It may feel like new international schools in Kuala Lumpur are popping up every month (how many names do you recognise from this list?) and this explosive growth doesn’t look set to stop anytime soon.
Many of you will be aware that we are on a mission to personally visit as many international schools in Kuala Lumpur as we can and build connections with their leadership and admissions teams. Out of the 35 schools I’ve visited so far, we have visited quite a few super-new schools that have opened within the last 12 months.
Here are our top 3 picks for new international schools here in KL that you should definitely know about!
KINGSGATE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
Located in Seri Kembangan, Kingsgate opened in October 2018. When you arrive at the school, you’ll think you’re in the wrong place - the whole front of the campus looks a bit like a construction site. Don’t give up. Keep driving around and you’ll arrive at the beautiful - and very finished! - Primary section (the bit under construction is the Secondary block).
The design of Kingsgate’s classrooms is gorgeous - open, colourful and modern. They hire 100% native English speaking teachers (mostly from the UK) and their leadership team (Greg Parry, Shanna Parry & Don Henson) are passionate, highly experienced and completely dedicated to making this school a success.
You can probably tell I was impressed - I think this school offers great value for money & is a bit of a hidden secret at the moment! Kingsgate is currently accepting children from Kindergarten up to Year 9 and, to my mind is well worth considering. Don’t let the construction at the front of the campus put you off (it won’t be there long)!
KING HENRY VIII COLLEGE
Walk through the front lobby at KH8 and you’ll feel like you’re in England. The architecture and beautiful attention to detail, carefully designed to mimic their sister school Christ’s College in Brecon (Wales), is striking.
KH8 has beautiful sporting facilities - you name it, they’ve got it: a fantastic pitch, swimming pool, squash courts, fantastic gym (etc etc). Their libraries are beautiful; classrooms are fresh and modern. Despite having only been open since September 2018, the walls are already being splashed with colour and I loved the communally-created murals. With highly experienced teachers from the UK and a team of really experienced senior leaders on board, I think KH8 is destined to be a success. They also offer fantastic boarding facilities and great pastoral care - I was pleasantly surprised how homely and welcoming their boarding houses felt.
Currently, KH8 are offering heavily discounted fees from Early Years up to Year 2 - if you’re interested, I’d get in quick (I understand many of the classes in the younger years are full).
OASIS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
Finally - an American curriculum school in KL at a more affordable price-point! Open since September 2018, Oasis International is a non-profit school that is growing fast and quickly making its mark.
All teachers in the school are American certified and I was impressed by the positivity and passion of all of the teachers I met. Life skills and values teaching are embedded into their curriculum, and they have EAL and Learning Support specialists on their team. They’re a 1-1 device school & they’re all about innovation - as well as their flexible learning spaces, I loved exploring their ‘Learning Lab’ where students can use design thinking to explore coding, animation & robotics.
Being a bit out of the city, down in Bandar Rimbayu, means the school has plenty of space & the surroundings are tranquil and quiet. Their facilities are great & there is a pretty extensive collection of CCAs on offer too. I liked that Oasis have a number of translators for parents who don’t have English as a first language - a really nice touch to ensure that they, too, feel welcomed into their school community.
Note: This isn't a sponsored post. None of these 3 schools have made any sort of payment to Top Schools whatsoever - in fact, they'll be completely surprised that we have written about them ! These are just our thoughts and our opinions, based on the visits we have done so far. If you'd like to learn more about any of these schools - or indeed any other international school in our network - we would love to hear from you: hello@topschools.asia