Welcome to the UWC South East Asia (East Campus) official Q and A page. Here we ask the questions, and the school answers directly. It is its chance to have its say on specific areas you have told us you want to know about. If you think there are additional questions we should be asking you may contact us here.

Does your school have a waiting list? In which years?

No, we run an annual application process. Our admissions system is similar to a university-style application system, in which families submit their applications and are then advised of the outcome in rounds of offers made up until the start of the school year. Families are able to apply for August admission in Kindergarten 1 - Grade 11 and for January admission (to join at the start of Term 2, part-way through the academic year) in Kindergarten 1 to Grade 8.

What are qualities and characteristics that define your school and its students?

UWCSEA Guiding statements

UWC South East Asia is a member of the UWC movement. We are a mission-driven organisation with a strong commitment to the educational principles of Kurt Hahn, our founder, and a passionate belief in the importance of education as a force for good in the world.

UWC mission

The UWC movement makes education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.

UWCSEA educational goal

The UWCSEA goal is to educate individuals to embrace challenge and take responsibility for shaping a better world.

UWCSEA ambition

UWCSEA will be a leader in international education. We will have a worldwide reputation for providing a challenging, holistic, values-based education with an emphasis upon academic achievement, service to others, environmental stewardship, teamwork and leadership.

Values

The UWCSEA community expects members to:

• be honest and act with integrity

• avoid prejudice by developing views based on evidence, reasoning and understanding

• be compassionate and morally responsible

• embrace challenge in order to maximise their potential

• help other people

• take an interest in and enjoy friendship with people of all cultures and backgrounds

• minimise their harmful impact on the environment

Students, parents, staff, Board members and alumni are all considered to be part of the UWCSEA community.

UWCSEA definition of internationalism

In our context, we understand the pursuit of internationalism to mean the pursuit of the guiding statements above. In practice, we implement our approach to internationalism via our holistic Learning Programme and through developing the skills and qualities of the UWCSEA profile in our community members.

How many nationalities are represented in your school? How international would you say your school is?

75 nationalities by passport on the East Campus; with 58 different languages spoken.

Are there high proportions of a particular nationality?

No, we aim for as diverse a student body as possible, and no one nationality group exceeds 20% of the enrolment on either campus.

What is the teacher: student ratio in your school?

The overall teacher: student ratio is 1:10.6

Class/mentor group size: K1-Grade 10 - 22; IB Diploma: 16

Does your school measure Value Added data? Please provide details of how you measure, and current Value Added benchmark scores.

Yes, however please refer to our website for details.

If external examinations and assessments are part of your curriculum, which ones do you offer?

(I)GCSE and IB Diploma

Please provide details of how well your school did in its previous external exams for students at 16 and at 18 years of age? Please provide sufficient detail to allow parents to have a view on how academic your school is?

UWCSEA students follow a UWCSEA-designed curriculum, based on standards, essential understandings and benchmarks from K1 to Grade 8. Students in Grades 9 and 10 follow the (I)GCSE programme, with students entering in Grade 10 following a Foundation IB (FIB) programme. Grade 11 and 12 students follow the IB Diploma Programme.

External examinations take place at the end of Grade 10 (for those following the two-year IGCSE programme) and Grade 12.

IB Diploma

IB Diploma candidates: 242

Pass rate: 97.5%

Average IB Diploma Score: 36.3

Awarded Bilingual Diploma: 23.6%

Please refer to our website for a five-year overview of our IB Diploma results, as well as our most recent IB results and university placements factsheet which outlines the average score against the worldwide average, for each subject that enrolled 8 or more candidates.

https://www.uwcsea.edu.sg/learning/academics/ib-igcse-results

IGCSE

Please refer to our website for the most recent overview of our IGCSE results.

https://www.uwcsea.edu.sg/learning/academics/ib-igcse-results

What percentage of your sixth form that take exams at 18 go to university, and where, in general, do they go?

100% of our students go on to university, predominantly in the US and UK, but also Canada, across Europe (Ireland, Netherlands, Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland), Japan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Korea, India, Malaysia, Thailand, the Middle East and South Africa. You can view the full list of the admitting universities and colleges on our website.

Describe your school's approach to education and teaching?

The learning programme at UWCSEA consists of five interlinking elements: academics, activities, outdoor education, personal and social education and service. These elements combine to provide our students with a values-based education that develops them as individuals and as members of a global society.

