Ying Wa College was established in Malacca in 1818.The founder was Rev. Morrison of the London Missionary Society, the first Christian missionary to China.The mission of Ying Wa College is to facilitate the exchange and intercommunication of Chinese and Western cultures and spread the Gospel widely. Therefore, besides being a school, Ying Wa also cultivates pastors and preachers. In 1843, when Hong Kong became a British colony, Ying Wa moved to Hong Kong to continue her education, translation and printing work. Since then, Ying Wa has experienced various internal and external troubles, and was forced to close down at the request of the outside world.
In 1913, the London Missionary Society decided to send Rev. Arnold Hughes to Hong Kong as the new principal of Ying Wa in response to the request of To Tsai Church. In 1914, Ying Wa also resumed the school as a secondary school and leased the former property of the Rhenish Society as the school building. The address was changed from No. 9 Caine Road to No. 45 Caine Road and later to No. 80 Bonham Road.
Afterwards, Ying Wa faced many financial difficulties, and the China Congregational Church gave a helping hand. The government also provided financial assistance. In 1914, due to the problem of the continuation of the No. 80 Bonham Road campus, Ying Wa College was in trouble again. The property was originally leased from the government, but at that time the government decided to put it up for auction, and the committee planned to close the school, but things were resolved in the end.
In 1927, Ying Wa decided to build a school of its own. Mr Richard Shim Wai-chong successfully raised HKD 6,000 from teachers and students, plus HKD 14,000 raised from others and a government subsidy of HKD 20,000. The school committee decided to build the new school building in Mongkok Church on Bute Street, Mong Kok. This would enable Ying Wa to share her new school hall with Mongkok Church.
During World War II, Hong Kong was occupied by the Japanese army, and the Ying Wa school building was also occupied. At that time, Principal Herbert Noble, who was a navy volunteer, unfortunately became a prisoner, and all the employees were scattered. When the war came to an end, Ying Wa resumed school in November 1945. In 1946, Ying Wa enrolled as many as 600 students, but they had to be squeezed into a school building designed for 350 students. The campus on Bute Street was not ideal, and a plan to build a new campus was made immediately. As a result of the negotiations, the existing property was sold to the associated people in Mongkok Church.
As the government allocated a piece of land to Ying Wa, the construction of the new school started on Oxford Road, Kowloon Tong. And with the enthusiastic assistance of Mr Herbert Noble and generous donations from the public, the dream of building a new school came true in 1963 when the new campus of Ying Wa College was officially opened under the officiation of Mr Daniel P K Au and the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Robert Black. On the other hand, Ying Wa Primary School was forced to close down due to lack of space of the new campus. It was not until 40 years later that the primary school division was re-established.
After serving Ying Wa College for 30 years, Mr Herbert Noble retired due to poor health. His dedicated service attitude and his great contribution to promoting the reputation of the school are remembered by the world. Mr Terence Iles, who succeeded as the principal, was committed to developing students’ talents in various aspects and spared no effort in promoting extracurricular activities. Mr Ellis was succeeded by Mr King after serving for eight years. In addition to improving the campus facilities, Mr Rex King also integrated into the learning environment of the students, so that the students’ academic performance improved significantly. In 1978, Mr King resigned and was succeeded by Mr Mui Ho Bun, who served for twelve years. In 1990, Principal Yeung Bo Kwan took over as the principal of Ying Wa College, and continued to develop the school. The number of classes was increased to 31, and the courses were also changed and innovated according to the needs of students. During his tenure, Principal Yeung Bo Kwan also responded to the government’s education reform plan to realize the integration of primary and secondary schools and build a digital campus; he also coordinated the publication of "The School History of Ying Wa College”, which systematically organized the history of the school in the past 100 years. During his term of office, Principal Yeung also successfully won the land allocation from the government to build a new school building in West Kowloon, and the location of the new school was also named Ying Wa Street. In September 2003, Principal Yeung Po Kwan retired and was succeeded by Principal Allan Cheng Kwun Kit until September 2021 when Principal Dion Chen took over.
In September 2003, Principal Yeung Po Kwan retired, and Ying Wa College was relocated to No.1 Ying Wa Street in Sham Shui Po, forming a “through-train” school with the recently reopened Ying Wa Primary School. Mr Lee Chee Wah and Ms Kan Yan Ling became the principals of the College and Primary School, respectively. In 2004, Ms Lam Woon Sum succeeded Ms Kan Yan Ling as the principal of Ying Wa Primary School. In 2008, both Ying Wa College and Ying Wa Primary School successfully applied for government funding as “Direct Subsidy Schools”. Principal Cheng Kwun Kit took over as the principal of Ying Wa College in 2011, leading the school to celebrate its bicentennial in 2018. In 2019 and 2021, Dr Chan May Kuen Sylvia and Mr Dion Chen became the principals of Ying Wa Primary School and Ying Wa College, respectively.
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