FAIRVIEW BUYS PRIVATE SCOTTISH SCHOOL

Beaconhurst School acquisition part of group’s UK expansion plan, says report

MALAYSIA-BASED Fairview International School, which runs a string of international schools, has bought a private school in Scotland worth some £30 million (RM157.6 million).

The acquisition of Beaconhurst School marks Fairview’s first venture outside Malaysia, according to two reports.

Fairview runs four schools in Malaysia, offering International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes to some 3,000 students.

Beaconhurst School is an independent school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Bridge of Allan, Stirling.

A report by the Herald quoted a Fairview spokesman as saying that an application had been lodged with the independent schools registrar for a junior school called Fairview Beaconhurst.

It was reported that Fairview was looking to open the Fairview Beaconhurst as soon as August.

It was said the school would also run IB programmes and hoped to recruit teachers from Scotland and internationally.

“We have been looking to expand to the United Kingdom for quite a while and this seemed like a perfect opportunity. We will be delivering an international-style of education through the IB and we would use international staff trained in IB as well as those from Scotland. We are speaking to former teachers from Beaconhurst as part of this process.

“Initially, we will be looking to recruit Scottish students, but because we have access to potential students in Southeast Asia and China, we will also bring in international students.”

The spokesman said Fairview is also looking at other parts of the UK for expansion.

A report by the Daily Record, meanwhile, quoted Beaconhurst School’s former deputy head teacher Iain Morrison as saying that he was passed the contact details for Fairview in July when he was working with parents and staff to save the school.