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SHANGHAI, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Qatar, Cairo, Suzhou – these are not just cities with their own Starbucks souvenir coffee cups, but the locations of branches of some of the best-known British boarding schools. To this list can now be added Kuala Lumpur.
A number of the schools are fully fledged sister schools and King Henry VIII College, Malaysia is very much one of these. It will share governance, management, and a raft of teaching, learning and exchange opportunities with its sister school, Christ College, Brecon, one of the UK’s oldest and most esteemed independent schools founded in 1541 by King Henry VIII.
Boarding schools in the UK have for decades welcomed students from all around the world – according to a recent Independent Schools Council (ISC) Census (https://www.isc.co.uk/media/4069/ isc-census-2017-final.pdf), nearly 30% of new senior students in 2015 came from overseas. Now British boarding schools are taking the “tuck-box” to Tianjin and the “coolbox” to Kuala Lumpur.
The general consensus is that there are over 40 British boarding schools with operations overseas, educating around 25,000 students – not far short of the 27,000 international students in boarding schools in the UK.
The demand is huge, as parents across the globe are prepared to invest in a quality academic experience for their children with the opportunity to access the best university courses in the UK and across the globe.
But when it comes to King Henry VIII College, why Malaysia and why Christ College? What is a small co-educational boarding school from rural mid-Wales doing expanding in tropical South-East Asia?
Representatives of the Malaysian Partner Brecon Synergy Sdn Bhd (BSSB) first visited Brecon in early 2015. From the early meetings, the collaboration grew and has been built on trust and positive engagement throughout.
The BSSB team was impressed by the school, the warmth of its welcome and openness of the children. Christ College’s 13th Century Hogwarts-style dining hall also impressed them.
Boarding schools like Christ College, Brecon have many years of international activities behind them with exchange programmes and trips across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In a way, the King Henry VIII College project is a culmination of this international perspective and ambition.
It is well documented that Malaysia is striving to become a regional educational hub.
In other ways too the country is a promising environment for a new British boarding and day school.
Organisations, including the British Council and the UK’s Department for International Trade have welcomed King Henry VIII College warmly. The school is also seeking affiliation with the Association of International Malaysian Schools and Council of Overseas British International Schools and it is already a member of the Boarding Schools Association of the UK.
In a press release to coincide with the signing of the Collaboration Agreement in Kuala Lumpur in 2016, the British High Commissioner to Malaysia, H.E. Vicki Treadell CMG MVO said, “Christ College’s partnership with BSSB will ensure that a new generation of Malaysians can benefit from its education excellence and rich heritage without having to leave the country. In Malaysia alone, there are currently over 58,000 individuals studying for a British qualification. This underlines the value attached to British education.”
Like many sectors, education in the UK is taking stock as the country contemplates Brexit. Some would say that the drawbridge is being pulled up and Britain is distancing itself from Europe and the rest of the world.
Education is one area, though where the UK leads and reaches out to the world and the prestige and history of its great institutions, along with the experience and quality-assurance are highly valued by students and parents alike. This is the same in Kuala Lumpur as it is in Cardiff and in Beijing, as much as Brecon.
As the British Council Schools Programmes head, Mark Herbert said, “The UK has long held a reputation for world-class education and this emerging opportunity for growth overseas is exciting. There is a potential win-win for both sides.”
King Henry VIII College, Malaysia is set to enhance educational and boarding provision in the region and offers the exciting prospect of enhanced international experience and awareness for students in both schools.
The sister schools will share a motto, too – “They Achieve Because They Believe They Can” and of course, belief needs to be backed up by initiative, hard work and perseverance – traits that will be the hallmark of a King Henry VIII College student.
■ For details, contact King Henry VIII College’s office at G-07, Gem In Mall, Persiaran Sepang, Cyber 11, Cyberjaya, Selangor. You may also call 03-8322 7722, e-mail enquiries@kinghenryviii.edu.my or log on to www.kinghenryviii.edu.my