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Pupils are often happy and thrive where they are comfortable, feel safe and have opportunities to enjoy learning. This describes Shayne Liew’s experience at The Perse School Singapore.
When her father was transferred to Singapore to work from Malaysia, her family relocated to the island nation. They visited many schools to find one that would best suit Liew. “Perse was our first choice because other than the location, I really liked how small and cosy the school felt,” she says.
“When I first started school at The Perse at the end of 2020, there were less than 100 pupils, so I got to know almost everyone in the school, not just the children in my year. This is something that’s very different from my previous school which was a much bigger government school in Malaysia.”
To Liew, this boutique international British school at the heart of Bukit Timah is “cosy, friendly and family-like.” While it only has a capacity for 290 children, keeping it a tight-knit, small school, The Perse School Singapore still has big ideas and conducts a lot of fun events throughout the year.
There is no shortage of events, activities, and fun-filled days to nurture pupils throughout the academic year. “I have participated in many extra-curricular activities (ECAs) because they change every term, so I got to experience things I never thought I’d ever get a chance to try,” Liew says.
She has been in the violin club, ukulele club, Brazilian samba club, and many more. Pupils in her year also started a rock band, calling themselves “The Morse Code” after a current teacher. “We are practising hard for the upcoming Federation of British International Schools in Asia Battle of the Bands competition.”
Source: The Perse School Singapore pupils develop to be confident, happy, and passionate individuals. Source: The Perse School Singapore
That is not all that Shayne has had the chance to participate in. As House Captain for Foresters House, she has created PowerPoint slides, given speeches, taken part in the Pride of Perse Programme, and hosted a group of pupils from Vietnam. During the annual Global Perspectives Day, she flourished. It’s an annual event where pupils learn to work collaboratively and explore solutions to significant global issues such as environmental sustainability. Pupils’ hard work and achievements are celebrated at the end of year ceremony as well.
“This is where pupils are split into their respective Houses and complete various activities,” Liew says. “I felt a huge sense of responsibility because I had to ensure the safety of many people, many of whom are much younger than me.”
Such experiences are typical for pupils at The Perse School Singapore. The school’s motto is to Love Learning and Strive for the Greater Good — both of which are built on the back of excellent academics, strong pastoral care and a well-rounded curriculum.
When they emerge into the world, they’re set to stand out for their depth and passion of learning and life skills. Part of what makes The Perse students stand out from other schools in Singapore is that from Year 3 they are taught by subject-specific teachers.
These subject specialists can meaningfully extend and fine-tune children’s learning in the traditional prep school manner. “The Perse School Singapore is quite unusual in that we follow the prep school model from the UK and have subject specialists from year 3 onwards. This gives real depth to the teaching of individual subjects, as a subject specialist always has that inner enthusiasm for their subject,” says Dr. Dee King, Head of the Science Department.
“They also have the confidence to teach the subject consistently well and, when pupils have questions that take a lesson in a different direction, the subject specialist is equipped to encourage and reward that curiosity and have the knowledge to support the learning journey of the children. There are times when the ‘why questions’ just need to be answered and the subject specialist, with a depth of subject experience, can easily reroute the lessons on the spot.”
For example, the school’s mathematics curriculum is based on the breadth of the Cambridge syllabus and the progressive and conceptual “Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract” approach of Singapore Maths. Teachers combine both to profound effect — allowing children to see the relevance of Mathematics in everyday life, apply the concepts learned, and solve problems requiring higher-order thinking skills once they have built a strong foundation.
Source: The school is committed to developing pupils to be future leaders. Source: The Perse School Singapore.
In English classes, pupils in the younger years read using Sounds-Write, an accredited phonics scheme that provides teachers with a comprehensive system to teach reading, spelling, and writing. This is the only school in Asia that adopts the Kinetic Letters programme so that pupils can learn handwriting and letter formation through movement and multisensory experiences.
Pupils at The Perse School Singapore are extremely lucky to have daily Mandarin lessons (3.5 hours a week in total). Pupils acquire functional language use of the upcoming lingua franca in this region. They follow a dual-track system (Standard Mandarin and Mandarin as a Foreign Language) that lets them get the best of both worlds in terms of language proficiency and cultural appreciation, with real-life contexts anchored in the course.
The Perse School Singapore has plenty to offer, but an education here doesn’t come at a high cost. The school is more affordable than other British International Schools in Singapore. Parents enrolling pupils before August 21 will receive a 10% discount (on tuition fees only) until their child leaves the school as well as 5% sibling discount (on tuition fees only).
“The Perse School Singapore is committed to providing quality education for all our pupils. We have experienced teachers, passionate about their subjects and willing to work hard to give our pupils the very best education we can. We are very affordable compared to other schools due to our smaller premises, but this allows for individual care and attention for our pupils,” says Dr. King.
“We are a small school that only takes in a modest number of pupils each year and are therefore able to create a nurturing environment where our children can thrive; allowing them to gain confidence and lifelong friendships.”
