Dear Parents, 

Anyone who travels around our Repulse Bay Campus, particularly at drop-off and pick-up times, can quickly recognize the problems in our traffic situation.  Idling cars worsen the air quality; double-parked cars make traveling the streets unsafe for pedestrians and vehicles; access to the campus by emergency vehicles, should it be necessary, would be extraordinarily difficult.  The development of the community around the Repulse Bay campus has exceeded the capacity of the streets to handle the load.

As we have worked to move the Lower Primary redevelopment project forward, one thing has become clear: the school's leadership, our neighbors, the police and the Hong Kong transportation departments want a solution.  The physical constraints of our current parking lots, playground area and car entry and exit points, which have been in place for several decades, have not kept pace with development in the area and do not allow for a satisfactory permanent fix for the flow of buses and private vehicles.  The status quo is no longer tolerable.

Our official application to redevelop Lower Primary has been submitted to the authorities this week.  In that submission HKIS has agreed to implement a mandatory busing scheme no later than the completion of construction of the new building.  We believe, however, there are substantial reasons to initiate compulsory busing as soon as is logistically possible.

After carefully reviewing our options, HKIS has committed to moving to compulsory busing at Repulse Bay beginning in August 2013. Specifically this means:
 • All Repulse Bay students, except those who live within a predetermined radius of the school and can walk, will be required to take the bus to and from school.
 • Our R1 students, who will be located in Tai Tam starting August 2013, will be able to take the bus or be driven to and from school.
 • The preferred option for students attending our planned Chai Wan campus is the bus.  Parents will have the option of parking in nearby lots and walking students onto the campus.  More specific information about transportation for the Chai Wan campus will be forthcoming.

This decision to move to compulsory busing has been carefully considered and was not made in isolation; both LP and UP PAGs and the PFO Board were consulted; we met with some of our neighbors; and we consulted traffic experts and other Hong Kong school leaders.  We are trying our best to relieve congestion by taking a proactive stance.

Our goal is to create a safer environment for our students, our faculty and our neighbors.  The proposed redevelopment of the Lower Primary School is our chance to not only improve the learning environment for our youngest students, but also to address the growing traffic issues and to create an enduring solution. 

We have prepared this detailed FAQ page on our website that should answer many of your questions around this subject.  However, if you have more, please do email us directly and we will be happy to help.  You can contact us via newlowerprimary@hkis.edu.hk. 

I thank you in advance for your support of the transition to compulsory busing so we can move forward and create a safer environment for our students.

Sincerely,

Kevin M. Dunning
Head of School