Fr.John Baptist Coppin, Parish Priest of St Michael’s Church.Ipoh, founded St.Michael’s Institution on  4th  December 1912. He was a  Roman Catholic Missionary priest  of the Paris Foreign Mission (MEP).During his 23-year tenure as Parish Priest of St.Michael’s Church, Ipoh , he founded the Convent of the Infant Jesus (  1907 ) and St Michael’s (1912). It was Father Coppin who persuaded the La Salle brothers to take over the administration of the school.Father Coppin was a frequent  visitor to the school. It was he who first identified  the plot of land on which St Michael’s stands.Despite his frail health, Fr Coppin ensured that St Michael’s was set firmly on the path towards being one of Ipoh’s most promising young schools.   ·         Father Coppin ‘s  dream was to create a  Catholic Mission  school  for boys in the Kinta Valley. ·         The site chosen appeared to be an unpromising swampland  but Father Coppin believed that divine providence and the enterprising spirit of Ipoh’s growing community would help transform this landscape.      ·         Father Coppin was instrumental in persuading Bro. Visitor James Byrne, Head of the Lasalle Brothers (Far East) to place the school under the  management  of the Lasalle Brothers. ·         Father Coppin threw all his energy into vitalizing the infant school.He obtained the required official permission from the colonial authorities for the school to begin its operations. ·         The Lasalle Brothers officially purchased the land  on which the early school stood  for 6,000 Straits dollars.    GET YOUR COPY OF "VALIANT & TRUE" FOR A FULL READING OF THE STORY OF ST.MICHAEL'S INSTITUTION,IPOH.