Kellett was founded in 1976 by parents who sought a high-quality, British-style education, rich in the Arts and Sport. Originally called Starters, the school was spearheaded by Joanne Elliott and her family, working with the first Principal Vivienne Steer. The school’s first two classes were made up of British, American, Australian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Pakistani, Iranian, Norwegian and Swedish children. By 1977, the School had tripled to 122 students and had relocated to Taikoo Shing. In 1980, the School moved to a purpose-built facility in Wah Fu overlooking Kellett Bay. The School is still there today and is the Pok Fu Lam campus. The School’s second Principal Ann Mc Donald arrived in 1996 after the retirement of Vivienne Steer. The growing shortage of local senior school places prompted the Board to extend the School to age 13, offering pupils full UK Preparatory provision. Alongside this extension, the Board sought a permanent Senior School site. In 2007, the school was awarded a temporary Senior site, to be shared with Elsa High School in Shau Kei Wan, less than a kilometre from the Preparatory School's early site in Taikoo Shing. The popularity of Kellett’s Senior School meant that once again the Board sought to expand. In August 2009, the Hong Kong government awarded Kellett a greenfield site in Kowloon Bay, to develop an additional Preparatory School and a purpose-built four form Senior School. The Kowloon Bay campus welcomed its first cohort of Prep and Senior students in September 2013 and was recognised for its award-winning campus design and facilities, including a fully operational theatre, a CrossFit gym, swimming pool and Sky Pitch. The School was proud to win a merit award at the Quality Building Awards and has also won the International Property Award for Best Public ServiceArchitecture in Hong Kong. In 2018 Kellett was awarded membership to the prestigious Independent Association of Preparatory Schools and The Headmasters’ and Headmistress’ Conference. Ann Mc Donald retired in 2019, after presiding over the School’s transformation from a small primary to one of Hong Kong’s leading international schools. Mark Steed, Kellett’s third Principal and CEO, took the helm in July 2019 with a focus on using innovation to further Kellett’s educational aims.
Campuses
Its campuses are in Pok Fu Lam and Kowloon Bay. There was a temporary campus in Shau Kei Wan, which housed all secondary students, but in 2013 the secondary division moved to Kowloon Bay.
Alumni
In Jan 2019, Kellett School launched its online alumni network, called The .
