Sunday Mail, January 9, 2005
Convent Light Street - Penang

THE first such school to be established for girls in Malaysia was the Convent Light Street in Penang in 1851. Convent Light Street had its beginnings when the first three Sisters of the Holy Infant Jesus Mission arrived in Penang to start schools and orphanages for girls. The school, was significant in Kedah history because it was the first private English school for girls opened by the Catholic Mission in Alor Star and the second in the State after Father Barre's Convent in Sungai Petani. The building was located at Jalan Langgar, now known as Jalan Merpati.

The first convent was a simple attap shed located where the primary school hall now stands. School started on June 15, and by July, they had recruited nine boarders, 30 day pupils and 16 orphans.

In December 1934, the school was relocated to the Royal House in the Kanchut area in Alor Star with the help of the royal family who helped tremendously in the early development of the school by providing financial assistance as well as moral support.

When World War II broke out, the school was forced to close as the Japanese occupied most of the English schools and converted them into Japanese schools.

Today, it is the most important inner city school in Penang and the oldest school complex in the country, having remained on this site for almost one-and-a-half centuries.

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