UWCSEA Singapore

[Karramaboo]

Hi all,

We are seriously contemplating a move to Singapore as dh has been offered a really great package with his current company, running things out of Singapore. DH had a look around and really liked UWCSEA for ds, who is currently year 6.

Our dilemma is that ds is quite academic and sitting the 11+ for selective Indie schools (Latymer Upper, KCS) in London. He also has some mild SEN (joint hyper mobility) so we are bearing this in mind when looking for next schools for him. Ds is very into art and drama and will be applying for scholarships in both. Dh's job opportunity is totally out of the blue but as I said it's a great package in terms of accommodation/school fees/maid/bills all paid. On the other hand ds has been preparing for the 11+ for a long time and if he gets in then based purely on academics, the London day schools get pretty great results. The other thing we like is the level and understanding of SEN in the London schools we're looking at as well as the standard of art and drama.

BUT... the money and the lifestyle benefits are really tempting. I have arthritis and the climate would be great for me and for ds it would mean access to a swimming pool in our accommodation which would be great as daily swimming would really help with his joint pain.

Sorry for the incredibly rambling post - getting to the point now! So my question is - does anyone know what art and drama are like at UWCSEA? Also anyone with experience of their SEN provision? Very confused and could do with some advice!

Thanks so much in advance!

[tinypop4]

I taught at this school till March this year.
I never saw a teacher who didn't teach.
Many subjects have text books.
Yes the children use laptops- this is to support their learning not replace it.
The educational standard is high, although the school is on the big side.

[Hopjhin]

I am afraid as a teacher you would have to defend your own. As a parent, I can tell you there were many teachers who didn't teach. I had one of them and I complained to the school.

Unfortunately, teacher complaints got you nowhere as you always backed each other up.

As far as textbooks, please list the ones that were used in the JS and MS. I am not talking about the HS. I never saw any and I had three children in the school for seven years spanning the Junior School, Middle School and High School.

[tinypop4]

I get the feeling you're not a big fan of teachers Hopjhin. Most are not in a conspiracy to stop children from learning, believe it or not.
I have no vested interest in the school, I've worked in several all across the world. There are many, many children at this school that do extremely well.
I'm not here to argue with you, so I'll not be wasting my time listing textbooks. I'm just presenting another side to the story. There will always be people with different opinions on any school.

[Karramaboo]

Hello all just to say thank you for your feedback! And of course I will take into account all views presented here as well as having a good look around the schools myself. Would be interested to hear why Hopjhin likes the sound of DC - do you know people there? Thanks again!

[Hopjhin]

I moved my kids last year. Very happy. Academic standards same as UK private schools. Great teachers from lots of UK public schools. Good community feel and kids are happy. Well structured and lots of sport. We are very happy with the school.

[mbabanemummy]

It's not the only UWC with a lower school programme.

And they don't "bring in ringers", it's how the whole UWC works... it's academically competitive across the whole world. I think you've misunderstood the school!

[Laptopwieldingharpy]

I think that the last few exchanges illustrate what I was saying above about making sure the school is a right fit for YOU.
If you are going to fault a school for not being «british» enough then choose another one.
Agree with Hopjhin somehow that the IB middle years «program» is a sham and only as good as the teacher delivering it. But that is true of all IB schools and not exclusive to UWC.
You can still deliver a fair bit of content at home while the IB delivers a method.
True though about tutoring. But that is largely for kids whose parents are not backing them at home. Those who never read a book or pick up a pen and paper to edit their work and rely on computer delivered Tutorials.

OP, make sure you understand that side of IB education, coming from a competitive UK style school can certainly be a shock. Kids have much more scope to make their own decisions about « their learning» (snort...that is the terminology) and that involves a fair amount of maturity, discipline and parental involvement.

[Kim1313]

Dear Karramaboo, you will love Singapore. And the good news is that there are no bad schools.
Fyi I am a Tanglin Trust School parent. My son used to go to the French School (Lycee Francais de Singapour) but he is now in Tanglin.

To summarize: the consensus is that the 3 best schools in Singapore are the 3 non-for-profit schools:

• Singapore American School (SAS) following a US curriculum.
  
• UWCSEA Dover (and UWCSEA East slightly behind because newer) following an IB curriculum.
  
• Tanglin trust School (TTS) following a UK curriculum till year 11 then 2 paths: A-levels or IB.
  

Dulwich College Singapore might be a great school but it is a new school so it does not have any exams results yet. And it is a for-profit school.

Comparing exam results: apples to apples:
TTS has better iGSCE and IB results than UWCSEA (both campus).
Fyi I believe comparing iGCSE results is more meaningful than comparing IB results because all students take this exams and it excludes the 'scholars' UWCSEA might bring (or not) to push up IB levels.Anyway fwiw TTS has the best results at iGSCE and IB.

UWCSEA is more international than TTS but TTS is still very international: many of the British kids passport holders are from mixed families or are kids who grew up abroad.
But it is true that TTS kids native language at home is overwhelmingly English. Which is less the case at UWCSEA. My son's mother-tongue is French and this is one of the reason I chose TTS over UWCSEA. I felt the level of English is higher (disclaimer: my son is in the Junior School. The difference might fade in the senior school).

Other reason we chose TTS over UWCSEA is that we felt it was more academics; not as much as the French system where our son used to be . But more than UWCSEA. It does not mean it is better. But we really liked it was still linked to a national curriculum.

Regarding extra curriculum activities (sports, musics, drama,...): all the schools are fantastic. UWCSEA campus might be a bit more impressive than TTS (though TTS is getting better and better) but we do prefer TTS location: closer to city center and located in One North (Singapore own silicon valley/bio technologies cluster).

Regarding waiting lists: in Senior schools, waiting lists are not very long anymore due to new schools opening (including Dulwich) and a temporary slowdown in oil/gas industries (many expats left singapore last couple of years). So do check before assuming it will be hard to get into TTS.

Both UWCSEA and TTS are fantastic schools. Dulwich might end up being great as well and our friends with kids going there are very happy. But as a TTS parents, I cannot tell you strongly enough how happy we are about TTS.

[cannotseeanend]

Just avoid one of the primary heads, a dragon and expect some staff departures.......