Our History – Bishop Mackenzie International School

Welcome to the Bishop Mackenzie International School

Bishop Mackenzie International School is an English-medium private, non-profit co-educational day school founded in 1944 that has grown to provide an education to around 700 students in primary and secondary schools from Pre-K to Grade 12 (4 – 18 years old).

We offer several educational pathways, an International Baccalaureate World School in 1997, authorized to offer the Diploma. The school expanded the IB programmes in 2006 introducing PYP, which was authorized in 2011. As the students have moved up through the school, MYP has been introduced and BMIS is now a fully authorized MYP school. As of 2014, we are one of 217 schools worldwide offering the full continuum of PYP, MYP, and Diploma.

The school was named in memory of Charles Mackenzie, a prominent figure in the early history of Malawi. He joined David Livingstone on the Zambezi in 1861 as Bishop of Central Africa and Head of the Anglican Universities Mission, the first Christian mission in this part of Africa and the inspiration of Livingstone himself.

Established in 1944 as The European School, BMIS has a historic background from colonial times. It began with just a few students at the Golf Club but saw substantial growth in the 1950s. The school moved to its current location and provided boarding facilities during the Rhodesia and Nyasaland Federation. It later transitioned to a day school under the Nyasaland Government. In 1977, boarding facilities were reintroduced with the Designated Schools Board.

Since 1977

Since 1977, BMIS has evolved into a primary school serving an international community and is dedicated to offering top-notch education. It gained a strong reputation for excellence under the Designated School Board. In 1990, the school expanded by establishing a Secondary Department, which has thrived within BMIS.

BMIS Campus

The school is located on a 25-acre site on the southwestern edge of Lilongwe’s Area 3, a settled area of suburban housing. The primary school has 21 teacher-based classrooms and rooms for art, music, and ICT. In the secondary section, there are 21 teacher classrooms, 3 fully equipped laboratories and additional science rooms, an art room, and a music room. The library, sports fields, and gardens are shared spaces. Hard play areas include 2 tennis courts and a basketball court. An assembly hall also serves as a sports hall. There is a swimming pool complex comprising a 25-meter pool, an 18-meter pool, and an infant splash pool.

Our School

Class Sizes – American curriculum, International Baccalaureate Diploma, Advanced Placement courses, and American Diploma, play-based and inquiry-focused learning for our younger grades.

Curriculum – Class sizes depend on Grade level or course, but our average class size is 18 students.

Grades – 4–18 years old, Pre-K to Grade 12

School Year and Hours – Late August – Late June, 7:10 a.m – 2 p.m