GEMS International School Pearl City, Penang

Epsom International Boarding School fosters a positive and ambitious ethos within a nurturing, supportive community. Students combine a love of learning, the pursuit of academic excellence and a wealth of extracurricular opportunities to develop into confident young adults ready to take up their place in the world and make a difference.

Epsom is a co-ed British Day/ Boarding School for 3-18 year olds. Located 15 minutes from KLIA, it follows the British Curriculum offering IGCSE and A-levels. As the sister school of the renowned Epsom College UK, it shares the same board of governors and maintains the same high standards.

Epsom’s boarding provision and pastoral care is second to none. Modern, spacious boarding houses offer a welcoming home from home. The beautiful self-contained 50 acre campus offers exceptional sports facilities including a FIFA approved astroturf pitch, 4G hockey pitch, cricket, rugby, swimming pool, dance studio and more. Epsom’s exceptional Art and Design studio, DT workshop, Theatre and Music facilities ensure a holistic education.

The dedicated team of experienced and highly qualified teachers reside on site and are available in the evenings to help with supervision of homework and providing additional support as appropriate. A 1:6 teacher to pupil ratio enables highly individualised support - at Epsom Every Child Matters. Epsom students go on to achieve places at top universities globally including Cambridge, Imperial, (UK), Ivy Leagues (US), University of Tokyo, UBC and UT (Canada). Students benefit from 1-2-1 guidance counseling led by a highly experienced team. The bespoke and personalised university application support programme offers an open door policy where students can access support after school hours during evenings and weekends. Epsom boasts a dedicated experienced Resident Elite University Tutor available to provide support, guidance and super curricular and enrichment activities.

Epsom’s established vibrant, active and stimulating super curricular programme includes debating and public speaking, essay competitions, student-led academic societies such as the Politics Society, the STEM society, the Medical Review, discussion groups with peers, staff and academics. There are a wide range of student leadership opportunities available in addition to traditional Prefect roles to develop the student academically as well as interpersonally.

Epsom offers a range of internships in close connection and collaboration with AirAsia and the ECM Libra Foundation providing students with opportunities to upskill - including FinTech, Banking and Law.

As part of the HELP Education Group, HELP International School (HIS) was established in 2014, at Subang Bestari, Selangor, with an international team of experienced and passionate leaders and teachers. Eight years later and with an enrolment of over 1,300 students, the school is considered one of the fastest growing international schools in Malaysia. HIS won a 5-star rating from the Ministry of Education in its second year of operation and was shortlisted as the International School of the Year in the Times Educational Supplement (TES) Independent School Awards 2019 in the UK. Most recently in 2021, HIS joined 14 other established international schools in Malaysia to be recognised as a CIS (Council of International Schools) School, among 1,360 institutions around the world, for its commitment to high quality international education.

HIS has also been recognised by Apple as a Distinguished School for being a model of innovation in education and validated as an IPC Accredited School (International Primary Curriculum), joining 1% of schools worldwide to have attained such an achievement. With the motto “Life in All Its Fullness“, we seek to discover and bring out the best in each child by nurturing his or her talent and potential. By providing a truly global and holistic educational experience, as well as integrating Eastern and Western educational philosophies, we strive to enable and inspire our students to embrace the joy of learning.

Dr Gerard Louis, CEO of HIS, shares his thoughts. “We have come a long way since our inception. The challenge of a learning organisation is to understand the context and constantly keep a pulse on the changes so that we can prepare our students for a future that is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. Most importantly, we need to ensure the school remains a place that is able to ignite a passion for lifelong learning, so that we can nurture resilient, compassionate, critical thinkers in a constantly changing world.”

The Tree of Life, which stands in the beautiful green courtyard is a symbol of a thriving, lively and growing student population on the HIS campus.

In every corner of the school, we see exploration and activity. Students are swimming, running, experimenting, debating, discussing and presenting ideas. The preschoolers are in imaginative play, learning about real life skills. The lower primary students are looking for insects in the garden, learning about habitat. The upper primary students are learning how to code in the MakerSpace and busy recording news using green screen technology. The secondary students are dissecting liver and lung in the science lab. The A-Level students are in earnest discussion about their new social enterprise projects under their leadership programme. This is the joy of learning in action!

HIS strives to develop students who are curious, resilient and optimistic in their outlook, with the courage to step outside their comfort zone. During the prolonged school closure as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, our teachers and students quickly adapted to virtual learning without missing a beat. Students remained resolute and took virtual learning in their stride, putting in the hard work and making progress, thanks to the innovative and creative lessons by teachers, and support of parents. The learning never stops!

Please visit www.his.edu.my, or call +603 7809 7000 / +6016 668 0549 to know more about what enables our students to celebrate “life in all its fullness”.