Alice Smith School

Infobox UK school
name = Alice Smith School


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motto = Sic Itur Ad Astra ("In This Way You Shall Go To The Stars")
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established = 1946
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type = Mixed, Day British International School
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head = Richard Dyer and Steve Caulfield
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founder = Alice Fairfield Smith
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country = Malaysia
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gender = Co-educational
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houses = Muir (yellow), Fleming (blue), Fairfield (green), Scott (red)
colours = White and Dark Green
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website = http://www.alice-smith.edu.my
website_name = Alice Smith School

The Alice Smith School is a co-educational international school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, founded in 1946. It is a British curriculum school with a strong international flavour. Although priority is given to students of British, Australian, New Zealand, and Irish nationalities, there is a wide range of nationalities at the school. Some 36% of students in the secondary school are Malaysian, with 64% from over 40000 other nationalities. The school is administered by The Alice Smith Schools' Association, which is a non-profit-making educational foundation.

=History=In 1946 Hugh and Alice Smith arrived in Kuala Lumpur and needed a school for their children. They found that the schools usually attended by expatriates had not yet reopened. Like many other post-war residents, they did not want to be separated from their family after the turmoil of the recent conflict, so Alice Smith decided to educate her own daughter. She was soon educating the children of her neighbours, and by the time she and her family came to leave in 1950, Alice Smith was running a flourishing educational establishment which was then known as the Eaton Road School.

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Alice Smith approached the St Andrew's Presbyterian Church* [http://www.standrewschurch.org.my/] on Weld Road (today Jalan Raja Chulan) with a proposal that St Andrew's took over the running of the Eaton Road School. The St Andrew's Session decided this it was not in a position to take on this responsibility but it would be willing to have the church represented through the Minister or other church official. [Sessions Report 1949, St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Weld Road, Kuala Lumpur.] . Nevertheless, in 1950, Rev. Sydney T. S. Evans of St Andrew's helped to identify candidates for the first board of governors and to formally incorporate the Alice Smith Schools Association, a non profit making educational foundation, to administer the re-named Alice Smith School, in which a British style of education could be offered to British, Australian, New Zealand and Irish children. Rev. Evans himself became one of the first governors of the school [Articles of Association of the Alice Smith Schools Association.] . This historical link with St Andrew's is maintained to this very day in St Andrew's having a permanent trustee governor on the board of governors of the school.

The Alice Smith School then started a kindergarten school in the present day fellowship hall of St Andrew's Presbyterian Church in 1951 [Board of Manager's Meeting Minutes 1951, St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Weld Road, Kuala Lumpur.] and this arrangement lasted until 1963. In 1952 the school moved to the present site in Bellamy Road (now Jalan Bellamy) near the then Sultan of Selangor's State Palace which became today's Istana Negara (National Palace) in 1957. In 1963, extensions to the school enabled the Alice Smith School Kindergarten to be re-united with the rest of the school [St Andrew's Outlook, May 1963 issue.] . Then on the 11th of September 1997, a second purpose-built campus at Equine Park opened as the secondary school and the Jalan Bellamy site became a specialist facility for primary education for children aged 4 to 11.

Campuses

The school operates at two sites: the Primary School is in a wooded area adjacent to Istana Negara at Jalan Bellamy. The facilities at the Primary School include three libraries,a hall, a gym, swimming pool, three computer suites (PC & Mac), performing arts centre, hall and two play areas. The Year 3 and 4 building has been demolished and replaced with a new building with higher quality facilities including interactive white boards, new computers, etc. The Secondary School at Equine Park is approximately 40 minutes south of Kuala Lumpur, was purpose-built and includes an Olympic-ish-sized swimming pool and a large sports hall, 4 tennis courts, eight science laboratories, 5 computer suites, a theatre and library (which has two floors), a 6th form block and a full-size gym. A new performing arts centre was completed earlier this year, including 6 sound-proof practice rooms and a professional recording studio. A new art block was also recently opened.

Philosophy

The school exists to provide the highest standards of British education "Italic text"in an international context. The school motto is "Sic Itur Ad Astra" (Latin: "Thus do we reach the stars") and its aims are to promote personal excellence of academic, physical and aesthetic achievement and develop individuals as responsible, reflective, caring and confident members of society.

chool Affiliations

The school is a member of the Federation of British International Schools in South East Asia (FOBISSEA), SEASAC, and the Council of International Schools, and is regarded as one of the best schools in Southeast Asia.

chool Choir

The Alice Smith School Choir, known as 'Suara Merdu' (meaning sweet sounding voices in Bahasa Malaysia), consists of approximately 56 students of ages 12 - 18. In June/July 2008, the choir went on a choral tour around America, traveling to San Francisco and Los Angeles to sing a wide variety of choral music at various venues. During the tour, the choir also got to visit many famous landmarks, go sightseeing and thoroughly enjoy what California had to offer. In Malaysia, the choir has performed at the American Embassy and in various shopping malls such as the Pavilion KL and Suria KLCC. 'Suara Merdu' is an integral part of the school music department and has plans to embark on more tours in the future.

References

External links

* [http://www.alice-smith.edu.my/ Official site]

References

* [http://www.cois.org/directory/Directory_Page.asp?School_ID=ALICE Council of International Schools: Alice Smith School]
* [http://www.expatexchange.com/rspgennet.cfm?rid=62&answerid=11779&networkid=159 Expat Exchange: Alice Smith School]
* [http://www.stroudgate.net/biap/articles/article.php?id=11,086 Britain in Asia Pacific 2004: Alice Smith School]