Victoria Institution

The Victoria Institution is the oldest secondary school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is a memorial school, so-called because it was partly funded by public subscription intended for the erection of a permanent memorial to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887. The establishment of the school was further supported by financial contributions from the Sultan and government of Selangor, prominent Kuala Lumpur residents, and the general public.
The school reverted to its original name (instead of SMK Victoria) in February 2009, after being granted approval in recognition of its having been declared part of Malaysia's national heritage.
The Victoria Institution is a secondary school for male students only from Form 1 to 5. Female students are accepted for Form 6 (Lower and Upper). The school is widely known as VI, and a student of the Victoria Institution is known as a Victorian.
Performing well both academically and in sports, the VI is considered one of the best non-residential schools in Malaysia. In 2007, VI was named as a Cluster School of Excellence by the then Minister of Malaysian Ministry of Education, Hishamuddin Hussein.
On 13 September 1945, the school was the site of the formal surrender of the 29th Imperial Japanese Army to Lieutenant-General Ouvry Roberts of the 34th Indian Corps.
The school's foundation stone was laid by on 14 August 1893 by Lady Treacher, who was the wife of Selangor Resident at that time; Sir William Hood Treacher. The school was opened on 28 July 1894. This original school building is located at Jalan Tun H.S. Lee, right next to the site of present-day KJ14 SBK16 Pasar Seni LRT/MRT station.
This building was then used for the premises of the Technical College (now Universiti Teknologi Malaysia) up until the 1950s when the new Technical College building at Jalan Gurney (now Jalan Semarak) was completed and officially opened on the 1 March 1955 by Sir Donald MacGillivray, the then British High Commissioner to Malaya.
After the Technical College had moved out, the old VI building was used as a school again, as High Street School, which in turn moved to Setapak and became known as Setapak High School.
The old VI building was then managed around the 1980s by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall as a cultural centre, known as Taman Budaya, until it was burnt down by a fire in 1999. Restoration work was made from 2002 to 2005 by JTK Consult. The department is now run as the National Department For Culture & Arts.
As the VI's former location was frequently flooded by the nearby Klang River during heavy downpours, the Victoria Institution moved to Jalan Hang Tuah (formerly known as Shaw Road) on 26 March 1929.
The Victoria Institution has a clock tower overlooking two sports pavilions at its façade, and a large field, surrounded by colonial-era trees (yellow flame trees and palms). The VI also has its own 25-metre swimming pool and synthetic track for 100 metres sprint events, making it the only school in the region with these facilities at that time.
The VI is also home to the oldest cadet corps in the country, the Victoria Institution Cadet Corps (affiliated with the Malaysian Army and the first to receive Colours in 1960 in honor of the role played in the Second World War), the oldest cadet corps band in the country, the Victoria Institution Cadet Corps Band, and the oldest scout group in the country, the First Kuala Lumpur Scout Troop. The First Kuala Lumpur Scout Troop split into two troops in 1933 thus establishing the First Kuala Lumpur Scout Troop and the Second Kuala Lumpur Scout Troop. The official name of the Second Kuala Lumpur Scout Troop today is the Victoria Scout Group.
The school's cricket ground first witnessed an international match when Ireland played Gibraltar in the 1997 ICC Trophy, which was hosted by Malaysia. Eight matches in that competition were played at the school premises. The ground also played host to three List A fixtures played in the cricket competition at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. These fixtures saw Pakistan play Scotland, Canada play India, and Malaysia play Jamaica.
The Alumni Association of the VI is known as the VIOBA (Victoria Institution Old Boys' Association) and was founded in 1922. The games competition between the Current Victorians and the Old Boys is for the Daniel Shield and this tournament is held every year. There is a similar Alumni Association in Singapore, the VIOBA Singapore.
03°08′19.30″N 101°42′07.53″E﻿ / ﻿3.1386944°N 101.7020917°E﻿ / 3.1386944; 101.7020917