At Alice Smith School, We Have Always Been Innovators
Alice Smith School
Alice Smith School

At Alice Smith School, We Have Always Been Innovators

As the first British international school in Malaysia and the only 'not for profit' British international school in Kuala Lumpur, the Alice Smith School is proud to be celebrating 75 years of innovation and success. Our 75th anniversary celebrations have been generously supported this year. 

Our history of innovation started with the founding of the school in 1946 by Alice Fairfield-Smith, our original innovator. Unable to find a suitable school for her daughter in Kuala Lumpur, Alice Fairfield-Smith, set up the school in her home in Jalan Eaton. In doing so, she founded the first British international school in Malaysia. Explore the school’s history further on our interactive timeline.

75th Anniversary Calendar Highlights:

75th Anniversary Diamond Gala Ball

Supported by our Shining Diamond Partners, the 75th Anniversary Diamond Gala Ball on 18th June 2022 was a wonderful celebration with captivating performances by our talented community, as well as our popular raffle and auction...all for a good cause! The recent event raised over RM200,000 for the Endowment Fund of the Foundation. 

A big thank you to the following partners for their support and commitment:

Here’s more about each of them:

BMW Malaysia. The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy. 

When we asked why they were keen to support our event their response was clear, “The BMW Group has a long-established commitment to driving social impact, and we view education as a key pillar in achieving this. We are proud to support Alice Smith as one of the pioneers of education led impactful sustainability in Malaysia.”

GAC Cargo Systems (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd is a privately-owned company, specialising in the delivery of high quality shipping, logistics and marine services to customers worldwide. “Adapt, innovate and reduce” is GAC’s response to the sustainability challenges facing us all. GAC wants to do well, and to do good wherever we can to make the world better, safer, cleaner and greener.

Artwright was established in 1965 by its founder, Yong Chee Leong (YCL), its first products being the drafting board and stand.  The original idea was to produce the drafting equipment locally within the same quality as those made in England to reduce cost and render it affordable to the local market. The company has had sustainability and responsibility at its heart since its beginning.

Chua YeePing from Artwright commented, “As the oldest not-for-profit international school in Malaysia, the Alice Smith School has a rich history filled with honourable distinctions; and holds a firm culture in delivering excellence and perfection.  We experience these deliveries of educational excellence in countless ways.  

Artwright is sincerely grateful to be part of this 75th Anniversary Celebrations, and the opportunity to support the philanthropic works in the local community and the sustainability works by the Alice Smith School.”

Big Pay - Your money on your mobile. Big Pay believes banking should be accessible to everyone, no matter their age, occupation or nationality. That’s why they’ve built a money app that genuinely puts the customers’ needs at the centre. 

"Heartiest congratulations to The Alice Smith School on their 75th Anniversary! It is indeed a memorable milestone and BigPay is proud to be a part of the celebrations of the achievements and success by previous and current generations. We wish the Alice Smith School and its members continued success and greater legacies to come!" Thank you BigPay and we are very glad to have you as a partner.

Standard Chartered Bank - Accelerating the transition to net zero. Discover how SCB are helping their clients change the way they operate, accelerating the transition to a net zero world.

"As Malaysia’s first bank since 1875, we are committed to contribute to the nation’s growth that has a positive social impact and accelerating the transition to a net zero world. We are truly honoured to support The Alice Smith School and be part of their philanthropic and sustainability programme in driving educational excellence. Congratulations to the Alice Smith School for celebrating its 75th Anniversary."

We also pleased to acknowledge The Wave Clinic, specialists in trauma treatment, eating disorders, mental health and addiction treatment for teenagers, young adults and families, as our Shining Partner, and HSL Capital Sdn Bhd as a Supporter of our event.

"The Wave Clinic is honoured to be partnered with Alice Smith School to celebrate 75 amazing years. This is a place where learning and wellbeing have always gone hand in hand, and where a child-centred approach to the curriculum has helped generations of students in becoming outstanding individuals and members of their society. The Wave proudly supports the longstanding commitment Alice Smith School has made to the whole education of each and every young person who walks through its doors."

Thank you to all our Partners, Supporters and guests who will be attending the Gala Ball!

75th Anniversary Business Luncheon

The Anniversary Business Lunch was another excellent event, with a panel of our alumni sharing their experiences and views on finding ways to achieve success and sustain their business in the emerging economic landscape. 

For the past two years, we have been managing our businesses and lives in an unprecedented way. Our current environment is not only challenged by the ongoing pandemic but also geopolitical, climate change and sustainability issues. 

To create a sustainable future and build a resilient business environment, companies are being urged to capitalise on the opportunities presented in ESG standards, following the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) blueprint to end poverty, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth while tackling climate change to meet investor demands and to build a resilient business. An ESG focused recovery is considered to be one of the few effective directions that organisations and corporations can take in building back better.

