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When a private school is considering opening an overseas campus, it is tempting to simply try to recreate the existing school abroad.

What’s more, given the government’s desire for more private schools to open overseas offshoots as part of its International Education Strategy, it would certainly seem quicker and easier to try to create a “mini me” replica of the school.

Yet to truly succeed in a new environment, you cannot simply “culturally transplant” a school from England to Malaysia, for example. Instead the school has to be “culturally translated” to ensure that it truly understands and reflects the different environment.

UK private schools opening overseas

This is something we have been doing at Reigate Grammar School Kuala Lumpur (RGSKL) since we opened in August last year, welcoming our first cohort of 400 students.

That cohort is incredibly diverse, and this brings wonderful opportunities for teachers to oversee fascinating classrooms - but it also means working to understand that diversity and teach students about a variety of religious and cultural points of view.

As an example, I recently explored the parallels between the red packets given during Chinese New Year and the “green envelopes” (sampul duit raya) exchanged within the Muslim community.

Nuanced, and specifically local, decisions on teaching topics is an area in which private schools overseas must, to some extent, forge their own path.

The values of the RGS “mothership” in the UK are deeply embedded in everything we do, but our knowledge of the region and the insight of staff enables us to navigate this complex area in a way that is unique to us.

Blending into a new environment

In doing so, it helps us to establish our identity as RGS Kuala Lumpur. We can always call on the expertise of colleagues in the UK for support and advice, but this is an area in which we must, to some extent, go it alone.

It’s also imperative that we make the right decisions on how to blend and challenge cultural beliefs, especially at a young school establishing itself in a competitive market.

By engaging with parents, we can demonstrate that we are creating a safe, harmonious and supportive environment for children from a multitude of different backgrounds.

An example of this can be seen in the intersection of Islamic Studies and PSHE.

While Islamic Studies is offered as a directed cultural education, our PSHE lessons tackle more “open” topics that can be sensitive within a traditional Malay community - our units of alcohol, drugs and even “crushes” in Year 5.

PSHE is, of course, a staple of the curriculum in schools in England, but here we seek a process of adaptation, bringing a different perspective to what is appropriate for families here. But we want to challenge, too.

Shared values

By finding shared values and similarities between difference cultures, we want to embed values of empathy. We hope that these will be carried forward into pupils’ adult life, encouraging them to become global citizens who can make the world a better place.

It has been heartening, then, to see many parents opt into our PHSE teaching, including lessons on relationships and sex education.

This is notable as the syllabus includes learning about reproductive organs, which is sensitive given that female circumcision remains a reality in Malaysia.

I have been in close discussion with my senior colleagues to ensure that we approach these topics with the necessary cultural “appropriacy” and care.

A school cannot simply breeze into a new country, expecting not to have to handle such topics in a very different way.

Curriculum adaptations

The curriculum has to be thought about within a local context, too - you can’t just use textbooks that look at things from a UK perspective, otherwise the learning feels entirely alien to children.

For instance, when we have looked at issues such as plastic waste, climate change and renewable energy, we have done so through topics and issues specific to Malaysia.

This has involved everything from addressing the sobering reality that the country is one of the world’s top 10 producers of mismanaged plastic waste, to the impact of the degradation of our national coastlines on local animal populations.

This requires more work from staff to adapt UK curriculum requirements but it ensures that pupils - both locals and ex-pats - are able to engage in learning truly relevant to where they live, making it far more impactful.

Of course, across the world many private schools are au fait with all of this - it’s one of the reasons why the private sector has experienced such strong growth overseas.

For those considering the same move, though, it’s worth stating that this cannot be overlooked - after all, while a strong school brand may start conversations, it’s great teaching and leadership that understands and engages with its local context that creates long-lasting school communities.

Lorraine Machaj is primary coordinator at Reigate Grammar School Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia