The story of La Salle begins in 1917 when the Brothers of St. Joseph’s College opened a junior school on Chatham Road, near Rosary Church. Kowloon was expanding rapidly at this time and demand for school places was rising. Br. Aimar, then Director of St. Joseph’s, realized that a new school building was necessary. He acquired a piece of land on Boundary Street in the late 1920’s as a site for the new La Salle College.

The outbreak of World War Two in 1939 brought great disruption to the life of the school. The HK Government requisitioned the buildings as an internment camp and later a hospital. The Brothers had to arrange for temporary classrooms to be built across the road and classes continued there. In the afternoons, Brothers helped in the hospital.

On Christmas Day, 1941 the Colony surrendered to the Japanese and, soon after, the Brothers were ousted from the College. The buildings were turned into a storage depot. The Japanese encouraged civilians to leave the Colony, as food was in short supply. A number of Brothers, including the founder and principal, Br. Aimar, traveled to Vietnam where they remained for the duration of the War.

Br. Cassian, O.B.E., energetically undertook restoration of the College after the war in 1946. Soon the College made a remarkable recovery and had about 600 pupils on its roll. The British Military Authorities, however, once again requisitioned the College in 1949 and it was turned into the 33rd General Hospital. Under the directorship of Br. Patrick Toner, the school was moved to temporary buildings on Perth Street, Homantin. Despite the considerable difficulties, few school activities suffered by this change.

Br. Felix was appointed Director of the School in 1956 and with untiring efforts, re-acquired the College buildings from the Military Authorities on 1st August 1959. Twelve years of forced exile had come to an end. Student numbers grew steadily and this in turn led to a separation of primary and secondary divisions. La Salle Primary School was erected in 1956 and Br. Henry was appointed Headmaster.

Towards the mid 1970’s, the Brothers, under the directorship of Br. Raphael, decided the then aging building was functionally inadequate and would have been too costly to refurbish. The old building with its majestic dome had to be knocked down to make way for progress. While classes were continuing, a portion of the school grounds were used to erect a new superstructure with modern facilities. The Governor at the time, Sir Murray MacLehose, officially opened the new school on 19th February, 1982, which was also the Golden Jubilee year of the school.

The new College building stands seven floors high and has a current enrollment of over 1800 students. Four impressive blocks surround two quadrangles, the lower, dotted with benches and greenery and the upper a standard size basketball court. All rooms are centrally air-conditioned and have double-glazed windows. In addition to the classrooms, there is an extensive range of facilities for academic use and for extra-curricular activities. At the time of construction the school was considered among the most modern in Asia. Br. Alphonsus Chee and Br. Thomas Lavin were largely responsible for developing these facilities.

Since a major part of the School building is above standard, the Government is not responsible for its maintenance. Replacements of plant and machinery as well as the upkeeping of existing facilities require substantial sums of money. The Brothers, the Principal Br. Francis, and some Old Boys initiated the idea of a Foundation which aims at provides sufficient funds to do just this. In early 1992, the La Salle Foundation was established with Mr. Michael Sze as the first Chairman.