Founded by Reverend Robert Sparke Hutchings, Penang Free School is the oldest English school in Southeast Asia which was also the first colonial era school to open to all children of any race or religion. On the 6th February 1816, a committee headed by Hutchings, submitted a proposal of the establishment of a school to the Governor of the Prince of Wales Island and on the 21st of October 1816, Penang Free School was established. The school is located at Jalan Masjid Negeri, or Green Lane.