Education is not only about completing lessons on time; it is a lot more than that. The leading institutes of Singapore and Malaysia leave no stone unturned to provide the best academic and infrastructural facilities. They also build a bright career pathway for the students.

A leading institution making its mark in the educational landscape of Singapore and Malaysia is The British International School of Kuala Lumpur (BSKL). Established in 2009 at Petaling Jaya, BSKL offers an international curriculum based on the English national curriculum. Over the last decade, the school has grown to offer an exceptional education to students from ages two through Sixth Form. The school has grown to more than 1000 students from 65 different nationalities, and the academic results are amongst the best in Kuala Lumpur (KL), the region, and beyond. BSKL is also proud to be part of the Nord

Anglia Education (NAE) family, the world’s leading premium schools’ organisation with 73 international schools located in 30 countries around the world.

Bringing the Best out of Every Student

BSKL’s commitment to nurturing student happiness forms the foundation of student success and the school’s ‘be ambitious’ philosophy. The school knows its students well and works together to create an environment where they will be happy and ready to thrive.

In addition to being ambitious, BSKL’s values include being kind, being resilient, acting with integrity, and taking risks. These are woven into student-focused teaching and learning so that each child can achieve their goals. As a result, children in the school’s warm and friendly community are challenged to do more than they thought possible.

A Plethora of Academic Offerings

The British International School of Kuala Lumpur uses the English national curriculum as a starting point in primary and secondary school. However, it enriches the learning so that it is authentic to an international community.

At the upper secondary level, the school offers two of the world’s most prestigious curricula, which prepare the students to attend leading universities all over the world. Students in years 10-11 earn externally assessed IGCSE qualifications, while students in years 12-13 earn externally assessed A-level qualifications.

BSKL also offers a complete Early Years Centre for children aged 2, 3, and 4, which focuses on several foundational areas like communication and language, literacy, mathematics, personal, social development, and more. The Early Years children develop these skills through play-based activities that are both teacher-led and independent exploration.

The school’s qualified teachers hold UK teaching credentials or the international equivalent, and many are British trained. Supported by the best professional development, the teachers work with their students to support their learning and wellbeing.

Showcasing Infrastructural Excellence

The students of BSKL study on three interconnected campuses in Petaling Jaya. Its Upper Hill Campus houses the Early Years Centre and Key Stage 1 students. It includes dedicated classrooms, dining, play areas, a library, music, and physical education facilities just for the youngest learners.

The Lower Hill Campus houses the remaining primary school students in years 3-6 and features dedicated classrooms, dining, play areas, library, music, and performing arts, physical education, STEAM lab, science lab, computer labs, and a food technology lab. BSKL’s Secondary Campus is located above the Upper Hill Campus and provides all the learning spaces for students aged 11-18 years. These include subject-specific classrooms, science labs, art studios, music rooms, dining hall, library, and physical education spaces.

The school’s covered Astro-pitch, outdoor swimming pool, and 600-seat auditorium connect all three campuses and provide spaces for the whole school community to use and enjoy.

Ensuring Overall Student Development

BSKL’s leadership believes that the school is at its best when it has strong, trusting relationships with parents and students. It launched a highly rated virtual school experience during the pandemic that considered student and parent feedback into its planning. The school’s fully timetabled live virtual lessons provide a very similar experience to its in-person learning. It is flexible and rigorous but still emphasises student wellbeing. Outside the pandemic, BSKL fosters strong relationships between the school and parents through open communication, dedicated parent events, and a parent rep system.

Enhancing Learning Outcomes

In collaboration with MIT, BSKL provides a challenging, engaging, and collaborative STEAM curriculum. It supports learning through dedicated facilities across primary and secondary standards, including computer las, science labs maker spaces, drama and dance studios, a 600-seat theatre, music practice rooms, and one of the only primary school food technology labs in KL. The school understands the importance of arts and it has a performing arts collaboration with the Juilliard School.

BSKL’s Achievements

BSKL is known not only for delivering excellent curricular and extracurricular facilities but is also renowned for the major achievements that it has made throughout its celebrated tenure. The school earned the prestigious Patron’s Accreditation from the Council of British International Schools (COBIS). Its IGCSE students earned the top scores in Nord Anglia for three consecutive years. Additionally, its IGCSE and A-level results are among the best in the world. In 2021, 86% of all A-level grades were A* or A, and 81% of all IGCSE grades were A* or A.

Adapting to Changing Times

BSKL began the pandemic as a Google school but is now transitioning to the more powerful and secure Office 365 environment. “Virtual classes are supplemented with outside learning technology like SeeSaw for our primary school students. We’ve leveraged the capabilities of our library system to deliver e-books and audiobooks to our students throughout the pandemic and beyond,” states the management. A variety of niche learning tools are used throughout the school, including Scratch for coding and Times Tables Rock Stars for gamifying maths learning. The management believes that whilst the school possesses all the technology tools it needs, it is important that the teachers deploy technology in the best way possible. The teachers of BSKL keep the learning objective in mind for all activities and deploy technology to assist in the learning when needed, alongside other offline methods.

Marching Ahead Confidently

Speaking about the future, team BSKL believes that the lessons learned during the pandemic will reshape teaching and learning for years to come. The management opines that the school is flexible enough to switch easily and quickly across in-person and virtual environments. In the long term, BSKL aims to look for ways to blend technology into teaching in smart ways so that students stay engaged and excited to learn. The school’s collaborations with Juilliard, MIT, and UNICEF extend the learning beyond its walls, and its Global Campus brings collaboration, learning, and enrichment activities to all the students.