Competitive

Full Time, Permanent

April or September 2025

12 November 2024

Harrow International School Hong Kong is looking for an outstanding leader to fulfil the role of Senior Deputy Head (Whole School) from April or September 2025. This exciting opportunity to join a thriving international boarding and day school would suit an individual with diverse leadership attributes, a genuine affinity for the distinctive ethos and values of Harrow Hong Kong and aspirations to promote to Headship in the future.


Harrow International School Hong Kong is the first international boarding and day school in Hong Kong. It is the third school in the Harrow family of schools in the Asia region and provides a British education from Early Years to Year 13 in custom-built facilities in a stunning location in Hong Kong. The School combines elements of educational philosophy, practice and traditions from Harrow School in London with the international mindedness of a diverse pupil body in Hong Kong. Having opened in September 2012, the School roll is currently around 1600 and the school achieves the best results in Hong Kong at A-level and GCSE.


Since 2020, Harrow Hong Kong has featured as one of the top 150 Schools in the World, top 10 Schools in Asia and one of the leading schools in Hong Kong according to the Spear’s and CARFAX Index. Our pupils go on to some of the top universities across the world including Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, Durham University, University of Exeter, The University of Edinburgh, Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Princeton University, UPenn, UC Berkeley, The University of Hong Kong and Tsinghua University.


Harrow Hong Kong is, however, about much more than academic results and its pupils excel in music, drama, sport and art as well as service and charity work. Underpinning everything is the commitment to outstanding pastoral care, with a strong boarding ethos and House system at its heart where pupils feel happy, secure and valued. A bespoke personal, social and health education programme, ‘Facing Challenges’ encourages resilience and a positive, solution-focused approach to any challenge.


The Senior Deputy Head (Whole School) will deliver on the School’s aim to be a world leading school. Providing inspirational senior leadership with the vision, presence and communication skills to develop and enhance outstanding academic and pastoral provision, he or she will ensure that the School community understands and actively engages with the School’s principles and philosophy.


The successful candidate will be an exceptional leader and communicator with strongly held educational values that align with the strategic mission and educational aims of Harrow School Hong Kong. They will have a collaborative and enabling style that will help them to bring the best out of others. Candidates are welcomed from a wide range of backgrounds, with a particular interest in those who bring a deep understanding of boarding and whole school environments.



Letters of application, CVs and application forms should be submitted by the closing date, 09.00 GMT Wednesday 13 November.


Harrow International School Hong Kong is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and relevant international police checks.

About Harrow International School Hong Kong
Harrow International School Hong Kong occupies a spectacular site on the Gold Coast in the New Territories near Tuen Mun.
Its Lower School is for pupils aged 3-10, which comprises Early Years (K1 and K2) and the Pre-Prep (Years 1 to 5); the Upper School is for pupils aged 10-18 and consists of the Prep School (Years 6 to 8), the Senior School (Years 9 to 11) and the Sixth Form (Years 12 to 13). Weekly Boarding is available to Upper School pupils. There are four Prep School Houses for boys and three for girls, four Senior School Houses for boys and four Senior School Houses for girls, two of which are ‘Day’ Houses.
September 2025 sees the opening of a satellite Early Years Centre in the Kai Tak area of Hong Kong. Harrow Hong Kong Little Lions will be housed in a new development on Kwun Tong Road and will educate approximately 230 Nursery and Reception pupils in purpose-built classrooms with an outdoor play area and shared learning spaces. The pupils will have priority entry to Year 1 on the Harrow Hong Kong Gold Coast site. This is an exciting development for Harrow International School Hong Kong.
Our facilities
The School is fortunate to have a wonderful campus with extensive facilities, including a state-of-the-art STEAM Centre.
Light, wide corridors, very well-equipped classrooms and large departmental office areas, which are purpose-built for collaborative preparation, are characteristic of the Lower School and Upper School teaching areas. There are also a number of large multipurpose rooms. Specialist teaching areas include high quality Science laboratories, a Library and Learning Lounge closely linked to the ICT Department and located at the heart of the School, studios for Art, Music, Drama and Dance. We have a range of excellent sporting facilities including: a swimming pool, sports hall, well-equipped fitness room, 4G astro and tennis courts.
Educational Excellence for Life and Leadership
The School’s vision statement, Educational Excellence for Life and Leadership, underpins what happens in the classroom, in extra-curricular activities and in our pupil development programme.
Collectively, we aim to develop in our pupils the desire and skills to make a positive difference in the world. In doing so, the School essentially combines elements of educational philosophy, practice and traditions from Harrow School in London with the international mindset of a diverse pupil body in Hong Kong.
Many aspects of the School are characteristic of Harrow School London: high expectations of pupils and teachers; excellence in academic work; an emphasis on extra-curricular pursuits; high quality pastoral care; a genuine focus on the individual; the importance of service and the development of leadership skills. The School has also quickly taken on some of the traditions of Harrow that have survived continual scrutiny and review over many years: it has composed its own songs; taken on elements of the School uniform; incorporated some of the academic reward; and some of the distinctive Harrow ‘terminology’; and Speeches & Prizes on Speech Day, a traditional Harrow ceremony.
Pastoral care
At all ages in the School, there is a strong emphasis on the quality of relationships and community life, and the personal formation of character of each of its pupils.
In the Lower School, the focus of pastoral care is the Class Teacher. However, from Y6 when pupils enter the Upper School, pastoral care is centred on the House system: all boarders and day pupils are members of a House.
We work hard at establishing strong bonds within the communities of our Houses and the School. Above all, we aim to ensure our pupils are happy, secure and valued. The result is that there is an evident sense of pride among pupils of all ages in the School, and what it means to be a part of it and the family of Harrow schools.
The present pupil body is a diverse international one with 36 different nationalities. The focus of the pupil admissions process is to identify those with the aptitude, ability and personality to make the most of the opportunities at Harrow International School Hong Kong. Through our scholarships and bursaries scheme, we are looking to attract outstanding pupils with the potential to act as significant leaders in academic work, cultural activity, the arts and sport in the School, irrespective of their parents’ financial circumstances.