The very BEST of international education from around the world

HELP International School has set itself the goal of becoming a world-renowned school that embodies a high achieving holistic education. A culture of excellence underpins all that we strive to do.

Our mission is to develop our students into curious, self-directed, and resilient learners with a strong moral compass. We strive to ensure each student is provided the opportunity to develop a broad range of interdisciplinary skills and competencies, and we do this by adopting a global perspective of education, uniting the best of East and West.

Here are some of the initiatives that students will get to experience at school:

Writing Programme in Partnership with ‘WRITE THAT ESSAY’ New Zealand

The ‘Write that Essay’ (WTE) programme, currently being implemented in over 170 schools across Australia and New Zealand, takes the student from Year 1 to their final senior year in an explicit, structured programme of incremental skill development. Utilising artificial intelligence, each student will have a dashboard that analyses each essay they submit, provides direct feedback on what they can do to improve the essay, but critically identifies the next writing skill that they need to develop/practice to be a skilled writer.

Young Scientist Badge Scheme Singapore

Established in Singapore by the Singapore Association for the Advancement of Science (SAAS) in partnership with the Singapore Science Centre and the Science Teachers Association of Singapore, the Young Scientist Badge Scheme is designed to stimulate interest in science activities among younger students.

Under this scheme there are 21 courses in areas such as Physicist, Chemist, Astronomer, Zoologist, Food Scientist, and Sustainability Champion. Each course requires students to complete a number of tasks such as reading and research, hands-on activities, brainstorming, discussions, and short write ups. Upon completion of each course, students will receive an online badge, a real badge, and a certificate.

English-Mandarin BILINGUAL Programme

Starting this academic year, 1 class each in Preschool and Year 1 is designed as a dual-language learning environment with two qualified teachers (one native English speaker and one native Mandarin speaker) jointly planning and teaching each lesson.

Bilingual programme graduates will be both culturally and linguistically fluent in Mandarin and English, giving them a critical edge in today’s evolving social, political and economic landscape.

For more on the advantages of a bilingual education, check out:  https://his.edu.my/5-benefits-of-a-bilingual-education/

STEM Programme – Science & Computer Science

A 2017 McKinsey report estimates that by 2030 as many as 400-800 million jobs around the world could be replaced by automation. As technology drives the productivity of the future workplace, in order to be competitive, our children will need to innovate and upskill to fit into or create jobs that most likely do not exist today.

Students as young as Years 5 & 6, gain early exposure as they are taught in fully equipped science and computer labs for lessons for each subject with specialist secondary Science and Design Technology teachers. By harnessing the power of technology we can afford our students and teachers new opportunities to stimulate learning within the context of real-life problems, while utilising Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematical (STEM) skill development as vehicles for exploring concepts and solutions.

ENTERPRISE & ENTREPRENEUR Programme

The focus of the programme is to create executable business ventures whilst exploring GCSE academic subjects that encompass entrepreneurship. Working with Ascend Now coaches, students will learn what it means to start and run a business, starting with the basics of Idea Generation and Validation to Market Research and creating Business Plans, and finally Pitching to Investors (industry representatives) in a Shark Tank environment.

By working together in small teams, students will complete a number of tasks with tangible learning outcomes – such as teamwork, communication – as well as allow them to most effectively come to grips with the ins-and-outs of entrepreneurship.

BEYOND EDUCATION: Sixth Form Studies

The Sixth Form Programme seeks to develop an all-rounded leader in our A-Level students. The Programme gives our students the opportunity not only to excel academically but also to develop personal leadership through their service to the school and the community at large.

This year, they will get the opportunity to embark on an Ascend Now Entrepreneurship Programme which will teach them skills in the areas of starting a business from Idea and Validation to Prototyping and Solution Execution planning, right through to Marketing & Business Development / Implementation.

SINGAPORE Maths

The Singapore Mathematics method is a highly effective teaching approach that has been widely adopted in various forms around the world over the past twenty years. Young learners start to learn the concepts visually but using objects, then drawing pictorial representations before finally moving onto the abstract. This gives students the ability to learn not just how to find an answer, but how the actual equation works.

The focus of the syllabus is on future skills, with students applying their mathematical knowledge and skills to solving problems in a real-life context. The curriculum is now firmly embedded into our daily learning timetable and has proven the vehicle for creating confident and capable young mathematicians.

Globally Competent Learners with the INTERNATIONAL PRIMARY CURRICULUM

The IPC ensures rigorous and participative learning through an interdisciplinary enquiry-based approach where students’ knowledge, skills and understanding are developed.  Learning with IPC takes a global approach, embedded with a clear process of learning which covers three main goals – academic, personal and international mindedness.

Imagine learning the topic ‘Bake It!” where students get to explore Science – understanding how bread is made, yeast as an active ingredient, and then try their hand at baking their own bread – with and without yeast to see the difference; and in International Mindedness – where they will study the different breads baked by different countries, bread as a diet staple and the issues of food shortage and world hunger.

HELP International School has been recognised by Fieldwork Education as an IPC accredited school, with an award for Mastery in International Mindedness.

Project purpose and Internships

An integral component in the Sixth Form curriculum is a leadership programme called Project Purpose. This was initiated to provide a platform for students to develop an authentic leadership experience in addressing issues that matter through effective and efficient project design and management – within and beyond the school with an emphasis on social entrepreneurship.

Students are able to provide real solutions to real problems faced by real people in the community using the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) such as Zero Hunger (SDG2), Quality Education (SDG4), Reduced Inequalities (SDG10) and Life on Land (SDG15), by tackling projects that deal with climate crisis, mental health, and youth employment, amongst others.

We hope that while setting out to make our world a little bit better, one person at a time, students will discover themselves and realise the power they have to affect change.

Student Council Initiatives

Comprising primary and secondary students, the Student Council serves as the voice for positive change on behalf of their peers and represents the student body in Senior Leadership Team (SLT) meetings, as well as lead, coordinate and support various school events and initiatives.

In response to the call of the school community for a stronger and more purposeful student agency and underpinned by our school values, this academic year, the Student Council has identified with our progressive green school initiative, and have submitted proposals to the Board of Directors to install solar panels in the school, as well as designed large scale planting projects for a more sustainable and environmentally friendly school campus.

Other projects that are currently in the pipeline include a student-led social media platform, peer counselling services and a school newspaper.