The Dulwich Difference (2)

We know that there are many excellent international schools in Singapore, and we wish to ensure that when you choose Dulwich College (Singapore), you choose us because we are the best fit for your son/daughter to study the IB Diploma Programme. 

Below we have highlighted ten specific areas we focus on and believe are our strengths and make us different to other schools on the island to help you make the correct choice.

_____________________________________________________

Personalised Admissions Approach

As a College, we believe that new families need to feel fully informed and supported in the important choices they are making regarding the final years of schooling for their sons and daughters. We know that the stakes are high in terms of students’ academic success, university placement and ultimate life fulfillment and confidence as global citizens. To this end we want to ensure that families choose our College because it is the right fit for their son and daughter – through an admissions process which guarantees not only working with our expert admissions team but also ensures meetings with the Head of Senior School and the IBDP Coordinator. 

Meetings will ensure the IB Diploma Programme is the right pathway for your son and daughter, and then all applicants will be involved in the full options process which will also involve our university counselling team to ensure the correct options are chosen for academic success.

Small Cohort and Class Sizes with Wellbeing of Students at the Centre

Although we are growing rapidly we will still have a small cohort of around 130  students (2020-2021), which will ensure that as we continue to grow the programme, all students are supported fully to achieve beyond their expectations. Well-being will be at the centre to ensure that the support for students, through what is an undoubtedly tough and rigorous program, enables them to flourish and become independent and resilient people, ready for the competitive nature of university life and beyond. We support a holistic programme which means smaller class sizes and ensures that our experienced IB Diploma Programme teachers can give students the support they deserve.

Academically Rigorous but Holistic in Ethos

We are a selective school and that is because we believe that students need a certain level of academics if they are to flourish in the IB Diploma Programme in our Upper School and fulfill their ambitions for excellent university placements. However, we also believe in the breadth of our curriculum which is why we offer only the IB Diploma Programme. We wish for our students to flourish in the arts, music and elite sports programmes. The lawyer who has followed a theatre IBDP course will undoubtedly have more confidence and skill to provide presentations and critical analysis at the bar, the doctor who has also studied an English course will be better equipped for the rigours of a medical career and the prime skill to communicate to their patients and the engineer who has also studied music may bring a sense of rhythm and design to the bridge civil design project they may be part of. We are now part of an interdisciplinary world, and our Dulwich IBDP students will be able to embrace this with confidence.

Individual University Application Process Supported by the Dulwich College Network

We have a comprehensive university support process that will involve students from Year 7 all the way through to their application years in Years 12 and 13. We have a maximum support ration in Year 13 of 30 students to one university counselor which will undoubtedly provide a level of support for your son/daughter to enable them to make informed choices regarding the right fit in terms of country, type of university and location that will ensure success for their future. Please see the University Counseling section for more information.

Dulwich Network Opportunities For Students

The Dulwich network of international schools in Asia is unrivaled and continues to grow in both numbers of schools and also in the unique sense of community and sharing that we value. We are a network in its truest sense and students participate in activities and events between schools in the areas of sport, the arts and music alongside academic societies. The network also enables your son/daughter to have the advice of not one but over twelve university counselors who are continually sharing knowledge and contacts to ensure students from Dulwich receive the best university offers they can.

International with a British Independent School Culture

We are rightly proud of our heritage and this comes from Dulwich College in London and its 400 years of inspiring educational philosophy, built upon the idea that traditional values of respect, integrity, empathy and responsibility are as important today as they were 400 years ago. We believe that it is this pioneering spirit and ethos which provides a unique atmosphere for your son/daughter’s IB Diploma Programme that will be instilled in them for many years to come. Simply, they will always be Old Alleynians.

Enrichment Embedded with Leadership Opportunities for All

Our Upper School and IB Diploma Programme will be the culmination of how we support enrichment and leadership for all at the College. There will be opportunities for our Years 12 and 13 students to lead in areas as diverse as service activities, student council, student action groups, sports, music and peer mentoring both at Dulwich College (Singapore) and across the network alongside the very important academic societies. Above all US but also UK universities, value the skills and attributes that students derive from becoming leaders and showing initiative and all our IB Diploma Programme students will have many opportunities to take risks and understand what it takes to lead.

Structured Approach to Learning and Meta-cognition in Unit Plans

What is education without students understanding themselves and how they learn and what they need to improve? Meta-cognition is often used as a buzzword within schools, but at Dulwich College (Singapore) we believe this is the centre of what we will do for our IB Diploma Programme students. All students will participate in a programme that will enable them to use data including CEMIBE standardised tests to understand the probability of their expected grades, triangulate this against their course grades and feedback to target what and how to improve. This all works in conjunction with our Approaches to Learning program where students are taught explicit skills to help them with organisation, critical thinking, research etc. in each unit in each subject to give them the toolbox for them to target and ensure their own improvement. We do not want to spoon feed our students so that when they enter university they stumble and fail. We want to scaffold their support and learning giving them the tools that will enable them to survive in any environment in the future. Please see more information in the Meta-cognition and Testing page.

_____________________________________________________

The Dulwich commonwealth of International Schools is established as the best in Asia for pioneering a rigorous and holistic IBDP, that fully develops the character and ethos of its students to be global citizens. -  Alan Perkins