International Schools

We have been thinking a lot about the contrast between teaching back home in NZ and our new environment in the ‘international’ schools system.

Our school ISS, (International School of Singapore) tends to be classified like many other schools in Singapore as international, because it offers a curriculum that is foreign to the local Singapore national curriculum and that it draws students from a range of nationalities. Our school offers a curriculum called the International Baccalaureate, which includes a Diploma programme in the last two years. Students study six subjects for two years and sit one final exam in May. This is the largest contrast from the NZ system, which I perceived as too heavily focused and potentially driven by external examinations and assessment specifications. The curriculum is global in nature and prescribed by a group that originated in France in the 1970’s from memory. The benefit of the International Baccalaureate is that students can easily change schools and fit into new classes with ease. This is important for some of the transient students who follow their parent’s careers around the world. One Malaysian student arrived in my class in January. He was born in Malaysia but has since travelled the world, and arrived at our school from Stockholm in Sweden last year. He still had the same Economics textbook I use and slotted into class with ease.

Other bigger schools in Singapore such as United World College of South Asia (UWC) offer the British IGSE and A Levels, the Australian School of Singapore offers the New South Wales Curriculum, and is beginning to introduce the International Baccalaureate over the next couple of years. The size of schools here are far larger than most in NZ and perhaps something more similar to the US system. UWC has around 2700, and the Australian School is about 3000. Tanglin Trust, The American School and Overseas Family School all have over 2000 students, from Grade 1 – Grade 13. Our school has around 700 students and is perhaps slightly smaller than our old schools Queen Margaret and St Mary’s College in Wellington.

Our school is a very multicultural place with students from around forty different countries and staff from nearly every continent. This is a large and significant point of difference from the other, so called international schools in Singapore. The Canadian School is nearly exclusively for Canadian nationals and the American passport holders gain priority but not guaranteed access to the American School. I think most of our student’s parents value the multicultural aspects of our school. If you life in a foreign country, wouldn’t you like your sons or daughters to mix with students from other nations? It seems that many foreigners spend their lives in the expat enclaves of Singapore’s condominiums.

The pressure on quality education here is amazing. All of the big schools, UWC, OFS and the American School have long waiting lists, despite the recession. Maybe the scene will be different in 2010 but at the moment, the Straits Times still publishes articles deploring people who pay the SDG $250,000 for a guaranteed place at any of these schools. For around $80,000 you will get a place on the waiting list.

The education of people, is perhaps Singapore’s most important process. The county has no natural resources and still imports water from Malaysia and yet it can place itself among the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world. The change for Rach and me has been fun so far. We have probably learnt and gleaned more experience than we would have in New Zealand in another 5 years at our old jobs. In a while we will look forward to coming home and working in New Zealand schools but at the moment change is as good as a holiday.