From February 18 to 23, Nazarbayev Intellectual School of Physics and Mathematics in Astana is hosting their best friends – students and teachers from PERMATApintar College, the National Center for Gifted Children of Malaysia. The visit takes place in the framework of the international school exchange between the two schools, which has been operating since 2015.

It must be said that the students of the Intellectual School visited PERMATApintar last spring, where they lived in the families of their peers, enriching their subject knowledge and studying the history and culture of Malaysia.

Now the return visit is made by Malaysian friends. Six students from PERMATApintar high school, accompanied by the vice-principal Rorlinda Binti Yusof and the biology teacher Nurulnisa ​​binti Nor Azman, have taken part in our school life for five days. The visit is literally arranged minutely: the students attend lessons and clubs, extracurricular activities and master classes.

Malaysian students live in host families too, and thanks to this exchange, friendship is established not only between schools, but also between families.

During the interview with the school press center, Malaysian students shared their impressions of the trip. They noted that they were glad to visit Nur-Sultan right now, because they were lucky to see the snow and witness the real winter.

“We are the only school in the country that has an exchange training program. I know that there are 20 such Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools in Kazakhstan. I wanted to see the best international practice. You have a lot of interesting things that could be implemented in our school. We hope that we can put into practice what we have seen in Kazakhstan,” says the vice-principal of the Center for Gifted Children Rorlinda Binti Yusof.

Muhammad Azamuddin Bin Fathul Karim student:

I liked the architecture of Astana. Buildings of an unusual shape. The Intellectual School has a lot of new equipment and all the conditions for studying have been created. You have a greenhouse. I think this is a great opportunity to observe the plants. I liked the informal atmosphere in your library: here the books are arranged in an interesting order. This is so cool.

 

During their visit, the Malaysian students very quickly managed to find friends who are already helping them to adapt to the new environment.

On February 22, in gratitude for the warm welcome, the Malaysian group will perform at the school festival “Two Stars” with the Kazakh dance, which they have learned during these days.