Garden International School (GIS) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

, co-educational

international school International schools are private schools that promote education in an international environment or framework. Although there is no uniform definition or criteria, international schools are usually characterised by a multinational student body an ...

Mont Kiara Mont Kiara, often stylized as MK, is an affluent suburb at the northwest of downtown Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in the constituency of Segambut. It consists mainly of high-rise residential condominiums and office complexes which were mostly devel ...

Segambut Segambut is a sub-district in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The federal constituency represented in the Dewan Rakyat is Segambut (federal constituency). From the high-end condominiums of Mont Kiara and Sri Hartamas to the middle-class areas of Tam ...

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. Founded in 1951, GIS is one of the oldest and most prestigious private schools in Malaysia. GIS is part of the

Taylor's Education Group Taylor's Education Group is a network of international schools and post-secondary institutions based in Selangor, Malaysia that operates throughout South-East Asia. It currently holds several for-profit K-12 schools and higher-education instituti ...

and a member of the

Federation of British International Schools in Asia The Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA) is a federation of leading British international schools in Asia. Founded in 1988, FOBISIA was first called the Federation of British International Schools in South East Asia (F ...

(FOBISIA). GIS provides British-based education for students ages 3 to 18 years old, with an Early Years Centre (age 3–5),

Primary School A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

(age 5–11) and

Secondary School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

(age 11–18). GIS is one of the biggest private co-educational schools in Malaysia, with around 2,000 students. Accredited by the Council of International Schools, GIS offers the

British National Curriculum British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

, including providing

IGCSE The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an English language based secondary qualification similar to the GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognising ...

and

A Levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational a ...

examinations.

History

Origins

Founded in 1951 as Garden School, the school was established by Sally Watkins, the wife of Kuala Lumpur Fire Brigade Chief Lt. Col. F.F.C. Watkins, in the Lake Gardens of Kuala Lumpur. It was one of the first international schools catering for expatriates in the

Federation of Malaya Malaya, officially the Federation of Malaya, was a country in Southeast Asia from 1948 to 1963. It succeeded the Malayan Union and, before that, British Malaya. It comprised eleven states – nine Malay states and two of the Straits Settleme ...

Campus location

The school moved to

Bukit Bintang Bukit Bintang (; stylised as Bintang Walk or Starhill, the latter being a translation of the Malay language, Malay name) is the shopping and entertainment district of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It encompasses Jalan Bukit Bintang (''Bukit Bintang ...

in 1955 due to a rapidly expanding roll and, after several moves to locations around the

Klang Valley Klang Valley () is an urban agglomeration in Malaysia that is centered in the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, and including their adjoining cities and towns in the state of Selangor. It is the urban area of the much larger Ku ...

, moved to the present location in

in 1996.

International examinations

In 1966, Garden School was selected as the first school in Malaysia for the University of London's

General Certificate of Education The General Certificate of Education (GCE) is a subject-specific family of academic qualifications used in examination board, awarding bodies in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Education in the Crown dependencies, Crown dependencies and a few ...

examination. It is fully accredited to offer both IGCSE and A Level examinations. Candidates sit examinations in the May/June series of each academic year.

Academic information

Early Years Centre

Garden International School's Early Years Centre (EYC) is a preschool following the British EYFS curriculum. The bespoke centre is located in the residential community of Desa Sri Hartamas and follows the EYFS curriculum. The EYC is divided into Nursery (age 3–4) and Reception (age 4–5) classes; a flexible 'Pre-Nursery' enrolment option is also available for children who join the term that they turn 3, providing they are toilet trained and show school readiness. The Centre offers a Jungle School programme, unique in Malaysia, which offers the children regular opportunities to learn and build confidence in a safe outdoor environment.

Primary school

Garden International School's

provides an international curriculum based on the National Curriculum for England and Wales.

Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

and PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) are taught by classroom teachers, alongside specialist teachers supporting the teaching of

Art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

Design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

and

Technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

Music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

, ICT,

Physical Education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

and Modern Foreign Languages.

Secondary school

GIS' Secondary School students follow a full range of courses leading to

International General Certificate of Secondary Education The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an English language based secondary qualification similar to the GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognisin ...

(IGCSE) Examinations. The Key Stage 3 programme is based upon the

English National Curriculum The National Curriculum for England is the statutory standard of school subjects, lesson content, and attainment levels for primary and secondary schools in England. It is compulsory for local authority-maintained schools, but also often followed b ...

, with modifications to suit the school's context. The school offers

University of Cambridge International Examinations Cambridge International Education (abbreviated CIE, informally known as Cambridge International or simply Cambridge and formerly known as CAIE, Cambridge Assessment International Education and CIE, Cambridge International Examinations) is a pro ...

, with students sitting the majority of IGCSE examinations at the end of Year 11. At Sixth Form, the school offers AS & A-Level (both

Cambridge International Examinations Cambridge International Education (abbreviated CIE, informally known as Cambridge International or simply Cambridge and formerly known as CAIE, Cambridge Assessment International Education and CIE, Cambridge International Examinations) is a pro ...

Edexcel Edexcel (also known since 2013 as Pearson Edexcel) is a British multinational education and examination body formed in 1996 and wholly owned by Pearson plc since 2005. It is the only privately owned examination board in the United Kingdom. It ...

) courses. which are supplemented by bespoke subject electives and a summer professional internship programme, THRIVE. In recent years, some subjects have chosen to take

in place of CIE, such as GCSE PE, A-Level Mathematics, Drama & Theatre Studies and Psychology. In terms of academic performance, GIS' Secondary School is one of Asia's top performing international schools, with the majority of graduates going to the world's top 100 universities.

Staff

The Principal of Garden International School is Peter J. Derby-Crook MBE. The Head of Secondary is Amy Ward and the Head of Primary is Nicola Nelson. The school employs over 81% of expatriate teachers, mostly originating from the UK. In addition to the large academic body, the school also employs administrative staff, specialist sport coaches, counsellors and student service staff.

Notable alumni

* Rebekah Yeoh – businesswoman and philanthropist * Kira Narayanan – actress, anchor, musician and TV personality

Subjects

IGCSE

The following subjects are available for IGCSEs in GIS:

A-Levels

Academic accreditations and awards

References

External links

Garden International School website
{{FOBISIA British international schools in Malaysia International schools in Kuala Lumpur Secondary schools in Kuala Lumpur Cambridge schools in Malaysia Educational institutions established in 1951 1951 establishments in Malaya