Intake Months for International Schools

Published on 24 Feb 2023

Choosing an International School

Essential Information

The academic calendars for international schools may differ depending on the school’s location, national affiliation and cultural traditions. The school’s calendar year is important in ensuring a seamless transition between schools in various countries. A discrepancy could cause your child to miss part of the academic year or wait months before they can begin the new academic year.

Education Destination Malaysia conducted a survey on international school intakes in October 2022 (and is continuously updating the survey). The purpose of this survey is to spread awareness among parents about the following: -

i. when international schools accept students

ii. what education level each school offers

iii. whether there are any waivers, discounts or scholarships offered

iv. and if they offer other facilities such as boarding.

Knowledge of these matters will help parents make better plans for their children’s education.

How many intakes are there in a year?

The number of intakes in a year varies from school to school. Some international schools offer a few intakes in a year to accommodate the large number of applicants and to allow parents to enrol their children even if they missed the last intake. Based on the survey conducted, it appears that most schools offer between one and three intakes each year. Some schools, such as IGB International School, offer two intakes a year.

There are, however, schools that have rolling enrolment throughout the year. This means that they accept students at any time of the year. These include schools such as elc International School, Invictus International School, Jerudong International School, Oasis International School, Wesley Methodist International School and XCL International School.

Do note that some international schools only accept students in certain months. This may be due to term breaks and to avoid new students starting their learning journey towards the end of the term.

Beaconhouse Newlands and Beaconhouse Sri Inai, for instance, accept students at any time in the academic year except in July in the case of the former and December in case of the latter.

Check out the full list of intakes below.

*Schools in blue have rolling admissions

When do the intakes occur?

The main intake is usually in January as reported by eight international schools. The next main intake is in April, according to six other international schools. Besides January and April, August and September are also popular months for the enrolment of new intakes.

As noted earlier, some international schools accept students at any time of the year, the process that is referred to as rolling admissions. With rolling admissions students can apply for admission or start their studies with an international school at any time. These schools include Alice Smith School, elc International School, Epsom College Malaysia, Invictus International School, Jerudong International School, Maple Leaf Kingsley International School, Oasis International School and XCL International School.

Some schools like Seri Botani International School have both set intake months and rolling admissions.

Check out the full list of intakes below.

*Schools in blue have rolling admissions

What levels of education do international schools offer?

Most international schools offer at least three levels of education. A vast majority of the schools that participated in the survey offer a combination of preschool, primary and secondary education or from preschool to pre-university or Sixth Form.

Are any fee waivers/discounts/scholarships offered to new students?

Many international schools offer fee waivers, discounts and scholarships for new students. You may refer to this list for more information on fee waivers, discounts or scholarships or contact the schools directly.

School facilities

Some international schools offer boarding facilities for students who live far from the school or whose busy parents or families want to reap the benefits of boarding. There are three main boarding options: full boarding, weekly boarding and flexible boarding. Full-time boarding means that the child stays in school seven days a week. Weekly boarding is where the child goes home every weekend. The third option is flexi-boarding, which allows the child to board one or several nights a week, depending on the child’s preference or need.

International schools such as Wesley Methodist International School, Jerudong International School, Maple Leaf Kingsley International School, Seri Botani International School, Epsom College Malaysia and Prince of Wales Islands International School (POWIIS) offer full-time and weekly boarding with POWIIS offering the additional option of flexi-boarding.

Apart from boarding facilities, all the international schools that participated in the survey except Sri KDU International School, The International School of Kuala Lumpur and Lodge International School offer transportation services. Transportation services help eliminate the worry and stress of parents on ensuring that their children are safely picked up to and from school/home.

Conclusion

In summary, the intake months for international schools vary depending on how many students the school can accommodate each term and on the school’s calendar. Today many schools offer more than one intake in a year. This is particularly useful for parents who missed the earlier enrolment date. In addition, this ensures that the child has a smooth transition into school.

This article at a glance:

This article summarizes results from a survey conducted on when international schools take in new students. A total of 13 international schools in Malaysia provided useful information about the following: -