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LIFE&FAMILY
156
November14
Home Away
Many expat families find boarding school a convenient option, especially for older children.
Home
B
oarding gives students
an opportunity to develop
initiative and independence –
both vital qualities for success
at university and in life in general. United
World College of South East Asia has
had boarders since 1971; Director of
Admissions, JONATHAN CARTER
explains the unique aspects that make
Singapore, and in particular UWCSEA,
a good place to board.
Why do children typically board
at UWCSEA?
The safety of Singapore means that they
can be given meaningful independence.
Many schools can concentrate on the
development of an individual student’s
self-management and emotional
resilience, but they cannot test those
skills in the outside world. Some cities
are too dangerous, while some schools
are too isolated.
In Singapore, the student is given an
enormous amount of real responsibility
because the country allows it. It is a
cliché, but Singapore is our campus.
Families can trust the environment
and the safety of their children in such
an environment. It is genuinely a pre-
university residential experience.
The UWC model, common to all 14
UWC schools and colleges around the
world, promotes cultural diversity and a
values-based education. Our boarding
students can fully immerse themselves
in the life of the school, and they can
interact with a variety of people. With over
50 nationalities in the boarding house,
the experience is truly international.
Finally, UWCSEA is not a boarding
school per se: we are a large and busy
international school with a boarding
community that is a vital part of that
school.
What are the attributes of a
child who could be suited to
the boarding experience at
UWCSEA?
He or she should be:
• An ambassador of their own country
and culture, and tolerant of other
people and their cultures
Need to Know
• Both campuses offer full
residential boarding for
students aged 13 to 18 (Grade
8 and above); weekly boarding
isn’t available.
• There are 192 residential
students at the Dover campus
and 171 at the East campus.
• Day students can apply to
transfer into the boarding
house.
• The application process for
boarding is the same as for
day students, except that all
prospective boarders are
interviewed.
• A role model for other students in the
boarding house, and for the school as
a whole
• Altruistic and willing to engage in
service because they want to, not
because they have to
• An activist who believes passionately
in the need for social and moral
awareness and the means by which
change can happen
• Willing to take risks and get involved
in a huge variety of activities; we
often say that our boarders are
thoroughbreds who have to be reined
in, and not nags who have to be
dragged forward
• A self-manager
• Someone possessing an inner moral
compass; the College prides itself on
never having to be disciplinarian –
students do not have to be told what
to do or what is right and wrong; they
know it.
Dover Campus, 1207 Dover Road
East Campus, 1 Tampines Street 73
6775 5344 | uwcsea.edu.sg