Ipoh International School (IIS) is a school where Malaysian students learn alongside students from more than 30 countries around the world, interacting with and learning from each other. IIS is the school of the future, where the best of local and international education can be found at one school.

Initially set up to cater for children of British planters, miners and soldiers in Perak in 1960, the school has in the past existed largely to meet the needs of children of expatriates, and only the kindergarten section was open to Malaysian children.

In 1999, IIS opened its doors to Malaysian with the introduction of the KBSR (Malaysian primary syllabus). It started with one class made up of a handful of students in Year One. Today, the school has about 260 KBSR students in its enrolment, from KBSR One to KBSR Six.

IIS started its KBSM (Malaysian secondary syllabus) in 2006.  In less than 2 year, the KBSM has more than 100 students from Form 1 – Form 5.

Students already enrolled at the school will get first priority when registration opens, in the same way that its kindergarten children have priority of placement for its primary classes.

According to Mrs Lai Kong Wa, CEO and Director of IIS, the classes are deliberately kept small in order to ensure individual attention to every child.

Mrs Lai also emphasizes the school’s teaching and results, a heritage on which IIS prides itself and which it aims to guard closely.

“In addition, our teaching methods are relevant to the changing needs of today’s young people. Our experienced teachers try to make learning as fun as possible, with an interactive approach to teaching. Students are also given assignments outside the classroom which requires researching and analyzing data using their own creativity and resourcefulness”, Mrs Lai explains.

Mrs Lai is a newly added asset to Ipoh International School. She was recently appointed to her current position as part of the school’s expansion and development plans. Prior to this she was the highly regarded Principal of SMJK Ave Maria Ipoh, an all-girls secondary school with an excellent reputation.

The school currently offers the British-based IGCSE curriculum up to O-levels to its more than 250 international students.

The students are also very privileged to be able to participate in an unusually wide range of extra-curricular activities through the school’s collaboration with Meru Valley Resort.

This includes golf, nature expeditions, tennis, archery, swimming and organized craft activities. IIS’s other programmes include drama, music, art and sports.