Leadership is best learned from those already shaping the world. Across Southeast Asia, international schools are creating opportunities for young people to connect directly with industry leaders, innovators, and changemakers. These experiences extend learning beyond textbooks, providing students with the opportunity to witness leadership in action and understand how sustainability is integral to addressing today’s global challenges. Students are learning to apply these principles in real-world contexts, developing skills to make responsible decisions that benefit both communities and the environment.
The value lies in exposure. Meeting a diplomat, entrepreneur, or scientist allows students to understand how decisions are made and how ideas are turned into reality. It also gives them role models who show that leadership can be expressed through civic service, creative problem-solving, or advancing sustainability. Equally important are the conversations that follow. When students engage with leaders, they are encouraged to ask questions, challenge perspectives, and form their own opinions.
Here are three schools that bring this vision to life, each with its own approach to connecting students with experts and preparing them for leadership on a global stage:
Jerudong International School connects students with diplomats, giving them firsthand experience of global leadership and diplomacy. Source: Jerudong International School
Jerudong International School
To become a leader, one must start young, and Jerudong International School (JIS) in Brunei has a track record of transforming students into future changemakers and innovators. Its six aims — Engagement, Resilience, Communication, Integration, Thinking, and Leadership — shape every student’s journey, ensuring students can thrive beyond the classroom and make a difference.
Since its founding in 1997, JIS has grown into one of Asia’s most well-established and well-resourced co-educational schools, home to around 1,700 students from more than 45 countries. The school earned the Patron’s Accredited Member status from the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) in 2022, becoming the first in the world to achieve Beacon Status in three standards: Student Welfare, Boarding Provision, and Extracurricular, Enrichment and Engagement. For families, this recognition confirms what they already see — a school committed to the education of the whole child.
Regular connections with diplomats and changemakers help JIS students realise their full potential. For instance, the Embassy of Japan runs workshops on language, art, and culture, with students meeting the Ambassador of Japan to Brunei. The US Ambassador has joined the school’s “Women in International Relations” panel, sparking conversations about civic and political leadership. The Canadian High Commissioner has also hosted the “International Day of the Girl” at her residence and engaged with JIS Model United Nations students. Brunei’s community allows for these unique connections, showing students local and global leadership in action.
Sustainability is equally at the heart of JIS’s vision. Students engage directly with local pioneers in conservation and climate action, linking their efforts to global Sustainable Development Goals. A standout collaboration with local NGOs builds and monitors artificial reefs, restoring coral ecosystems, strengthening coastal protection, and creating vital marine habitats. Alongside this, JIS is a pioneer in plastic recycling in a country where it’s still practically non-existent. The school organises workshops at its on-campus Recycling Hub with external partners in the community, highlighting innovative ways to upcycle waste and inspire organisations to rethink environmental responsibility. Whether it’s improving people or planet, JIS students are shaping an inspired tomorrow, one initiative at a time.
Bangkok Patana School embraces learning beyond the classroom, offering extensive extracurricular activities to prepare students for higher education and life as well-rounded, responsible individuals. Source: Bangkok Patana School
Bangkok Patana School
Walk through the gates of Bangkok Patana School, and you’ll be met with the energy of more than 2,200 students from 65 nationalities learning, collaborating, and creating every day in preparation to become the next generation of global leaders. As Thailand’s first and largest British international school, Bangkok Patana follows the English national curriculum until Year 11 before students transition into the International Baccalaureate (IB) in Years 12 and 13. Every stage of this journey is designed to build confident, adaptable learners ready to take on a rapidly changing world.
For older students, the IB Career-related Programme (IBCP) offers a dynamic alternative to the traditional IB Diploma Programme (IBDP). This option pairs the IBDP’s theoretical underpinning and academic rigour with a unique CP core and an approved career-related study. Driven by student voice, choice, and ownership of learning, the CP core focuses on connected, enduring and transferable knowledge, skills and attitudes and provides many opportunities for authentic evidencing and ongoing assessment of learning.
Bangkok Patana’s IBCP allows students to specialise in one of three fields — Art and Design, Business, or Sport. The Business specialisation stands out for its engaging exposure to entrepreneurship and leadership. Through mentorship and projects, students discover how businesses operate and what it takes to lead with purpose.
All of this happens within a campus built to inspire. Spread across over 50 acres, the facilities include technology-rich classrooms, extensive sports halls, and a black box theatre that fuels creativity. From Year Three, students get to see the world as well, thanks to residential trips across Thailand, mastering teamwork, independence, and resilience.
Practical learning, built into daily life, further prepare students to become tomorrow’s trailblazers. Secondary students in the Junior Enterprise programme turn ideas into real products, selling them during Market Days and donating the proceeds to local charities. Meanwhile, the Student Environmental Committee runs projects such as banning single-use plastics and installing solar panels in northern Thailand as part of a branch of Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots programme.
Marlborough College Malaysia stands out for its diverse co-curricular opportunities, ranging from sports to the arts, cultivating holistic education and shaping students into responsible global citizens. Source: Marlborough College Malaysia
Marlborough College Malaysia
At Marlborough College Malaysia (MCM), learning stretches far beyond the classroom walls. Here, students are encouraged to ask questions, explore ideas, and enjoy the process of discovery as much as the answers themselves. The school welcomes children aged three to 18 and offers both boarding and day options on a safe, 90-acre campus. Guided by compassion, companionship, and conversation, MCM creates an environment where every student can uncover and develop their talents.
This curiosity and exploration continue through the Educational Visits Programme, which brings learning to life. Pupils of all ages participate in trips and activities that build skills, character, and confidence. Visits include museums, art galleries, science centres, theatres, and farms. Students also attend concerts, conferences, and sports fixtures. Older pupils can take international trips and pursue the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, combining adventure with personal growth. On-site, over 250 activities cover more than 120 experiences, running daily from early morning to evening, with weekend clubs adding even more opportunities.
These experiences are complemented by hands-on responsibilities at Barton Farm, where students learn the value of community and care. Under the guidance of Farmer Paul, they grow vegetables, tend animals, and contribute directly to the school community. Senior and Upper Prep pupils attend regular farm sessions, while boarders handle tasks like feeding chickens. Even the youngest pupils enjoy walks around the farm, story time in the shade, and sampling fresh produce, creating meaningful connections to nature.
At MCM, the combination of academic learning, exploration, and practical experiences helps students develop creativity, teamwork, and curiosity. Every activity, from farm work to international trips, builds their confidence and nurtures their abilities in a safe, supportive, and inspiring environment.
*Some of the institutions featured in this article are commercial partners of Study International
