Academics clone

Our K–12 academic curriculum is shaped by our mission. Through our Academic programme, students develop intellectual habits and passions that stay with them for life. Learning goals in languages, mathematics, sciences, the Arts, humanities, technology and physical education build logically through each grade, preparing students for the next academic challenge and for life beyond school.

So as to educate for a better world, our academic curriculum aims to develop the specific conceptual understandings necessary to build Peace and a Sustainable Future. These are derived from UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development Goals through a collaboration with educational partner the Ellen Macarthur Foundation. Along with the skills and qualities of our Learner Profile, many of these concepts are reinforced through linkages to the other four elements of our Leaning Programme.

In This Section

Academics in action

Explore academics by school

Primary School (K1-G1)

The learning activities of infant-aged children are interdisciplinary in nature, reflecting their experiences outside of school. In developmentally appropriate ways, students explore concepts and develop their essential understandings through interdisciplinary units of study.

Each student is supported by a teaching team that includes their classroom teacher and teacher assistant. Specialist teachers deliver Music, Languages other than English, EAL and PE lessons. Coaches work with classroom teachers to support Literacy, Mathematics and the integration of technology in the classroom.

Students also focus on topics such as personal identity, self awareness, family and friendships through our integrated personal and social education programme which aims to support them to develop a sense of belonging as they explore personal autonomy.

While the Infant School learning is intentional and connects to our College curriculum, teachers adjust their plans on a regular basis to ensure students’ backgrounds, interests and learning needs are taken into account. The academic curriculum in our Infant School is structured around a holistic, inquiry-based approach to learning. Guided by the UWCSEA profile and learning principles, students study:

Literacy
Mathematics
Art
Humanities
Science
Music
Language other than English or EAL
Physical Education (PE)

Visit our school-section pages to experience the learning programme in action, or download more information:

Visit Dover Campus Infant School

Visit East Campus Infant School

Brochure: Dover Campus Infant Overview

Brochure: East Campus Infant Overview

Primary School (G2-5)

The academic curriculum is structured around a holistic, inquiry-based approach to learning. This is integrated with a personal and social education programme that supports students in exploring topics such as friendships, family, personal identity and self-awareness.

A student’s main contact is with the classroom teacher who is supported by a teaching assistant who works across the grade-level. Specialist teachers provide lessons in Physical Education, Music, Art and Languages, and coaches work with classroom teachers to support Mathematics, Literacy and the integration of technology in their classroom practice.

The school week is divided into 40 periods, and while periods can vary in length according to the time of day and the day of the week, the average length is just under 40 minutes per period.

Visit our school-section pages to experience the learning programme in action, or download more information here:

Visit Dover Campus Junior School

Visit East Campus Junior School

Brochure: Dover Campus Junior School

Brochure: East Campus Junior School

Middle School (G6-8)

Our Middle School programme intentionally refines core interdisciplinary skills initiated in many inquiry-based Primary School curricula and extends the learning. Students have subject specialist teachers—who specialise in teaching Middle School age students—guiding them in fundamental subject-specific skills required for higher studies.

A mentor meets with students each day, and guides the students through a dedicated Personal and Social Education programme. Together with our dedicated Life Skills classes and a range of grade-based activities, our PSE programme is an integral part of the UWCSEA Middle School experience. Students are taught in class groups except for subjects that require differentiation for specific learning goals, such as languages and physical education.

Students are offered a broad and balanced range of subjects in the Middle School programme, including the core subjects of English, Mathematics, Science and Humanities - History and Geography, which both weave in some basic economic theory through our specially designed concept-led courses. In addition, courses in Visual Art, Drama, Music, a Language other than English (or EAL), Physical Education and exploratory subjects in a number of Design and Technology specialisms ensure that students are able to develop knowledge and skills across a range of academic disciplines.

Through exposure to this varied range of subjects, students are prepared to make informed choices when asked to select the specialised two-year IGCSE courses that are offered in Grades 9 and 10 as part of our High School programme.

Visit our school-section pages to experience the learning programme in action, or download more information here:

Visit Dover Campus Middle School

Visit East Campus Middle School

Brochure: Dover Campus Middle School

Brochure: East Campus Middle School

Curriculum Guide: Dover Campus Middle School

Curriculum Guide: East Campus Middle School

High School (G9-12)

UWCSEA offers an academically challenging and personally enriching High School programme. As our students will tell you, UWCSEA is a dynamic, global environment in which to spend the final years of schooling.

One key quality in all our High School students is their positive approach to learning. Central to the College’s values is the view that effort and commitment are vital qualities if a student is to be happy and successful. Students are expected to maintain strong effort profiles and be actively and positively engaged in the classroom and in school life. We encourage our students to be self-disciplined and considerate of others.

There are three curriculum offerings in the High School; the curriculum stream a student joins depends on the age at which they join the College:

Grade 9 (at age 14): (I)GCSE, a two-year programme culminating in external examinations at the end of Grade 10
Grade 10 (at age 15): one-year Foundation course, the FIB is a robust preparation course designed to equip students with a firm foundation of knowledge and skills from which to begin the IB Diploma Programme. The course culminates in internal examinations.
Grade 11 (typically at age 16): graduates are awarded a UWCSEA High School Diploma, and most students also undertake the two-year IB Diploma Programme (IBDP) which culminates in external examinations and an internationally recognised pre-university qualification

In the High School, our academic programme specifically takes into account the requirements of external examining bodies that set the (I)GCSE and IB Diploma examinations that the majority of our students sit at the end of Grade 10 and Grade 12. UWCSEA was the first school in Asia to offer the IB Diploma, and has been offering one of the most extensive IB Diploma subject offerings to students in Singapore since 1977.

