Beyond the obvious physical benefits of sports, these top schools give us the lowdown on their athletics programs and why it's important to get kids on the field.
We get it – if we want our kids to succeed, we need to find ways to give them the best education possible so that they get the grades they need to get into the universities of their choice. But here’s some news: top universities are looking for more than just great academic results in their potential students. They want kids who are well-rounded, who excel not just inside the classroom but out of it as well. One way to do it? We say get them into sports. Not only will it benefit our children physically, sport also helps our kids learn important lessons they’ll carry with them for the rest of their lives. We speak to experts from top international schools in Singapore to get the lowdown on their athletics programs and to learn more about the benefits of getting kids involved in sports.
Bevan Moriarty, Director of Sport, Nexus International School (Singapore)
What kind of athletics facilities do you provide for your students?
Nexus has a wide range of athletic programs available to all learners, from Tiny Tots Soccer for our littlest Kindergarten learners to an Elite Swim Squad that competes on the international circuit. Nexus is a registered member of Athletic Conference of Singapore International Schools (ACSIS). This allows us to compete in Football, Swimming, Rugby, Badminton, Touch, Gymnastics, Basketball, Netball, Volleyball, Cricket, Cross Country and Track & Field with international schools across Singapore.
Nexus moves to its new campus in January 2020 and boasts facilities like an Aquatics centre with an Olympic-sized pool, a yoga studio and dedicated shallow pool for our younger learners. We also have a FIFA and World Rugby-approved astroturf pitch, air-conditioned gyms and a fitness suite.
How can students sign up for a sport?
Nexus encourages its learners to try a wide range of sports for their healthy wellbeing, but also to discover where their passions lie. Learners can sign up for as many sports as they like where they will join training sessions, play matches and even compete at international competitions.
How does your school encourage a healthy balance between academics and athletics?
Nexus believes in a holistic approach to teaching and learning – lessons are not contained to four walls and we look at the overall wellbeing of each child. Skills like teamwork, collaboration, risk-taking and passion come across in both our athletic and academic offerings.
Check out Nexus International School (Singapore)’s school profile.
Justin Teves, Director of Athletics and Activities, Singapore American School
What’s your school’s athletics philosophy?
At SAS, we believe participation in school-based athletics is a privilege. Activities and athletics are an integral part of the total educational experience, contributing to a positive school and community culture. The activities and athletics program at Singapore American School provides students with the opportunity to explore their passions through diverse and wide ranging activities, prioritised by our Eagle Pathway. Through participation in these activities and athletic pursuits, our coaches and instructors educate our students on character development and life skills.
As students move into the areas of competitive sport, we expect that they exhibit the highest level of conduct both on and off the playing field. This is what we call ‘The Eagle Way’. Finally, we believe that participation in school-based athletics should be fun!
What kind of athletic facilities do you provide your students?
We have gyms and fields for elementary school, middle school and high school. We also have two swimming pools, tennis courts, a high ropes course, a fitness centre and a running track.
What are the benefits of athletics for students?
Aside from the social, physical and emotional benefits of an athletics program, we use it as a platform to teach our student athletes the virtue and significance of our SAS core values of compassion, honesty, fairness, responsibility and respect. Through practice and competition, we seek out learning and teaching moments during the season to educate our students about our values in the hope that they leave SAS not just as better athletes, but as better people.
Recently, one of our Eagles, Collin Schuster, qualified for the 100-metre backstroke at the US Junior Nationals. According to coach Aaron Gray, Schuster’s “preliminary swim was his best, and this was when he qualified for the Olympic trials”.
Check out Singapore American School’s School Selector profile.
Dr Richard Shuttleworth, Director of Coaching and Sport Science and Dave Radcliffe, Head of Senior Sport and PE, Tanglin Trust School
What’s your school’s view on athletics?
At Tanglin, we use an evidence-based learning methodology in our athletics program which supports the development of essential foundation movement skills. We aim to provide every individual with learning opportunities to meet their own unique specific needs by providing a safe, fun and creative learning environment where students can safely explore and improve their physical development, skill and decision-making capabilities.
What kind of athletic facilities does your school provide for your students?
To provide the best possible support to our students’ physical and sporting development, we have invested in an extensive range of sports facilities, practice equipment and training resources. Our world-class synthetic playing field is a FIFA- and RFU-approved 4G surface and floodlit for extended evening use. We also have five multi-purpose indoor sports halls, 4G field, rooftop arena, and a large training ground complex.
Two climbing walls and a fully equipped gymnastics hall support our students’ passion for climbing, parkour and gymnastics, while our swimming complex with its 25m pool and adjacent learner pool provides for swimmers of all levels. With a variety of purpose-built and fully equipped infant play spaces, our children – regardless of age and ability – have access to key learning spaces, equipment and resources to maximise their physical and sporting potential.
