Xinmin began its existence in 1945 as a privately-run Chinese-medium school and the principal had attended it as a pupil. Following a steep decline as a in its numbers during the 1960s, as parents began to see the merits of an English-medium education, it was fully integrated into the state system in 1987, moving to its new buildings in 1990. Despite its Chinese history, the school that the principal had taken over had declining rolls, above average levels of truency, poor discipline, and unimpressive examination results.