Despite the high academic demands of the programme, students are enrolled on the basis of much more than their academic profile. Commitment to service, a willingness to involve themselves in the many opportunities offered by the College and a belief that action and service can make a positive impact are equally important. Our staff help students in numerous ways. Some specialise in specific academic areas, such as examinations and university applications, others assist with the Extended Essay, while Heads of Grade oversee the students' whole school experience.

A comparison summary of the academic programme offered in each of the three High School courses can be found on each of the factsheets below.

Factsheet: IGCSE Subject Summary

Factsheet: Foundation IB Subject Summary

Factsheet: IB Diploma Subject Summary

Detailed information on our High School academic programmes, by campus, can be found in the academic curriculum guides:

Curriculum guide: Dover Campus IGCSE

Curriculum guide: East Campus IGCSE

Curriculum guide: Dover Campus Foundation IB

Curriculum guide: East Campus Foundation IB

Curriculum guide: Dover Campus IB Diploma

Curriculum guide: East Campus IB Diploma

Student achievement

While we value and celebrate achievement in many ways outside a final course result, we understand that these scores are important in enabling our students to take their next steps. As they consider UWCSEA for their child, many parents (even of 4 year olds!) understandably ask us about our university destinations and IB Diploma scores, because these are tangible measures which open doors to the future.

Class of 2019 IB Diploma results

561

36.8

98.8

115

561

Bar Chart Title

Class of 2019 IB Diploma results

561

Class of 2019 IB Diploma candidates

36.8

Class of 2019 average IB Diploma point score

98.8

Class of 2019 IB Diploma pass rate

115

Class of 2019 students awarded bilingual IB Diploma

Languages in which Class of 2019 was awarded bilingual IB Diploma

Bar Chart Title

Class of 2019 University Destinations

4.2

Pie chart of Class of 2019 university destinations from home page

Class of 2019 University Destinations

4.2

Average number of university offers per student

Number of countries our graduates are enrolled in university in

Detailed information on our IB Diploma results, including point-score comparisons with world-wide averages by subject, and details of Class of 2019 destinations, including a full list of enrolling university's worldwide, are available on these by-campus factsheets:

Factsheet: Dover Campus IB results and University Destinations

Factsheet: East Campus IB results and University Destinations

Q&A on academics at UWCSEA

How will my child adjust to your curriculum? They have been attending a different school system and we want them to transfer in successfully.

The conceptual nature of our curriculum focuses on ideas that can transfer across the world. This supports students who are joining us from different countries, educational systems and backgrounds. For example, while the content of a chosen text in English or a specific time period in History may vary between educational systems, the concepts that underpin that subject area remain the same and the learning is therefore transferable between systems.

Teachers at UWCSEA are well versed in supporting students moving into their classrooms from other educational systems, and provide differentiated opportunities in each classroom to support these students. In subjects such as maths and languages, we sometimes ask incoming students to sit an assessment so as to understand their individual attainment specific to the UWCSEA curriculum. We can then place them in the most appropriate class, where they can be both appropriately supported and challenged as they transition into UWCSEA.

We don't think we'll be in Singapore for graduation - will my child be able to transfer successfully from your concept-based approach to a different system?

Because the curriculum focuses on teaching concepts by developing skills and qualities that support students to apply these in learning in many different contexts (which include classrooms and curricula outside UWCSEA) our students are able to transition into new curricula models and schools should you need to relocate before graduation.

Feedback from our alumni tells us that the holistic nature of the UWCSEA experience means that the education they experienced here continues to positively influence their lives well into the future, even if they did not graduate from UWCSEA.

Why doesn't UWCSEA use an internationally recognised programme in K-8? How does the programme differ from the IB PYP, which we heard you used to offer?

The design of the written curriculum is informed by our Guiding Statements, the needs of our individual students, the depth of experience of our teachers, and research-based best practice drawn from around the world. Adopting additional external programmes from K-8, which bring their own standards and frameworks, would reduce the College’s ability to work flexibly to implement a mission-aligned education for our students.

When constructing the learning goals of our K-12 curriculum, we used the IB Diploma Programme and (I)GCSE criteria as yardsticks. This allowed us to work backwards and develop rigorous, developmentally appropriate learning goals for our K-8 students. You can read more detailed information on our UWCSEA curriculum microsite.

The Primary Schools on both campuses were previously IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) accredited schools , and many of our teachers have many years experience in teaching the IB PYP at UWCSEA and in other international schools around the world.

How does UWCSEA ensure your students are keeping up with those who attend schools with recognised curriculum frameworks in place?

Assessment of the knowledge, skills and understandings of the UWCSEA curriculum takes place in a variety of ways. Within the context of the classroom, teachers construct formative (ongoing) assessments to gain a snapshot of student understanding as well as end of unit assessments that summatively record each student’s learning progress.

The College likewise uses data from external assessments, such as ISA testing (currently run annually for students in Grades 3-10), the (i)GCSE examinations (end of Grade 10) or the IB Diploma examinations (end of Grade 12), to look for school-wide learning trends that may inform our regular curriculum review cycles.