How is athletic excellence measured?
As part of our new sport science hub, a student’s physical development abilities will be observed and profiled by our athletic development expert. They use qualitative and quantitative data to record personal improvements and compare stats with nationally accepted standards. A combination of coordination, control and skill-based measures help us benchmark and profile the needs of each student according to key criteria considered important to developing efficient and effective movement and decision-making. We are also teaming up with the National Institute of Education and Nanyang Technological University (NIE/NTU) to assist with testing and measuring protocols for improvement over time.
In addition, performance outcome measures are used to indicate immediate performance levels of an individual and team. Performance results indicate where a student or team sits on their development journey and often demonstrate where improvements are needed. As the older students become more performance focused, they learn to adapt and find ways to win. For our sportsman and sportswoman of the year award, we consider students’ performance across at least two sports and they must also demonstrate Team Tanglin core values and exhibit the skills needed to perform at the highest level. Tanglin has awarded over 100 player of the year and sportsmanship of the year awards.
Check out Tanglin Trust School’s School Selector profile.
Mark Holmes, Head of PE, Dover Court International School
How does your school encourage its students to be more active?
Every child is encouraged to be active at Dover Court International School. We believe that a strong mind needs a strong body and our PE teachers make sure that all children get the chance to be active and challenged.
The Physical Education (PE) Curriculum at DCIS provides a range of movement experiences to develop students’ overall physical abilities. The purpose is to support all students to develop a foundation for an active life and to empower students to become competent and reflective performers. We want our students to appreciate and understand good sportsmanship and display the highest conduct in sporting situations. We have high expectations of all students’ attainment and personal conduct and we empower them to make healthy lifestyle choices.
As an inclusive school, we strive to create an environment where we celebrate both success and resilience and where all individuals and their achievements are valued and celebrated.
What are the opportunities for athletic competition?
Dover Court International School is part of the Athletic Conference of Singapore International Schools (ACSIS) and participates in meets and tournaments across Singapore. We also host and take part in smaller friendly meets with other international schools in Singapore. As members of FOBISIA (Federation of British International Schools in Asia) we send one team to the Primary FOBISIA Games and one team to the U13 FOBISIA Games, both held in Phuket, Thailand.
Through our family of schools, Nord Anglia Education, we participate in the Nord Anglia Games and overseas swim meets and football tournaments, these are hosted by other NAE schools within the region.
How does your school encourage a healthy balance between academics and athletics?
All students from Nursery to Year 11 participate in physical education lessons as part of their curriculum. This ensures that they maintain a balanced and healthy lifestyle and continue with sports throughout their time at Dover Court.
Students are able to participate in team sports as part of the ACSIS organisation and the Nord Anglia Family of schools. Furthermore, in our Sixth Form, students continue with their balanced lifestyle through the Creativity, Activity and Service core component of the International Baccalaureate.
For those who want to incorporate sports into their academic studies, we offer Physical Education GCSE and, from August 2020, we will also offer Sports, Exercise and Health Science as part of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.
Check out Dover Court International School’s School Selector profile.
Mike Staples, Director of Activities and Sport, UWCSEA Dover
How important is athletics in your school?
With over 4,000 students taking part in some kind of sporting activity at UWCSEA each week, the majority of the UWCSEA community believe in the positive role that participation in all kinds of sport can play in education. Fair play, teamwork, humility in success and grace in defeat are all important aspects of a UWCSEA education.
Our programme is organised so that all students, regardless of age, have access to extensive opportunities for regular participation in recreational, developmental and representative sports, as well as an array of associated fitness and more general well-being for life activities.
Does your school have anything to offer for the athletically gifted?
We routinely work with families whose children are achieving at the highest level possible in their sport – some of these students are able to participate in college-based teams (we have many students who are also national-level swimmers, for example); others are supported in their passion for a sport that is not offered at the College, such as fencers Ywen Lau and Samantha Beatrice Sayson, diver Beth Kong or synchronised swimmer MinLi Leong.
What are the opportunities for athletic competition?
All our students participate in several Days of Sport each year (aquatics and field), as part of their class or mentor group, or in the Middle School as part of their House. These are fun-filled days designed for maximum participation.
UWCSEA Dover and East are two of the 28 member schools in the Athletic Conference of Singapore International Schools (ACSIS) competition which involves teams from 8U to 19U. In many years, our campuses field teams for every sport, often with multiple teams in an age groups so as to give our students an opportunity to participate in athletics.
Our senior sports teams also travel across the region to compete in SEASAC tournaments in badminton, basketball, cross country, football, golf, gymnastics, rugby, softball, swimming, tennis, touch and volleyball. SEASAC sporting events are hosted by the 16 member schools, located across six South-East Asian countries.
