Clocking Marlborough Miles for charity

Marlborough College Malaysia students and family members
at the flag-off to achieve 7,926 miles in a charity run

Marlborough College Malaysia (MCM) celebrated the coronation of HRH Sultan Ibrahim on March 23 with the Marlborough Miles charity event, an Outreach programme.  This non-competitive, charitable event raises funds through sponsorship as participants aim to complete as many Marlborough Miles as possible within the event time.  The funds raised from Marlborough Miles 2015 will be in aid of the Palliative Care Association of Johor, a charity chosen by HRH Permaisuri Johor Raja Zarith Sofia.

Participants receiving wrist bands from marshals here,
one for every Marlborough Mile achieved!

Marlborough Miles is named after the road within the college campus where one lap of this circuit measures just short of one mile.  Each year the college sets a target distance to complete.  For instance, a total of 2,013 miles was targeted in 2013 while 6,853 miles, the distance from MCM to Marlborough College UK, was set for 2014.  This year, the target was a 7,926-mile distance through the centre of the globe from Marlborough College Malaysia to Ecuador, situated at the exact point on the opposite side of the world.

When the participants were flagged off by College Master, Robert Pick, the first few thousand miles were achieved in a flash through a great surge of enthusiasm and energy.  A chart designed with a marker to record the distance achieved on the 7,926-mile distance through the centre of the globe, was displayed to encourage participants from all members of the college community: pupils, parents, families and staff, as they completed mile after mile.  The miles being clocked up were somewhat slower as the sun rose higher but the committed participants pushed through to achieve the set target at 12.27pm!

This year's target was a 7,926-mile distance through the
centre of the globe from MCM to Ecuador

The Outreach programme at MCM is an integral part of the Marlborough experience where service to the community is encouraged for all students.  In addition to Outreach, MCM has a Community, Action and Service (CAS) group where community projects are run by students taking the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma.  The IB CAS community-based services contribute to their study course as well as benefit charitable organizations in Johor such as the Handicapped and Mentally Disabled Association Johor, Johor Area Rehabilitation Organisation (JARO), Care Haven Orphanage, local Gelang Patah factory workers and SK Sungai Melayu.

MCM Master, Robert Pick [Right] and
his wife also took part in the charity event

Established in Nusajaya in 2012 as a direct expansion of Marlborough College in the UK, MCM was the first independent, co-educational British boarding and day school to open a campus in Malaysia.  The college follows the British Curriculum from the Preparatory School upwards, offering the internationally recognised IGCSE qualification courses to students aged between 14 and 16 and the IB Diploma programme for students aged between 16 and 18.  

MCM offers a vibrant, international, multi-faith environment where the students, who represent 36 different nationalities, are guided by 87 teachers, the majority of whom live on campus with their families.  For more info on MCM, visit website: www.marlboroughcollege.my

A version of this was published in The Malaysian Insider on 16 April 2015