Application Submission
Families submit an online application through the ESF / DC admissions portal, selecting up to four ESF school preferences. The application includes the non-refundable administration fee.

2. Assessment / Interview / Testing
Applicants (for years other than entry levels) are invited to attend assessments or interviews to evaluate their readiness for the English-medium curriculum. Shortlisted candidates are notified with schedules for testing and interviews.

3. Offer of Place & Acceptance
If successful and if a vacancy exists, the school issues an offer of place. The family must accept by a deadline, after which a deposit or building levy may be required.

4. Onboarding & Entry Requirements
Once accepted, the student is integrated into the school system, including orientation, registration, and payment of fees per the school’s billing schedule. Families may also be asked to submit supporting documents (previous school records, medical records, etc.).

5. Waitlist Consideration
If no immediate place is available, the candidate may be placed into a waitlist or pool. Offers from the waitlist may be made when places become available.

Discovery College offers merit-based scholarships for secondary students (Year 7 and above) in areas including academics, community engagement, sport, music, drama, visual arts, and design.
Scholarship applicants must also complete the standard admission process (assessment/interview) and meet Discovery College’s admission requirements.
For academic scholarships, candidates must meet certain grade thresholds (e.g. MYP score of 46 across eight subjects; DP score of 35 across six subjects), sit an external scholarship examination in math, language, writing and academic potential, and possibly attend an interview.
For athletics, arts or other domain scholarships, evaluation is based on evidence (e.g. portfolios, references, performance videos), auditions or interviews, and prior achievements.
Once awarded, scholarships are reviewed annually and typically expected to continue through to Year 13, assuming the student maintains academic and co-curricular commitments. If a student leaves early or transfers, the scholarship may be revoked or require repayment of awarded fees.

DC (via ESF) does maintain a waiting list / pool system for school places when demand exceeds vacancies. Applicants are placed on the waitlist in priority order, and if a vacancy arises, offers may be extended from the waitlist by date of application and priority group.