SMK St. George

Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan St. George, also popularly referred to as St. George’s Institution (its name upon founding), is one of the oldest schools in Taiping, and Malaysia, having stood for over a century. The school is a public secondary school (high school) and teaches pupils from Forms 1 to 6. Students from Forms 1 to 5 are all boys, while Form 6 education is inclusive of girls.

The school has a long history of educational excellence and is among the more renowned schools in Taiping. Many notable figures in Malaysia’s history can credit their education to St. George’s, and the school has an alumnus that is very active. The St. George’s Institution Taiping Education Fund, run by alumni, provides scholarships to deserving applicants to further their tertiary studies.

The school motto is Honor Virtutis Praemium Latin for “the reward for virtue is honor”.

History of St. George’s Institution, Taiping

The school was built in 1915 under the suggestion of La Salle missionaries towards the British Resident at the time of the need for a boys’ Catholic mission school in Taiping. Taiping at the time already had two convents, and a Methodist girls school. A wooden structure was used when the school opened on 18 January 1915. The three-storey stone building which has become the façade of the school was completed the same year and officiated by the British Resident on 16 September 1915. The building was designed by colonial architects from Penang, in a style combining Neo-Greco and Neo-Romanesque architecture. The building has a portico and two wings extending either side. The first cohort consisted of 49 students, taught by 7 teachers in 6 classrooms. The school was funded by the De La Salle Brothers, and had Directors (i.e. modern-day headmasters or principals) from the Lasallian order.

The school was closed during World War II, and was taken over by the Japanese Military Police, or Kempetai. Tales of torture and brutality by the Japanese during their occupation of the school have fueled ghostly urban legends that were told and retold by students of St. George’s to this day.

The school has had several buildings added to it over the years as the population of the school grew. Today, the school is mostly funded by the Malaysian government, with teachers and staff from the Ministry of Education. The Lasallion order still partially funds the school.

SMK St. George is stop number 22 on the Taiping Heritage Trail.