Peninsula International School Australia, first school in Malaysia to offer Australia’s Victorian Curriculum (VC)

Peninsula International School Australia (PISA) will be the first school in Malaysia to offer Australia’s Victorian Curriculum (VC) to its students from next year, according to news reports. This will be made possible through a partnership between PISA and The Peninsula School of Victoria, Australia.Currently, the VC is offered at 25 schools worldwide, in countries such as China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Vanuatu, Timor Leste and the United Arab Emirates.The Peninsula School from Melbourne will be opening two campuses in Malaysia – in Setia Alam, Shah Alam and Menglembu, Ipoh. The school term for both will begin in January 2018, with enrolment beginning this March.PISA is part of Edusentral, the brainchild of Tan Sri Clement Hii, executive chairman of HCK Capital Group. Edusentral combines residential and commercial units, with the educational component at the heart of the project.

“The VC is pretty controlled. To offer the curriculum outside Victoria, we must partner a local institution, which will control quality,” he added.“Other international schools tend to develop their own curriculum. We are partnering a school that has almost 55 years of experience, and will replicate a tried-and-tested formula,” said Lee.PISA is a boarding school open to Year 1 to 12 students. Like its Australian counterpart, it will offer the Victoria Certificate of Education, a university entrance exam recognised by leading tertiary institutes in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.“We found that Australia is the choice destination for tertiary education among local students,” said PISA senior operations manager Jonathan Chong.But there is a gap in the market here. Students who follow the Australian curriculum from primary to secondary will find the preparation and transition smoother should they decide to further their studies in Australia later on, added Lee.Peninsula International School Ipoh Campus “Students learning the curriculum here will get the same experience as those who are studying in Australia, but at a fraction of the price,” Lee said.He explained that the school charges Tier 2 pricing for Tier 1 quality. This means students will have more expatriate teachers – one of the grading criteria for international schools – compared to other Tier 2 schools. It also means more value for what they pay for their education.Peninsula International School Shah Alam Campus Students studying in PISA in Malaysia can opt to transfer to the main campus in Melbourne. The school fees for 2018 range from RM26,000 to RM53,000.Find the fee structure of the school hereThe campus will be equipped with facilities such as a library, science and computer laboratories, a football field, gymnasium, swimming pool, auditorium, theaters and tennis courts.Hii, who is also group managing director of the SEGi University and College, believes that residential and commercial projects around schools or tertiary institutions will sell because they offer supporting infrastructure such as shops and residences. SEGi is one of the largest private tertiary education providers in Malaysia with 25,000 students enrolled in their five campus, around the Klang Valley.It isn’t often that you find developers constructing a school first, followed by residential and commercial units.“As a developer, we want traffic to be there,” said group executive director for HCK Capital Group Bhd Clifford Hii.“After Phase 2 is complete, there is the potential of having over 2,000 students. It will be a thriving community,” added Clifford.“There would be a captive population. Parents who send their children to school would hang out at the shoplots, and may even buy residences nearby,” said Lee, who added HCK Properties Sdn Bhd will develop the 4.86ha (12-acre) school project in Setia Alam.Upon completion, the school will be managed by HCK Capital Group.Parents can now register their interest here