Epsom College Malaysia Basic Information
Epsom College Malaysia is a private co-educational day and boarding school in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, and the only overseas sister school of Epsom College. It takes pupils from 3 to 18 years old and offers day, weekly boarding and full boarding. Boarding is mainly for pupils aged 11 and above. The school opened in 2014 and was co-founded by Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, founder of AirAsia and an alumnus of Epsom College. He wanted to bring the British boarding education he benefited from to Southeast Asia.It is about an hour’s drive south of Kuala Lumpur and 15 to 20 minutes from Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
For Hong Kong families, the flight to Kuala Lumpur takes about four hours, and the campus is easy to reach after landing, which makes term-end and long-weekend travel simple. The campus covers 50 acres, and pupils come from around 30 countries and regions. Hong Kong pupils have also joined in recent years.
School Ethos
Epsom College Malaysia offers a British boarding education with an Asian outlook. It follows the traditions of Epsom College and is built on three core values: kindness, integrity, and ambition with purpose. Its aim is to develop future leaders who can adapt to a global environment.
What sets it apart from other British schools in Asia is that it is an overseas campus of a long-established British school and also integrates its sports academies with the academic programme on one campus. Pupils can train every day with professional coaches while studying for IGCSEs and A Levels, so they do not have to choose between sport and university entry. This suits pupils who want to develop a sporting talent and still aim for universities in the UK or US.
The school describes itself as “one global school, two campuses”. Epsom College Malaysia and Epsom College share the same educational approach and standard of care, and pupils have opportunities for exchange between the two. The Epsom Live talk series regularly brings in guests from politics, business, the arts and academia, so pupils hear from people in different fields without leaving campus.
Notable alumni come from the sister school, Epsom College, and include figures from business and the media:
- Tan Sri Tony Fernandes: founder of AirAsia and a founder of Epsom College Malaysia
- Jeremy Vine: BBC television and radio presenter
- Nicholas Witchell: veteran BBC journalist
Academic
Epsom College Malaysia follows a curriculum based on the English National Curriculum, with IGCSEs and A Levels in the upper years. It also includes Mandarin and Singapore Mathematics, which gives pupils a solid grounding in languages and numeracy. For pupils who want to move to university sooner, the school offers a 15-month fast-track A Level programme. It suits pupils who have finished their IGCSEs or SPM.
Beyond traditional subjects, the school focuses on the skills pupils need in the future workplace. Financial literacy, AI literacy and digital skills are built into the curriculum, and pupils are encouraged to learn through real-world problems. The school also works with companies to offer internships, so pupils gain practical experience while still at school.
Pupils have received offers from UK G5 and Russell Group universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, the London School of Economics and Political Science and University College London. Some have gained direct entry to highly competitive medical programmes. In the US, pupils have set their sights on Brown University, the University of Southern California, Purdue University, the University of Washington and Penn State. A good share of leavers choose STEM subjects, including medicine. Over the past few years, IGCSE and A Level results have stayed above the UK average, and university outcomes have been consistently strong.
Boarding Life and Pastoral Care
Epsom College Malaysia runs a traditional British house system. Pupils are placed in houses by gender and age, and they live and study together, which quickly builds a sense of belonging. Each boarding house is looked after by a team of at least seven staff, including experienced Housemasters and Housemistresses, who follow each pupil’s schoolwork, wellbeing, meals and daily routine.
Accommodation changes with age. Younger boarders share rooms and learn to live with others, while older pupils have more personal space, which helps them prepare for university life. For pupils leaving home for the first time, the support from housestaff and housemates matters most in settling in.
For pastoral care, the school provides round-the-clock care, an on-site Medical Centre and a thorough Safeguarding system. The Council of British International Schools (COBIS) has awarded the school Beacon status for student welfare and for leadership, which shows that its pastoral work is recognised internationally. Day pupils are also welcome to join house activities and experience boarding life.
Extracurricular Activities
Extracurricular life at Epsom College Malaysia centres on three areas: sports academies, music and the arts, and community service.
Sport is the school’s strongest feature. Three sports academies run with international partners. Tennis is the Mouratoglou Tennis Programme, set up by Patrick Mouratoglou, coach of Serena Williams, with ITF-compliant indoor and outdoor hard and clay courts. Football is LALIGA Academy Malaysia. Golf is GOLFZON Leadbetter Academy, which has a short game area and offers a pathway to US college golf. The coaching teams come from overseas, and pupils train professionally while keeping up with their lessons. The campus also has rugby and cricket pitches, a hockey astroturf, a swimming pool and an indoor sports hall, so pupils who are not in an academy have plenty of choice too.
For music and the arts, the school has a separate music building with a concert hall and recording studio, a dedicated art building, and a music academy for more advanced training. Each term, pupils can choose from dozens of activities, including orchestras, drama, art and a wide range of clubs.
The school also stresses service to the community. Pupils take part in charity and community projects and give back to the wider community. It runs seasonal camps too, such as golf camps open to pupils aged 5 to 18, and many families get to know the school through these.