Tenby Schools Ipoh

What independent coverage exists

Ipoh Echo's February 2020 overview of international schools in Ipoh identifies Tenby as offering IGCSE in Years 10–11 and Cambridge A-Level in the Sixth Form. This confirms an established presence in the local market, but the article does not rank the school or assess its quality.

No school-specific ranking or inspection grade from bodies such as Tatler, ISC, Niche, BSO or CIS could be verified in the sources reviewed. Families looking for an external quality benchmark should ask the school directly for any current accreditation or inspection reports.

How entry works

The school states that applications are accepted throughout the year only where space is available, and that an assessment and/or interview may follow document review depending on the applicant's age and supporting documents. It does not publish acceptance rates, applicant counts, priority rules or year-group waiting-list data.

The 2025–26 Parent and Student Handbook says an applicant must provide their most recent school academic and behaviour report at the time of assessment. If a place is offered, the family must pay a non-refundable registration fee and a refundable deposit equivalent to one term's school fee on acceptance.

Where the assessment picture is unsettled

A June 2026 published school-visit report states that Years 1–6 used an interview only, while Year 7 and above used CAT4 plus an interview, and that placement in the Enhanced English Programme is set by enrolment-assessment results. This is a single community account and should be read as such.

International Schools Database, a review platform, instead lists CAT4 on entry from Year 3 upward, no waiting list, and ongoing enrolment in most year groups including mid-year. Because these two sources conflict on where CAT4 begins, the public evidence does not establish a definitive assessment threshold or waiting-list position; confirm current practice with the school.

Boarding is a separate arrival step

The publicly available 2025–26 boarding handbook is structured around Years 7–13 and states that first-time boarders must arrive accompanied by a parent or guardian, making boarding a distinct enrolment-arrival consideration alongside the standard admissions journey.

What the school describes

The school's multilingualism page states that it supports English, Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin and has students from over 30 nationalities. This is a published self-description of linguistic and nationality diversity, not a full demographic breakdown or family-background profile.

The school also publishes that more than 1,000 students currently attend its Ipoh campus. No independent regulator, inspector or accreditor source was found to verify a current total or to provide boarding/day, local/international, nationality, language or section-level breakdowns.

One independent snapshot, plus historical figures

A June 2026 third-party boarding-school visit report states the school had 987 students from 28 countries, with approximately half Malaysian. These figures are reported by the article rather than drawn from an official census, so they are a time-specific third-party account.

For context, Ipoh Echo reported over 900 students from 30 countries in December 2010, and cited the Tenby Schools Malaysia director's statement of nearly 1,200 students aged 3–19 at the March 2014 opening of the Bandar Meru Raya campus. These are dated points and do not describe the current community.

Published results and their gaps

The school's Sixth Form page reports that for A-Levels in 2026, 98% of all grades were A* to E, 61% were A* to B, and 42% were A* to A. The page does not state candidate count, cohort size, university offers, acceptances or matriculations, so the results cannot be weighted against the size of the year group.

An older school brochure lists universities associated with 'Tenby Alumni all over the world', including the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, National University of Singapore, University of Melbourne and University of Malaya. It gives no year or student counts and does not say whether these represent offers, acceptances, destinations or actual enrolments.

Recent items from school sources

The school's International Secondary page displays 2025 IGCSE results of a 99% pass rate, 72% of grades A* to B, and 50% of grades A* to A. No candidate count or cohort size is given alongside these figures.

The 2025–26 Parent and Student Handbook states that, effective 12 January 2026, students may use mobile phones only within a designated 'Safe Zone'; outside it, phones must be stored in a locker or school bag during the school day.

Choose the right stream

Families seeking a British-international route can follow EYFS, the National Curriculum for England, IPC, IGCSE and A-Level, while the campus also offers the Malaysian national KSSR/KSSM/SPM pathway. Because fee schedules, calendars and examinations differ by pathway, families should confirm the intended stream at the outset. This is a reading of the school's own descriptions.

Boarding and cost points to check

On the published figures, boarding is offered only for ages 12–19 at RM9,500 per term plus a RM3,000 refundable deposit, and the boarding house closes during end-of-term breaks. Families needing year-round residential accommodation should confirm alternatives before applying.

The published tuition tables exclude books, uniform, transport, food, co-curricular activities, educational visits, external examination fees and applicable taxes. Families comparing total cost should request a grade-specific all-in estimate rather than treating term tuition as the full annual figure.