THE prime minister of Malaysia returned to his old school in Malvern this week for the official opening of its new science centre.

The Hon. Mohammad Najib Abdul Razak was a pupil at Malvern College from 1968 to 1971 and on Monday he returned for the opening of the Razak Science Centre.

Accompanied by an entourage of Malaysian journalists, Mr Razak toured the new block and met students and staff, before carrying out the official opening ceremony alongside his brother Dato' Johari Razak, another Old Malvernian, and headmaster Antony Clark.

Mr Razak's visit to Malvern came after a busy international schedule which included the Davos economic summit and a visit to Saudi Arabia following the death of King Abdullah.

And during the visit to the college, Mr Razak recalled his first time in the UK when he was sent to study at Malvern.

He said: "I was fourteen years old then, and I had never left Malaysia. After days of travel, I touched down in the United Kingdom for the first time. It was a journey full of trepidation. I didn’t know what to expect.

"It was a typical January evening, and as the door of the plane opened, my heart stopped. It was like walking into an industrial freezer."

But he told the Malvern Gazette that he had come to love the town and the hills.

He said: "Walking up the Malvern Hills is something I remember well, along with walking down to the pitches for the games, and Saturday nights watching Match of the Day."

He said that among other things, life bat the college had taught him how to get along with a wide variety of people.

And although he had not taken the science route himself, he said that he appreciated the importance of science in the modern world.

He said: "I believe science is the key to a competitive economy, and the STEM [science, technology, engineering and maths] subjects form a vital part of education, along with the teaching of English, which is the international language of science."

The new centre has been created by completely refurbishing two existing buildings and joining them with a brand-new 140 seat lecture theatre. The centre includes 18 laboratories, extra preparation rooms and a greenhouse on the top floor.

Headmaster Antony Clark said, “We are incredibly privileged to have Prime Minister Najib here to mark the opening of the centre. With the ever-increasing importance of science and technology in everyday life, it is vital that Malvern inspires its pupils to be great minds of the future."