Our goal is to educate individuals to embrace challenge and take responsibility for shaping a better world. Through the learning programme, students develop the disciplinary knowledge, skills and understandings alongside the skills and qualities of the UWCSEA Learner Profile.

All five elements of the programme complement each other to create a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. This is a carefully planned and purposeful process, where students develop understanding in disciplinary and interdisciplinary ways. For example, students gain deep disciplinary understanding in our academic programme, which may be applied in outdoor education or service when students encounter and grapple with real world situations. The skills and qualities identified in the UWCSEA profile are embedded in all five elements of the programme.

The UWCSEA curriculum is concept-based. This means that students develop significant understandings which can be transferred across time, place and situation, whilst acquiring knowledge and skill. This allows our students to apply critical and creative thinking to any context. Each discipline (or area) has standards, which are statements that express the ‘big ideas’ and ways of thinking of the discipline. These standards run from K1 to Grade 12.

Each standard has grade level conceptual understandings, which are developmentally appropriate, that describe what a student should understand at each stage of their development within that discipline. They build naturally in complexity from K1 to Grade 12.

Benchmarks start with a verb and express what the conceptual understanding might look like in terms of knowledge, skill and performance. These benchmarks and the conceptual understandings they are based upon are what our teachers assess.

Do you develop independent learning through homework and, if so, what are your recommendations regarding this, particularly time spent on homework?

Our personal and social education programme aims to equip students to become independent self-managers who are able eventually able to manage the demands of the IB Diploma programme. This is done via age-appropriate allocation of home learning, and supported by a college-wide online learning platform which allows virtual classrooms to support in-person learning in classrooms.

Physical education and sport is an important aspect of a healthy lifestyle. How does your school ensure children engage in physical activity?

All students in Kindergarten to Grade 11 undertake PE lessons at least twice each week as part of the academic curriculum. Further, all students are offered opportunities through the Activities programme to participate in recreational, developmental and representative sports across a broad spectrum of individual and team sport, fitness and wellness activities.

Dover and East campuses offer wide ranging Representative Sports programmes which are supported by Non-Representative Sports and Fitness and Wellness activities.

The campuses worked together to initiate a Sports Education programme for students, coaches and parents. In 2017, John O’Sullivan from ‘Changing the Game’ presented a range of seminars to more than 2,000 members of the community, focusing on: long-term athlete development; the role of parents in their child’s sporting life; developing a champion mindset; and guiding coaches in developing high performers in a ‘player-first’ environment.

East Campus has a partnership with English Premier League Champions Chelsea FC, offering a bespoke football programme by Chelsea coaches through the Activities programme and within the school PE curriculum. Chelsea FC International Development Centre is based at UWCSEA East in Singapore.

Representative Sports

A total of 320 boys and girls sports teams, at Junior, Middle and High School age ranges, across Dover and East campuses represent the College in the Athletic Conference of Singapore International Schools (ACSIS). Additionally the College is a member of the South East Asia Student Activities Conference (SEASAC), where 48 Senior ‘A’ teams represent Dover and East Campus in 12 different sporting codes (excluding climbing, cricket, hockey, sailing, and track and field).

Our campuses usually have the highest participation rates in ACSIS of any school in Singapore (120 at each campus) and combined, UWCSEA won 12 of the 24 SEASAC Division 1 Championships.

Non-Representative Sports and Fitness and Wellness Activities

50% of the sports programmes at UWCSEA are non-competitive or fitness and wellness activities. Through a very broad range of physical activities, students at UWCSEA are given the opportunity to pursue their sporting passions and talents in order to develop their physical sporting capabilities and to further their personal lifelong fitness, health and wellness.

Dover and East have extended their weekend Phoenix and Dragons Sports Clubs, which now include badminton, basketball, climbing, cricket, football, karate, and volleyball.

A selection of Non-Representative Sports and Fitness and Wellness Activities includes: Ballet, Boxing, Break Dance, Circuit Training, Cross Fit, Fencing, Floorball, Golf, Gym School, Hip–Hop, Irish Dance, Jazz Dance, Judo, Karate, Learn to Swim, Life Saving, Mindfulness, Parkour, Pilates, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Rock Climbing, Sailing, Spartan Warriors, Squash, Swim Fit, Synchronised Swimming, Table Tennis, Tae Kwon Do, Trampolining, Wake Boarding, Water Polo, Wrestling and Yoga.

Other physically demanding activities such as dance, gardening and NYAA (Duke of Edinburgh)

How does your school promote healthy lifestyles?

