Diocesan Girls' School, one of the oldest girls' schools in Hong Kong, was founded in 1860 by the Anglican Church to provide an all-round secondary education for girls in Hong Kong. Commonly known as DGS, the School is governed by the Council of the Diocesan Girls' School, a group of administrators who ensure that the school is well-managed and adheres to DGS's School Mission. Having run as a grant-aided school since it was founded, the School commenced operation in the DSS mode starting with Secondary One classes in September 2005. It uses English as the medium of instruction, and has always been ranked as one of the top secondary schools in Hong Kong, with students known to be high achievers in academics, music and sports etc. DGS counts a total of 43 winners of the Hong Kong Outstanding Students Awards, ranking first among all the secondary schools in Hong Kong, and outnumbering the combined number of winners of the next two schools. The school is also a member of the G20 Schools group. It has a "feeder" primary school known as Diocesan Girls' Junior School .Diocesan Boys' School is a sister school of Diocesan Girls' School. The schools have a close relationship, and are collectively referred to as the Diocesan Family.HistoryPre-warDGS was originally named Diocesan Native Female Training School in 1860, when it was founded at Bonham Road and Eastern Street in Hong Kong Island. The School was set up by the wife of Bishop Smith. He was the first Bishop of Victoria sent by the Society for the Promotion of Female Education in the East, a sub-society of the London Missionary Society. At first, it admitted only girls. In 1866 it was renamed Diocesan Female School. Because of financial problems the School had to restrict its services solely to orphans and destitute Chinese girls in 1869. Later, it became the Diocesan Home and Orphanage and accepted boys as well.