Uplands International School of Penang
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The International School of Penang (ISP), commonly known as Uplands School, is a British International school in Malaysia. It has recently moved from Gurney Drive to Batu Ferringhi. The current headmaster is Ian Kerr (MBE), who has held the post since 1991.
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[edit] Overview
The International School of Penang currently occupies a four-acre site near to the sea in the tourist area of Batu Ferringhi, approximately seven kilometres from Georgetown. Housed in new buildings from 2006, facilities include 36 classrooms, four laboratories, two drama rooms, two music rooms, two IT labs, an indoor multi purpose hall, a 25-metre outdoor swimming pool, and a games field. The school also has wireless internet access.
The school curriculum incorporates the IB PYP (Years 1-6) and DP (Years 12-13) programs and offers a wide range of subjects for the Cambridge IGCSE (Years 10-11). German, French, Japanese, Mandarin and Malay are offered as second languages and there is a strong ESL programme for pupils for whom English is not their first language. The maximum class size is 25. All staff are experienced and qualified with university degrees and/or teaching certificates. Over one-half are expatriate teachers - mostly with previous international experience. A Special Educational Needs Department caters for children with mild learning disabilities. Uplands has recently been jointly accredited by the European Council of International Schools and NEASC. The school is authorised to offer courses leading to the International Baccalaureate Diploma.
Uplands has a diverse student body that represents 37 different countries. They number in the region of 600, between the ages of 3 and 19. Student boarding accommodation is available nearby for children of eight years plus. Currently there are 75 boarders accommodated at the school, including sixth form who are housed separately. The uniform is a vibrant beige and batik combination, whilst sixth formers have a distinct black/white theme. The school is split into three houses for academic and sporting activities; Crag (Red), Hill (Green), School (Blue).
[edit] History
[edit] Penang Hill
The founding of Uplands School dates from the period of the Malayan Emergency when a communist insurrection threatened the country’s peace and stability. Attacks communist terrorists against rubber estates led the planting community to seek a safe site where expatriate planters could send their young children to school while keeping them near home.
Penang Hill was identified as a suitable location and the Incorporated Society of Planters or I.S.P. leased the premises of the former Crag Hotel on Penang Hill to open a new primary boarding school for about 60 children in mid-January 1955. Among its first pupils were some from a small private school called Uplands which had run in a bungalow on Penang Hill before 1955 and which was absorbed into the new school. The School was in two parts - most of the buildings being at the Crag Hotel site, whilst the kindergarten was in Grace Dieu. Another bungalow - Hillview -was also taken over in 1965 to house the growing number of students. A highlight of that period on Penang Hill was the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1972.
Students at Uplands were either full boarders, or, if their parents lived in Penang, weekly boarders. To take them back to the School, the Hill Railway had to be used. In 1976, day students were accepted at the School. A year later in 1977, the Secondary Department was started.
[edit] Kelawei Road
In 1977, Uplands left Penang Hill for its new home at sea level, occupying the former St. Xavier’s Branch School on Kelawei Road in Pulau Tikus. The Boarding House was set-up nearby in an elegant mansion along Burmah Road and later on to York Road for a brief period in early 1990s. It was not until 1988 that Uplands acquired the use of the former St Joseph’s Novitiate, a beautiful heritage building behind primary school and facing Gurney Drive and the sea- in a move that finally brought the whole school including boarders, together on the same campus. Janaissa eaglestone runs the school
Although with the move down from Penang Hill, the name Uplands - no longer appropriate - has been retained for its heritage value. Calling itself The International School of Penang (Uplands) succinctly preserves not only the legacy, but also illustrates its scope of curriculum, faculty and student body, and at the same time, retains the initials I.S.P.
[edit] Batu Ferringhi
After 28 years in Pulau Tikus and 50 years in leased accommodation, Uplands experienced it’s biggest move of all to its own, brand new, purpose-built campus in Batu Ferringhi.
On September 9, 2006 hundreds of guests including the School governors, consulates, heads of schools, parents and students gathered at the new campus to witness a most significant milestone of Uplands history- the grand opening of its new home by the Chief Minister of Penang, YAB Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon. The event celebrated almost a lengthy decade of planning, searching, overcoming setbacks and finally the realization of the School’s vision to own its place.
Despite the major changes in Uplands history, the school’s spirit and world class standards remain unchanged if not higher with the beginning of an era that promises to live up to its proud past. The journey does not end here, the School will continue to move forward from strength to strength in its quest for excellence and the universal values it instills in all it students, past, present and future.
[edit] Accreditation and membership
The School is an IBO World School, fully recognised and accredited by the following organizations:
- Malaysian Ministry of Education
- Council of International Schools (CIS)
- New England Association of School's and Colleges (NEASC)
- International Baccalaureate Association (IBO)
- Cambridge International Examinations (CIE)
- Edexcel International Examinations.
The School is also a member of the Federation of British International Schools in South and East Asia (FOBISSEA) and the Boarding Schools Association (BSA).
[edit] Alumni
Most Uplanders go on to the top universities in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Europe and South East Asia
