Saint Michael’s Institution in Ipoh

Saint Michael’s Institution in Ipoh is a large and very successful school which dates back to 1912. The original Gothic European style school building, completed in 1923, has recognised been recognised by the city government as a building of historic interest and added as a location on the Ipoh Heritage Trail.

As a visitor you can’t go inside the school, but the outside of the building is magnificent with large sports fields reminiscent of august private schools in Europe and one of the finest examples of European architecture in Malaysia. St Micheal’s Institution is near to Ipoh Court House and Ipoh Railway Station and well worth visiting if you are planning a tour of Ipoh.

About Saint Michael’s

Saint Michael’s Institution was established as a school in 1912 by Reverend Father J.B. Coppin of St Michael’s Church in a wooden bungalow with 37 students. In 1920 the La Sallian Brothers, a sect of the Catholic Church, took over the administration of the school. Based on the designs of Brother Vernier Augustus the first section of the modern school was built in 1923 with a distinct classical European design. Over the next 30 years the original school building was expanded with extensions following the original design of Brother Vernier Augustus. Two further primary schools were added after, on in 1960 and another in 2005, as the school’s popularity and number of students increased.

St Michael’s Institution now has over 2,000 students at any one time and is ranked amongst the top 100 educational facilities in Malaysia. The school has received a Five Star rating from the Perak State Government and the number of students seeking enrolment has increased dramatically. St Michael’s Institution has a alumni which includes State Governors, Government Ministers at the National level, Senior police Officer and Civil Servants, top doctors and surgeons, and the Archbishop of Singapore. The school is also noted for its extra-curricula activities with 33 societies, such as sports and the scouting movement, which have also been recognised for their achievements. Former student Koo Kien Keat went onto become a world class badminton player.

The school also been the location of some major events in the history most notably during the Japanese Occupation of Malaysia from 1941 to 1945 when the school was the local operations centre for the Japanese occupation force. Local folklore is that building was used by the Japanese secret who tortured people in the tunnels believed to run under the school leading to rumours of the school being haunted with headless ghosts allegedly seen in the cellars on more than one occasion.

Location of Saint Michael’s

• Saint Michael’s Institution is located on Jalan S.P Seenivasagam in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.