Kuala Lumpur
Mont'Kiara International School Joins Nord Anglia as New Academic Year Begins
One of Kuala Lumpur's most established IB schools has formally entered Nord Anglia's global network, giving the world's largest premium schools operator its 90th campus and 15th in Southeast Asia.
Mont'Kiara International School (MKIS) in Kuala Lumpur has formally joined Nord Anglia Education's global family of schools as the 2026-27 academic year begins, completing a transaction that, according to Tes, gives the group its 90th school worldwide and its 15th in Southeast Asia.
Established in 1994 in the city's Mont'Kiara neighbourhood, the school is one of Malaysia's most long-standing IB World Schools. It educates more than 700 students from over 45 nationalities and runs the full IB continuum, from the Primary Years Programme and Middle Years Programme through to the Diploma Programme, alongside the US High School Diploma. It is among a small number of international schools in Kuala Lumpur that offer multiple secondary qualifications under one roof. In 2025, MKIS students achieved an average IB score of 34.4 against a global average of 30.58.
A second campus in Kuala Lumpur
The acquisition makes MKIS Nord Anglia's second school in the Malaysian capital, alongside the British International School of Kuala Lumpur. The two campuses now serve quite different segments of the market: BSKL is rooted in the British national curriculum and A Levels, while MKIS is structured entirely around the IB. Bringing both under the same banner gives Nord Anglia coverage across the two most common secondary qualification pathways sought by expatriate and internationally minded local families in the city.
MKIS will retain its name, its current leadership team, and its curriculum. Nord Anglia has said that students will gain access to the group's university placement network and its enrichment programmes, including collaborations with UNICEF, MIT, and the Juilliard School. The group did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.
What it means for the region
The deal extends a run of Southeast Asian acquisitions that has brought Nord Anglia into every major market in the region. Malaysia has proved a durable market for international school operators, with a growing base of families seeking internationally recognised qualifications alongside a steady flow of relocating corporate families. Premium IB schools in Kuala Lumpur have seen particularly strong demand in recent years, partly because the diploma is favoured by families targeting universities in North America and Australia, both large destinations for Malaysian graduates.
For families already at MKIS, the change in ownership is likely to be felt gradually rather than immediately. The school has stated publicly that its academic programmes are not changing for the coming year. Whether Nord Anglia uses the foothold to expand MKIS's capacity, or to develop a second IB campus in Malaysia, will be one of the sector's questions to watch over the next cycle.