Our panel include the following industry leaders:

Special Address: Advancing Sustainable Development

Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. Jeffrey Cheah AO
Founder and Chairman, Sunway Group

Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. Jeffrey Cheah AO is the founder and Chairman of Sunway Group, one of Southeast Asia’s leading conglomerates with core interests in real estate, construction, education, healthcare, retail and hospitality spanning 50 locations worldwide, and supported by a 16,000-strong workforce. He is also the founder and trustee of Jeffrey Cheah Foundation (JCF), Malaysia’s largest education-focused social enterprise, which has disbursed more than RM570 million in scholarships to date. Fulfilling his personal life philosophy to “aspire to inspire before I expire” he had transferred, in perpetuity, the equity and rights of Sunway Education Group’s educational institutions, worth several billion ringgit, into JCF. Tan Sri is the only Malaysian and the second philanthropist in Asia to have been recognised four times as Forbes Asia Hero of Philanthropy. He was also appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) by the Prime Minister of Australia.

Panel speakers:

Tan Sri Dr. Tony Fernandes
Alumni 1970 - 1977
CEO, Capital A Berhad

Tan Sri Tony Fernandes is a serial entrepreneur, founder of Capital A Bhd. He is best known for co-founding AirAsia, the region’s first low-cost airline, with Datuk Kamarudin Meranun in 2001. In 2022, AirAsia Group Bhd changed its name to Capital A to better reflect its identity and vision as more than just an airline, but an investment holding company with a growing portfolio of travel and lifestyle businesses such as logistics, lifestyle and financial services, including AirAsia, Super App and Bigpay.

Stephanie Kong
Alumni 1989-2003
General Manager, Projects UOA Group

Stephanie is the General Manager, Projects at UOA Group, the No. 1 Property Developer as recognised in The Edge Malaysia Top Property Developers Awards 2021. She is responsible for overseeing project planning, design development and construction. Previously, Stephanie was with The Agency for Science, Technology & Research, Singapore where her role focused on commercialisation of intellectual property for innovative science and technology. Stephanie is a First Class Honours graduate from The University of Sydney with a Bachelor’s in Mechanical/Biomedical Engineering.  

Francesca Chia
Alumni 1999 - 2004
Co-Founder, GoGet

Francesca Chia is the Co-Founder and CEO of GoGet, an on demand workforce technology platform that connects businesses to reliable part timers, called ‘GoGetters’. Francesca is pushing boundaries in the technology industry and the traditional labour market of Malaysia. She brings with her insights on the future of work, how businesses will adjust models to suit new labour requirements and how empowerment is possible through technology innovation. Francesca has been appointed to join the National Employment Council (NEC), representing the entrepreneurship and innovation sectors.

Zac Liew
Alumni 1996 - 2010
Co-Founder & CEO, Curlec - Malaysian based FinTech startup

Curlec was recently acquired by Razorpay, India’s leading online payments and banking platform for businesses. Prior to Curlec, Zac worked at Barclays Bank and was a Product Manager for two Enterprise Tech companies. He was named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia List 2020.
 

Click HERE to purchase tickets for the above event. For more information, please contact Carmeni Selvarajoo at +603 9543 3688 extn 155 or email [email protected].

KLASS 75th Birthday Bash

“Celebrating our 75th year is a wonderful milestone for our school community, a testament to the strength of stewardship, belonging and commitment past and present. We continue to reach for the stars, aiming ever higher to make the Alice Smith experience the best it can possibly be through the achievements of our students, the richness of school life and learning, and the character, culture and diversity of our community” ~ Roger Schultz, Head of School.

Themed #OurHeritage#OurFuture, the year-long celebration kick started on 1st November with a virtual birthday bash. Our first ever virtual party started with special birthday messages from the British High Commissioner to Malaysia, H.E. Charles Hay and many others from our community; near and far.

Together with three distinguished speakers from Kechara Soup Kitchen Society, Gibbon Conservative Society and Free Tree Society, we also held a panel discussion with our students sharing their vision of a sustainable future - marking the launch of the Alice Smith School Foundation’s 75th Birthday Giving campaign. 

A special  75th Anniversary Birthday Gifts campaign was also launched virtually in support of the urban poor, biodiversity conservation and education with Kechara Soup Kitchen Society, Gibbon Conservative Society, Free Tree Society and The Alice Smith School Foundation as the beneficiaries.

From our birthday campaign, a total of 2,895 birthday gifts worth over RM 70,000 were purchased in just over a month.

Almost 2,300 kindness food sets were purchased to support the urban poor to sustain their livelihood, raising over RM 22,000 for the work of the Kechara Soup Kitchen. 

106 gifts were purchased to help the rehabilitation of one of the endangered Gibbons, Ebony, with food and enrichment. Over RM7,800 was raised to support the Gibbon Conservation Society (GCS), an NGO that rehabilitates and releases orphaned gibbons rescued from illegal pet trade back to the wild! Only 5 species of gibbons can be found in Malaysia and they are all ranked as endangered!

82 trees, shrubs and epiphytes were adopted at the 7 hectare Pulai Trail community forest in Bangsar, a project initiated by Free Tree Society Kuala Lumpur. A special appreciation to The Body Shop Malaysia who has made this possible with their support towards urban reforestation!

Thank you for all the wonderful support! 

75th Anniversary Chronicle ebook

Through the years, many wonderful changes and exciting developments have occurred. The school has grown into a diverse and dynamic community with students from over 40 different nations and an extensive web of alumni globally.

As Alice Smith looks forward to the future, the anniversary year is a fitting time to reflect on past achievements. View our 75th Anniversary Chronicle and understand our unique story of how the school began.  

Anniversaries are a wonderful time to reflect on our history and understand who we are, but equally they give us an opportunity to look to the future.