Today Kinabalu International School has over 470 students from over 33 nationalities and follows the National Curriculum Programme of Study for England and Wales. It is the oldest international school in Sabah with a well-deserved reputation for delivering a high quality education programme for over 40 years.

The school was originally established in the 1970’s to provide a British type education for children of expatriates living and working in Sabah. Initially, premises were rented from the St John’s Ambulance Association in Kota Kinabalu and the first teachers were parents of the students attending the school. However, the school quickly introduced its current policy of recruiting only the best qualified teachers from around the world and began to receive recognition of its commitment to high standards from local, regional and global educational organisations.