Dulwich College Singapore Opens with 884 students

Dulwich College in Singapore opened its doors today to the first wave of 884 students, who have enrolled at the College. The start of the term has been staggered over five days to ensure a smooth and untroubled start for students and parents. Today, 211 Senior and Junior School students from Years 5 to 8 began at the purpose-built, state-of-the-art campus in Bukit Batok. On 3rd September the Toddlers classes will begin in the early years or DUCKS, as the school is known. With the opening of Singapore, there are now seven Colleges in our Dulwich College International network. The student body in Singapore is as diverse as Dulwich College London and our international schools, with over 40 different nationalities represented. The teaching staff are predominately British and supported by qualified assistant teachers many of whom are bilingual in English and Chinese to support the Dual Language approach in DUCKS. Roughly a third of the teachers have come from within the Dulwich network of schools, including Dulwich London, Beijing, Seoul, Shanghai and Suzhou. Dulwich College in Singapore operates from Toddler to Year 8 this year and follows enhanced curricula based on Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and the ENC leading to IGCSE and, subject to approvals, the IB Diploma Programme. Students will enjoy daily Mandarin lessons and a Dual Language approach in English and Mandarin in DUCKS. Performing Arts and Sport play a major role in the life of the College and will also be a feature of Dulwich College in Singapore. The College is academically-selective, secular and co-educational. The second phase of development of the campus is already underway, a year ahead of schedule, and will result in a campus with a maximum capacity on completion of 2500 students. Dulwich College International was awarded the contract to open a school in Singapore in 2012 following a competitive tender managed by the Economic Development Board (EDB), who have worked closely with DCI throughout the development of the project. Below are a few comments from the DCSG and the network: Mr Nick Magnus, Headmaster, Dulwich College in Singapore: “Today is the culmination of a great deal of hard work and effort by all members of the team here and I am extremely happy that everything has come together and we have opened as planned. I would like to express my thanks to our new parents whose support and commitment to a new school has been unwavering and has already contributed to building a strong Dulwich community in Singapore. We came to offer something different and something original in Singapore. Today we start.” Mr Brian McDouall, Director of Schools, Dulwich College International: “We are very pleased to welcome the College into the Dulwich family of schools and look forward to the active participation of students and teachers across our network. Singapore has an excellent reputation internationally for its education provision at all levels. We are looking forward to being part of that evolving story.” Dr Joseph Spence, the Master of Dulwich College London, which is approaching its 400th anniversary in 2019: “I am very proud of all our international Dulwich Colleges. We represent an extraordinary and fast-growing commonwealth of schools, which share an underlying educational ethos. The opening of Singapore marks a significant milestone for our unique family. This is a family that on the one hand has a 400 year heritage while on the other it is paving a new path for the provision of a first-class, independent school education in Asia.” Mr Fraser White, Founder and Executive Chairman of Dulwich College International: “Dulwich College London is the pioneer of the UK independent schools overseas. It was the first independent British school to open a campus in Asia in early 1990’s clearing the way for others to follow. It led the way with opening of its international campuses in in China and was first UK independent school to open its doors in Seoul. It is now the first to build a campus in Singapore. Dulwich College’s arrival here is a bold and exciting moment in the development of its international family of schools. This spirit of adventure and leadership will be at the heart of every child’s experience at the school.” Mr Christian Guertler, CEO, Dulwich College International: “We are delighted with the new school. The project team have been working with total commitment and energy on the construction of this striking campus since August 2012 with construction beginning in February 2013 and I congratulate them on their success. I would also like to express my thanks to the Economic Development Board of Singapore (EDB), who have been unstinting in their support since we were awarded the bid and we hope we can play our part in helping Singapore’s growth.” We are delighted to officially welcome Dulwich College in Singapore to our family of schools; we welcome the College’s new staff and students and look forward to their participation across our network. Below are some photographs from the first day of school.