It is embedded a topics covered in various ways throughout the school - in Primary School we discuss it as part of units of study; in Middle School students cover related topics in the Food Technology course, as well as in Life Skills and PE lessons and the personal and social education programme. In High School it is covered as part of the PE curriculum and in the personal and social education programme which all students participate in through daily mentor time.

How do you promote healthy eating?

We have a traffic light system in our canteen, which is linked to public awareness campaign. More importantly, it is embedded a topics covered in various ways throughout the school - in Primary School students learn about it as part of the science strands in their units of study as well as touch on it in PE and personal and social education; in Middle School students cover related topics in the Food Technology course, as well as in Life Skills lessons and the personal and social education programme. In High School it is covered as part of the personal and social education programme which all students participate in through daily mentor time.

Does the school have cafeteria facilities for the students? How does it promote a balanced diet?

Yes, there is a cafe which caters to boarders and is open to the day student population from 7am-7pm, as well as the school canteen which offers morning and after school snacks as well as lunch. There are five different hot cuisine options, plus a select-your-own salad bar and a daily hot meal special. The campus is also Halal certified.

What is the approximate average cost of a lunchtime meal?

$4-7

What is the starting and finishing time of your school day?

K1 - Grade 1 - 8am-2pm; optional after school activities run 2-3pm

Grades 2-12 - 8am-3pm; after school activities run 3.10-4.30pm; some sports teams train before school or after the first round of activities

Is there a school uniform?

Yes.

How often is the more formal feedback such as reports and parent/teacher meetings?

Yes, the frequency for formal parent teacher meetings is twice a year, in Grades 2 to 12 these meetings include the student and parents and are known as three-way conferences.

Which languages are taught at your school - please detail any as a first as well as second language?

As part of the taught academic curriculum, the following languages are offered: Chinese (from K1), Spanish (from G2), French (from G2), Japanese (from G9), Korean (from G9), Hindi (from G11), Russian (from G11).

In 2017, Bilingual Diplomas were awarded in these, plus the following languages: Amharic, Belarusian, Dutch, Estonian, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Khmer, Norwegian, and Ukranian as part of the SSST Language A course.

For levels and courses available, as well as details on home language/mother tongue language support that we offer inside the academic curriculum and as an after school option please refer to our website: https://www.uwcsea.edu.sg/academics/languages

Do you offer EAL or TEFL support for those students where English is not their first language?

Yes, from K1 to Grade 12.

Do you offer a dedicated prayer room/s for students? For which faiths?

Yes, located in the boarding house.

How do you support gifted, able and talented students?

We offer opportunities to students of all abilities in mixed-ability groups, with teachers able to provide appropriate differentiation and learning extension to those students who require academic extension.

Do you have a learning support team in your school?

Yes.

Not all schools are staffed or resourced to offer learning support to those children with either moderate or significant learning needs. To what level can you offer support for those with learning differences?

We have a learning support team who can provide support for a range of mild learning differences. Families should contact Admissions to discuss their child's individual needs.

Does your school have particular expertise in dealing with a specific learning need such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, aspergers syndrome and so forth?

No.

Does your school have an educational psychologist or access to one to assess and support those youngsters with more challenging learning and emotional needs?

We have a team of qualified counsellors available to students, who work with our personal and social education and student well being teams, as well as with teams of student peers to provide an extensive network of support. Our staff have connections with an extensive team of external professionals should the family need to source further support.

The College is committed to the well being of all our students, and has designated child safeguarding leads in each section of the school, as well as a clearly communicated 'who to turn to' programme for students of all ages.

Do you have a parents’ group supporting the school?

We have a very active and supportive Parents' Association which partners with the school on a range of activities as well as providing support for families who are joining our community.

Are there opportunities for parents to support the learning, activities and events within the school or on trips other than through the parent group?

Yes, every day. This differs depending on the grade the child is enrolled in but can include sharing expertise based on an academic subject, helping run trips or activities, sharing language and culture at various celebrations such as Uniting Nations Day, helping in the library either as a guest reader or on a more regular basis, or becoming involved in one of the gardening or sustainable living initiatives.

Is there an opportunity for parental representation on your school Board of Governors?

Yes, we have parent-elected governor positions for both campuses.

Do you offer specific activities, events or information sessions for those parents new to the school and/or area?

Yes, we offer a comprehensive orientation programme for families, regular parent workshops and the opportunity for parents new to Singapore and/or the school to 'buddy' with a current family to assist in transition to Singapore and/or UWCSEA.