PENANG’S EDUCATION ECOSYSTEM is a highly interesting, diverse and colourful one. It is well known, no doubt, that Penang Free School was already established in 1816 as the first English-medium school in Southeast Asia. This article focuses on just three heritage private schools: Uplands, Dalat and Han Chiang. Collectively, their histories provide us with a glimpse of the educational fervour and commitment that Penang society has always possessed.
THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF PENANG (UPLANDS)
Uplands, now known as the International School of Penang, was founded on 18 March 1955. Established by the Incorporated Society of Planters, it was first housed at the former Crag Hotel on Penang Hill (hence its name). Initially a boarding school for the children of British planters seeking safety and educational continuity during the turbulent Malayan Emergency, it only initially enrolled around 60 students.
As the plantation economy declined and the expatriate population shifted elsewhere, Uplands began admitting day students in 1976, and established a secondary school in 1977. Its relocation to Jalan Kelawai that year marked a transition from secluded boarding environment to a more accessible urban setting. By 1988, the school had consolidated its campus near Persiaran Gurney and adopted its current name, although students are still called “Uplanders” in memory of its origins.
