Our daughter Celine, a Grade 5 student, has been in ISS for almost three years. For us, the most important factor in selecting a school for our daughter is how happy the kids are in school.

I remembered visiting a few international schools in Singapore 3 years ago and in each school visit, I looked at how happy and cheerful the students are in school, if the teachers remember the students and if the teachers and students have a good connection. I remembered when I was visiting ISS, the teacher who showed us around almost knew everyone’s names. Students were very excited to see her and greeted her along the way. This is a key factor for me to choose a school where I know my kid will be happy and supported there.

ISS offers IB Primary Years Programme (IB PYP), which is the primary education for IB. As expats, we wanted a curriculum that was easily accepted in any country, which is why we settled on IB. We also love that IB/PYP teaches children to be open-minded, to be global citizens and risk takers. One time, Celine came home and told us that she had given a speech in a school assembly and how proud she was of that accomplishment. She said that even if it was very challenging, she wanted to take a risk anyway and get on stage and give the speech. As parents, we’re glad that she’s adapting these values into her daily life.

ISS is also closer to home – there are not so many international schools around the central area. I want to choose a school within a few miles from my home so Celine can save commute time every day and being able to go to school by herself.

ISS is a great school because it offers a safe and supportive environment for my child to learn and grow both academically and personally. We value the excellent teachers and support from the ISS community. We receive communication letters from the school weekly. ISS organized a few events every year, including morning tea with the teachers, international days, Spring sales, and holiday parties. ISS PTA also organized a few events for the parents, like last year, we had an art gallery tour and morning walking in Mount Faber. It is a small but very supportive community.

We are very happy that Celine went to ISS. She is very excited to go to school every morning. She made very good friends in school and her academic report is great. As a parent, that’s all I want to see from my kid: enjoying learning, having good friendships and achieving good academics. Celine’s favourite things about ISS are her friends, learning as well as having PE lessons.