A ‘happy and harmonious learning environment’ at GWA: A Singapore International School for Global Students

Hear from two families about why they moved to GEMS World Academy (Singapore) from other Singapore international schools — and are delighted with the decision!

Choosing a Singapore international school is a daunting task at the best of times, what with the myriad of options and unpredictable waiting lists, but it’s also just really hard to know whether a school will be the right fit until your children have had the chance to interact with teachers and actually sit in a classroom.

Malaysian mama Elsie Soosay has lived in Singapore for a while, and was so impressed by the teachers and facilities at GEMS World Academy (GWA) that she moved her children Alicia, 12, and Andrew, 10 there last year. 

“The learning of our children is very dependent on the quality of their teachers,” she explains, because “a happy and healthy student-teacher relationship [provides] a happy and harmonious learning environment.”

Check out what else Elsie has to say here, mama, along with our follow-up chat:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc6vpYs6ttc

You talk about the importance of finding good quality teachers. What set this apart for you with GWA?
Changing schools is a big decision to make, and one can get easily overwhelmed with so many international schools available in Singapore.

However, we have been living in Singapore for many years, so we were familiar with the many international schools here, and were very clear on the type of school we were looking for. Our most important criteria, topping our list, was based on something we have learned over the years: the learning of our children is very dependent on the quality of the teachers. Great teachers = a great year for our children.

Our second most important consideration was the conduciveness of learning, environment and facilities. So, when GWA was first introduced to Singapore, we were already attracted to it due to its value proposition of having highly professional and experienced teachers.

How have you found GWA’s responsiveness and communications with parents in comparison to other schools?
The school was very prompt in responding to our registration for a school visit. Within minutes after I submitted the form, I received a phone call from the Registrar of school. We had the date and time of the school tour fixed over the phone. We appreciated the efficiency as moving our children to another school involved many steps and time is of the essence for the whole process.

Want to know even more, mama? Check out this interview with American family The Mitchells, who’ve loved GWA’s global curriculum and the dedicated, caring staff:

You talk about the importance of finding good quality teachers. What set this apart for you with GWA?
Some of the characteristics or attributes that we value as a family are:  if the teachers are empathetic, caring, dedicated, engaged, adaptable and passionate about teaching their students. We have found all of these and more with the staff here at GWA.  They truly care about their students in addition to providing a world-class education.

Every Friday for example, the leadership team spends 2-3 hours with the entire teaching staff just on continuing education sessions, as the students are released at 1:30pm so the time can be allocated to reinvest in keeping the teachers up to date on the latest technology and curriculum content. This speaks volumes for the school’s commitment to providing the highest education.

You mention requesting to meet with the Head of Education before handing in your kids’ applications. What did you take away from this meeting?
My son Austin and I attended an open house presentation where we had the opportunity to meet [Head of Education] Mr. David Edwards prior to making the decision to enroll him into GWA.  It was at this meeting that sold both Austin and myself that there was no other alternative than to select GWA as our school of choice for him. Mr. Edwards was extremely attentive to the questions my son asked and he answered each one of them, speaking to him as if Austin was the only one in the room. I watched him connect that way with each and every parent as well as their child that day. Truly awe-inspiring to see that as all of the other schools we had visited focused more on me and what my questions were and less on Austin.

Not only is Mr. Edwards approachable, warm and enthusiastic about the school and his staff in his role as Head of Education, but there is a deep seated, honest and pure love and admiration for the children that clearly shines through as he interacts with not only the children, but parents as well. I have seen this countless times over the past two years here at GWA.  He knows each and every child by name and interacts with all of them.  Having the Head of Education, who is always out and visible in the school, know his teachers inside and out, recognise the children by name, and meet with each family directly, truly speaks volumes for his commitment and dedication.  Leadership starts at the top!  He sets the tone and the example and it definitely resinates through the entire school.

Thanks so much to The Soosays and The Mitchells for taking the time to speak with us! 

GEMS World Academy (Singapore), 2 Yishun Street 42, Singapore 768039, Tel: (+65) 6808 7300
www.gwa.edu.sg