From Chris Wilson, Head of Prep School
Dear Parents,
“Nature is a tool to get children to experience not just the wider world, but themselves”
Stephen Moss
It was a delight to see all of Year 8 taking the opportunity to teach Pre-Prep and Year 4 about the joy of the Humanities subjects earlier this week, with the children working in pairs to deliver a 10 minute ‘lesson’ on a topic related to History, Geography or Religious Studies. The lessons were excellent and well thought out by those in Year 8, with the themes beautifully tailored to the age groups they were teaching.
Alongside excellent work in the classrooms, some of the children have also been auditioning for the Michaelmas Half Term Concert, rehearsing for the Kranji Remembrance service and putting their names forward for performances at our Nations Day event just before Half Term. Elsewhere, our Year 5 and 6 cast of ‘A bit of Snow White’ were knee deep into their rehearsal schedule.
We were also treated to a wonderful lunchtime concert by two of the Prep’s outstanding flautists, who alongside our visiting musician Alena Walentin, (herself a flautist), put on a masterful show for us all to enjoy in the Theatre.
There were also a number of sporting fixtures this week for both touch rugby and football, with tomorrow also seeing the college playing host to the JSAC football tournament.
It was excellent to see the Junior Boarding Houses as full as they were last weekend for the Big Sleepover, with 18 additional children taking the opportunity to immerse themselves into boarding life over two nights. During the week, both Iskandar and Taylor took part in the House Shout, well done to Iskandar for winning the junior section.
The weekend ahead is also a busy one. In addition to the football tournament, the College will be holding an Open Morning tomorrow, while we have some runners competing in various distance races in KL as part of the College’s outreach.
For the children in Upper Prep, the week ahead will be one filled with unique educational experiences that can only come from a residential trip. Whether it is Ryders Lodge, Tioman island, Endau Romping, Gopeng or Taman Negara, the children will enjoy a diverse variety of activities that will form lifelong memories for them all. Many of them will be pushed outside of their comfort zone, but they will come back more resilient, independent and with new friendships, alongside a plethora of stories they will no doubt share with you.
Whatever the weekend holds for you, I hope it is one that includes a chance to get together as a family. To those within our community who are celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival on Monday, I hope you enjoy any weekend festivities that you have planned.
With best wishes,
Chris Wilson
Head of Prep School
Message from Mr Bullock, Deputy Head Academic (Prep School)
Prep Parent-Beak Evenings
Our Parent- Beak Meetings are quickly approaching and will be held on the following dates,
- Nursery to Year 4 : 30th October and 5th November from 5.00pm to 8.00pm
- Year 5 to Year 8 : 28th October and 3rd November from 4.50pm to 8.50pm
Following valuable feedback in our recent parents’ survey, we are making two key improvements to this term’s meetings:
Nursery to Year 4
- Parents will have a single, extended 15-minute appointment with Form Teachers; this meeting will cover academic progress, pastoral progress and wellbeing and will take place in each child’s form room.
Year 5 to Year 8
- The appointment window has been extended from 4:50pm to 8:50 pm, increasing the number of available appointments to enable all parents to make bookings. Parents will be able to book up to eight appointments with subject beaks.
We will send you full details on how to book your appointments next Wednesday, including a link and instructions for our online booking system. We strongly encourage you to book your slots as soon as possible to secure the times that work best for you. Please keep an eye for this update.
Message from Mr Wicling, Deputy Head Co-Curricular (Prep School)
Before and After-School Clubs update during residential week & communication during school trip.
In addition, a gentle reminder that selected Before and After-School Clubs will be cancelled during our residential week, from October 6th to 10th. We will be sending a follow-up notification via Clipboard for specific clubs that will not be running, please keep an eye out for this update.
During our residential trip next week, all staff focus will be entirely on the children, who remain our utmost priority. The duty trip phones are strictly for emergencies. If you call, please understand that we may not be able to respond immediately. To keep you informed, we will be sending a daily update to all parents via emails. Please look out for this, and trust that we will contact you directly if there is an individual concern regarding your child.
Message from Mr Baxter, Head of Mathematics (Prep School)
FOBISIA Code Breaking Challenge 2025
Multiply curiosity, divide fear. That is the slogan chosen by the Prep Maths Department this year, and there could be no better example of this spirit in action than our participation in last week’s FOBISIA Code Breaking Challenge.
Running from Monday to Friday as an online event, the challenge proved more popular than ever, with an incredible 110 international schools from across Southeast Asia taking part. The website recorded over 1.8 million visits during the week, showing just how engaging and exciting the event has become for pupils and teachers alike.
Marlborough College Malaysia’s participation was nothing short of outstanding. An impressive 91 pupils from across the College successfully completed Level 4; a stage specifically designed for KS5 students and even teachers. In total, our pupils submitted a remarkable 1,152 entries across all levels, earning MCM a fantastic 6th place overall.
Congratulations to all the pupils who rose to the challenge with such enthusiasm, problem-solving skill, and determination.
A Message from Mrs Cassidy and the Pre-Prep Team
Excitement continues to build for Nations Day and it has been a real delight to oversee the auditions this week. It is at times like this that I feel so proud of our pupils, who have the courage and determination to take part in things beyond what is comfortable, or easy. It has been a real show of talent, but also of pure grit and a lovely sense of just wanting to take part. Thank you to all. I know that there have also been auditions running for the Half Term Concert this week, and I am very much looking forward to seeing these performances on the 14th October.
In assembly this week, the children helped me to work out what food grows here in Malaysia, versus what food needs to be imported from far away. We celebrated all the gorgeous fruits and vegetables that can be grown locally, from chillies to bananas, and talked about the importance of respecting plants for what they provide us with. It is wonderful to see how connected the children are, due to their activities at the farm. Beauty, food, medicine, and even the air we breathe – the children are starting to realise that plants are not just a good thing to have, but a necessity for life.