Kuala Lumpur
Nord Anglia Absorbs Mont'Kiara International School, Doubling Its KL Footprint
The global operator has agreed to bring one of Malaysia's most established IB World Schools into its network from August, giving it two very different curriculum offerings in the same city.
Nord Anglia Education will add Mont'Kiara International School (MKIS) to its network from August 2026, according to Nord Anglia Education, taking the group's Southeast Asian portfolio to 15 schools and its worldwide total to 90. The deal makes MKIS Nord Anglia's second school in Kuala Lumpur, sitting alongside the British International School of Kuala Lumpur (BSKL) in Sri Hartamas.
The two schools serve notably different markets. BSKL follows the English National Curriculum through to IGCSE before transitioning to the IB Diploma, whereas MKIS offers the full IB continuum, covering the Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma programmes, plus the US High School Diploma. Nord Anglia describes the combination as giving families in the city "even greater curricula choice" rather than creating direct internal competition.
A school with strong academic standing
Founded in 1994 and situated in the prestigious Mont'Kiara neighbourhood, MKIS currently educates more than 700 students from over 45 nationalities. Its academic record is solid: in 2025, students achieved an average IB Diploma score of 34.4, well above the global average of 30.58. Graduates have gone on to University College London, the London School of Economics, King's College London and a range of leading North American universities.
The school is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and is licensed by Malaysia's Ministry of Education. Whether the change of ownership will affect MKIS's existing MOE licensing conditions, which govern how international schools in Malaysia may operate, has not been addressed in the announcement.
What changes for students
Once inside the Nord Anglia network, MKIS students will gain access to the group's global collaboration programmes, including partnerships with MIT, The Juilliard School, UNICEF, and IMG Academy. Nord Anglia frames these as extending learning well beyond the classroom, adding enrichment in STEM, performing arts, social impact and elite sport.
For the wider KL market, the move is a signal of continued confidence in Malaysia's international school sector despite the government's recent push to enforce Bahasa Malaysia instruction requirements. Nord Anglia's investment in a second KL campus, coming so soon after that regulatory debate, suggests the group regards the city's expat and internationally mobile family base as durable enough to support two premium schools operating simultaneously.