Looking to enrol your child at an international school in Singapore, but not sure where to start? As part of our school selector, we interviewed a series of parents across Singapore’s best international schools, to help you decide which curriculum, campus and teaching approach suits your little one best. Here, we chat to dad Hisato Yuto, whose eldest child studies at Global Indian International School (GIIS).
Tell us about the child you have attending the school?
Our elder son, Taiju, attends Global Indian International School; he’s seven years and nine months old. We moved to Singapore from Japan in November, 2014 and Taiju joined GIIS in January, 2015. Taiju loves to run, swim, and play tennis. He dreams of being the first Asian tennis player to become the world number one, so he practices three to four times a week. He’s also very proud of winning gold medals in the 30 metre dash at the GIIS sports days in both 2015 and 2016. Taiju has a younger brother, Keiju, who’s almost five years old.
What were the most important factors for you in selecting a school?
One of the key factors was exposure. As Taiju was born and raised in Tokyo and attended a local Japanese kindergarten until he was six years old, he didn’t have much interaction with non-Japanese people or non-Japanese culture. My wife and I wanted to find him a school where he could experience something he couldn’t do in Japan.
How has GIIS lived up to your expectations?
It has been a great experience so far. What we especially like is that the school puts much emphasis on fair competition and recognises children who succeed in academics, sports, arts, and other areas. This is quite different from what the Japanese schools value, especially in the last 20 years. In Japan, schools promote less competition in order to be considerate of those students who don’t get recognition. We believe this doesn’t allow the child to become more confident in what they’re doing. Taiju was quite nervous coming into a new country and joining a new school, but being recognised on a GIIS sports day and winning two gold medals has instilled confidence in him to live strong in the new environment.
What does your child like most about attending this school?
Taiju enjoys the moments he spends with his friends the most. He has made friends with many students at GIIS, and learning together with them seems to be his favourite thing. He is quite motivated by some of his friends, especially when they get recognised in some activities. He tells us that he, too, wants to improve and get better. I believe the combination of fair competition and the existence of his friends allows him to accelerate.
What sort of curriculum does this school offer?
They follow the Central Board of Secondary Education International (CBSE-I) curriculum.
Does your child participate in any extra-curricular activities at the school?
At GIIS, there are classes where we can select extra-curricular activities. Taiju has taken tennis and Chinese in P1/P2 and has just started taking guitar lessons since P3, along with tennis.
What advice would you give other parents trying to choose a school?
I think it comes down to whether the child enjoys school or not. So far, it seems that Taiju has been enjoying the school and this makes us feel that we have made the right choice. Through the 18 months he’s spent at GIIS, he’s been able to learn many things (including things about people and culture) that he would never have been able to learn in Japan.
What do you value most about GIIS?
We value the fair competition and fundamental structure around ethics education.
What has your experience of the school bus service been like (if used)?
As Japanese natives, we’d hope that the bus was more punctual, but for us, this is part of learning a new culture!
Are you satisfied with the level of communication you receive from the school and how they engage parents?
We receive communication from the school very often through the GIIS intranet portal. This allows us to know what is going on at school and if we have any questions, we send messages through this portal and the responses are very good.
How much homework is expected of your child?
On average, it’s about 30 minutes per day. As Taiju has only studied English for 18 months, he is still a bit behind the class in reading. So we spend an extra 15-30 minutes every day reading English books.