Kolej Tuanku Ja'afar (KTJ)

Since 1991, Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar (KTJ) has led the way in high-quality, holistic education with an emphasis on the development of responsible global leaders. 

The School was founded by three members of the Negeri Sembilan Royal Family, Tunku Dato’ Seri Utama Naquiyuddin, Tunku Tan Sri Imran and Tunku Dara Tunku Tan Sri Naquiah. The idea behind KTJ was based on their personal experiences of studying in top boarding schools in the UK. 

Boarding is a key feature of KTJ, and is available for students from Primary Year 6 and compulsory for Sixth Form students. Each boarding house is equipped with communal areas for socialising, a cinema room, kitchen, private study areas and rooms for group academic discussion. Shared bedrooms and private bedrooms for Upper Sixth students offer plenty of space for studying and relaxing. An onsite Health Centre is available for students 24/7, staffed by nurses and an on-call doctor. 

Based on an 80-acre, green campus, KTJ provides students with access to an impressive range of sports facilities including an indoor climbing wall, three swimming pools, five outdoor sports fields for athletics, cricket, hockey, football and rugby, plus badminton, basketball, squash and tennis courts.

KTJ supports young people to develop all elements of their characters and to grow into responsible global citizens and leaders. This is achieved through academic excellence inside and outside of the classroom and through the vast array of other opportunities, including over 100 extra-curricular activities (ECAs), academic enrichment events, and leadership and community service initiatives. KTJ’s ECA programme caters for a wide range of interests and includes coding, Economics and Finance Club, Debate Union, golf, Model United Nations, Rock Band, STEM and wall-climbing.

Sixth Form students are also given the opportunity to enhance their university applications through specialist ECAs and events. These include developing a competitive Law or Medical application, the annual Oxbridge and KTJ Law Moot, Friday night enrichment talks from expert speakers and national competitions in debate, engineering and public speaking.

KTJ has been re-accredited by the Council of International Schools and Council of British International Schools. The School is also a member of the Boarding Schools’ Association, the Federation of British International Schools in Asia and the Headteachers’ Conference. KTJ was awarded the BSA Boarding School of the Year in 2021. 

Make it your future! 

Early Years and Primary ECAs: 

Sports - Yoga,  Zumba, tee ball, football, athletics, basketball skills, touch rugby, swimming, water play, gymnastics and dance

Academic and hobbies - calligraphy, arts & crafts, salt dough, sustainability club, origami, rock band, Bahasa Malay, Tamil, French, Mandarin, ICT coding, film club, painting, sign language, cross stitch, mental maths, drama and creativity club.

Secondary & Sixth Form ECAs:

Sports - Wall climbing, netball, squash, ultimate frisbee, badminton, basketball, tennis, swimming, football, hockey, athletics, fencing, volleyball, track & field and Taekwondo 

Academic - Law applications, Science Bridge Academy, Model United Nations, Debate Union, preparation for competitive universities, Medics, STEM, science practical skills and investigations, conversational Spanish and Tech Club

Community service and support - LEO Club, Interact, PTPI, The Nature Society, Environmental Sustainability Club, Peer-to-Peer Support, international intercultural Club, Christian society and Islamic society

Hobbies - Korean Drama, cartography and map making, anime, social media club, all aboard-board games and cryptic crossword club

Arts and Humanities - Paint by numbers, rock band, street dance, school play, drama and  guitar ensemble

At KTJ the wellbeing of your child is of paramount importance to us. We function as a family here, and use the notion of family ties coupled with a Student Support Team to help our students thrive and flourish at school. We also have a Medical Centre on campus to see to our students medical and health needs.

Key Points:

• Safeguarding the KTJ community is everyone’s responsibility - we take care and look out for each other daily;
• KTJ has a Safeguarding Policy with regards to online learning - you can view it here;
• Our on-site Health Centre is available around the clock. 
• It is helmed by a doctor and 2 nurses with 16 beds for overnight stays and an isolation room.

Pastoral Care

At KTJ we strive to ensure that our students’ academic and pastoral needs are well taken care of. KTJ students, parents and staff are part of a big family that supports the learning and growth of our students. This sense of a ‘family at school’ is important for our boarders who are living away from home. 

Student Support Services

At KTJ we provide a holistic approach to student wellbeing so they can have a rich and fulfilling experience while studying here with us. Student Support Services provide the following to advise and assist students:

English as an Additional Language (EAL) Support 

Language support is provided for students who:

• Do not speak English as a first language; 
• Need extra English Language support to participate actively and confidently in and out of class.

Support is provided through taught group classes, in-class subject support and, when necessary, one-to-one classes 

EAL in the Sixth Form

KTJ offers English Language preparatory courses for two external examinations, the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and the reading and writing sections of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). The IELTS is an English Language qualification that students use when they apply for a place at Universities while the SAT is an aptitude test that is used for university admissions throughout the United States. The IELTS Preparation and the SAT Preparation Courses focus on helping students master the relevant language and test taking skills required for each assessment.

Learning Support 

Students with special learning requirements receive help from our Learning Support Team. We believe that with appropriate assistance, all students learn best when they are integrated in the classroom. Thus, support for our students with learning needs is planned collaboratively with classroom teachers and carried out predominantly in the classroom. Our team attends professional development sessions regularly to keep abreast of key strategies to use when working with students with learning needs.

Counselling 

At KTJ the mental health and emotional welfare of our students are a priority for us. We have two professionally trained counsellors on campus to help our students work through problems they may have. Students are encouraged to make use of this service as no worry is too small or insignificant to be shared.

Pastoral Care

Mentoring

Every student at KTJ has a designated mentor. The mentor is a teacher who assists the student to develop in line with our holistic education ethos. The mentor delivers Personal, Social and Health Education to their own small group of students. They assist their students to develop life-long skills. They monitor students’ academic progress and work with students to develop individual learning plans. They assist students in career aspirations. 

Buddy

Each new student at KTJ is buddied up with a student of the same year group who has been here for some time. This facilitates friendship and quicker settling in. The buddies help new students to navigate their way through this beautiful and large campus. 

House Staff

At KTJ, the main person responsible for your child’s welfare is the Houseparent, a trained and well experienced, academic member of staff. They are supported by house tutors and matrons, and work alongside the Head of Secondary (Pastoral) The main objective of our Houseparent is to support the emotional, social, and general wellbeing of our boarders. They are usually the first point of contact for students and parents with any questions or concerns.

Student Council 

The KTJ Student Council represents all KTJ students and communicates their ideas on enhancements within the school to School Leadership. The Council also plays an active role in implementation of agreed changes.

The Primary School Student Council is mentored and co-ordinated by The Head of Primary School while the Secondary School Student Council meets with the  Head of Secondary (Pastoral) to discuss students’ suggestions and put in place agreed changes.