The main building of Bonham Road Government Primary School has an E-shaped plan, with a long centre portion and a wing on each end, 2021. © Antiquities and Monuments Office
Entrance to the air-raid shelter, 2020. © Antiquities and Monuments Office
The library and English activities room in the basement of the school, which used to be an air-raid shelter, with airlocks; photo showing the library, 2020. © Antiquities and Monuments Office
Airlock of the air raid shelter, 2024. © Antiquities and Monuments Office
The words “NORTHCOTE TRAINING COLLEGE” can be vaguely seen at the entrance of the main building with the spiral staircase. Northcote Training College nurtured a number of individuals who contributed immensely to Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, such as veteran Chinese-language educator Lo Wai-luen, renowned Hong Kong historian Siu Kwok-kin and founding curator of the Hong Kong Space Museum Joseph Liu Hing-chai, 2021. © Antiquities and Monuments Office
The school hall is named after Dr. Sun Yat-sen to commemorate his attendance at Diocesan Boys' School, which once stood on the site, 2019. © Antiquities and Monuments Office

The current campus of Bonham Road Government Primary School at No. 9A Bonham Road was completed in 1941 as premises of Northcote Training College. It is one of few existing campuses in Hong Kong that has housed a primary school and a tertiary institute. Northcote Training College was founded in 1939 as Government Training College, the first full-time teacher training institute in Hong Kong. During the Japanese Occupation, the college was closed, as its premises were occupied by the Japanese troops. It was reopened only in March 1946. Between 1869 and 1926, the site was once the Diocesan Boys' School, which Dr Sun Yat-sen attended.

The architecture of Bonham Road Government Primary School offers a glimpse into the history of Hong Kong’s resistance efforts. As the Japanese forces extended their occupied territory in Asia in the 1930s, the Hong Kong government began to install defences against air strikes. Therefore, space was reserved for the construction of air-raid shelters in the design of the school building, so that the teachers and students could hide during air-raids and leave through ventilation shafts if necessary. The air-raid shelters were in the basement of the main building. Since the Battle of Hong Kong lasted only 18 days, they were never used as intended. The air-raid shelters were refurbished and today, they are used as a library and English activities room, but the original structure was preserved. Air-raid shelters, which bear witness to the Japanese Occupation, are rare among existing historic buildings in the city.

After the Fall of Hong Kong, the school premises were used as the headquarters of the Japanese troops. Suspects were interrogated in the main building, and the gymnasium was used as a stable. The school premises were subsequently sabotaged by the Japanese troops – wood, furniture, partitions and floor boards were removed. After the war, Belilios Public School borrowed the Bonham Road campus from 1 November 1945 for four months to resume classes, since its premises on Hollywood Road had been severely damaged. Northcote Training College reopened in March of the following year and was relocated to the campus on Sassoon Road in 1962. Subsequently, the school building at No. 9A Bonham Road was used by United College of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and by the Northcote College of Education. On 25 January 2000, Li Sing Primary School (P.M. Section) moved in and renamed the Bonham Road Government Primary School to meet different needs of the community. The building continued to play an important role in nurturing talent.

Open Day:
Normally held on a Saturday from November each year to January of the following year. For details, please visit the official website of Bonham Road Government Primary School: https://brgps.edu.hk/tc/

Address:
No. 9A Bonham Road, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong.

Enquiry Hotline:
(852) 2517 1216

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