Reflections 2018

Respect

Responsibility

Purpose

Reflections

2018

TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL REFLECTIONS

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REFLECTIONS

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CONTENTS

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TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL REFLECTIONS

Chief Executive Officer

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Community Engagement

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Wellbeing at Tanglin

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Infant School

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Junior School

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Senior School

32

Examination Results

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Graduate Destinations

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Financial Overview

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Parent Teacher Association

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Chief Executive Officer Through this annual edition of Reflections, I am very happy to share with our community some very good news about our school on a number of fronts.

Student Roll At the start of the school year 2016/17 our student numbers were 45 below what had been predicted, as families left Tanglin Trust School over the summer break to return to the UK following economic uncertainties not only in Asia but across the world. This left us wondering if this was a single occurrence or if it was the start of a gradual reduction in the number of expatriates in Singapore. Alongside competition from new and existing schools, this was an issue that we couldn’t ignore. Therefore, we adopted the following strategies to address the uncertainties:

1. To be clear about who we are, what we do and how we do it, leading to clearer branding.

RESPECT, RESPONSIBILITY and PURPOSE

2. To ensure that our Admissions, and Marketing and Communications teams provide all those who are in any way interested in education with a clear picture of who we are and what we provide.

3. To be more conscious of and remain faithful to our mission and values in whatever actions we plan.

4. To make sure that we have all the necessary information and data

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about economic developments and trends in Singapore and Asia to fully understand our context.

5. To be fully mindful of the changing demographics of expatriates in Singapore and consequently in Tanglin Trust School.

6. To be more conscious of the emerging options in and around Singapore for quality education and how we compare with them.

7. To ensure that everything we do and the way we do it exudes the quality of education expected of a world-class school.

8. To commit to listening more to our community, their ideas and needs.

9. To deliver against our vision of‌ Being the best school in the world with a dynamic learning community that nurtures and inspires everyone to be the best they can be.

Everyone in the school has been engaged in delivering these strategies and I am very pleased to report that not only are our student numbers strong again, but also that the process has left us in a stronger position as an organisation.

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3000 2800

2716

2775

2781

2733

2777

1212

1260

1269

1229

1270

769

770

768

769

770

744

745

744

735

737

2725

2600 2400 2200

1202

Student Enrolment

2000 1800 1600 1400 1200

770

1000 800 600 400

744

200 0

Senior School Junior School Infant School

12/13 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17 17/18 Years

Examination Results Whilst our academic standards and results are not the ‘be all and end all’ of what we do, they are very important to us and to our students and their families. Nurturing each child to ‘be the best he/she can be’ whether an A*/A or C/D student is important. We celebrate each individual’s achievement and progress against their own potential and we aim to extend their potential with added value through outstanding teaching and learning.

Our external examination results both on an individual basis and as a school were higher than ever this year and due recognition is well earned by the students and excellent staff who achieved them.

(I)GCSE

174

Number of students who took (I)GCSE

A Levels

117 students

IB Diploma

43 students

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78%

92%

of all grades achieved were A* or A

of all grades achieved were A* to B

100%

50%

pass rate

of grades were at A* or A, while 92% were in the A* to C range

100% pass rate

38.8 30

Tanglin IB average 2017: 38.8 World IB average 2017: 30.0

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Outdoor Education Given that a student’s time in a classroom is less than 10 per cent of his/her life, it is now widely accepted that more learning occurs outside of or beyond the classroom than within it. The quality of the experience in the classroom is vital, our challenge then is to connect the relevance of learning in the classroom to the students’ experience outside of it. All the Outdoor Education (OE) experiences and challenges we provide are very carefully planned and executed to be a learning opportunity. We take OE very seriously and we provide many opportunities both locally and abroad to world citizen events such as the Model United Nations Conferences and World Scholars’ Cup events.

The benefits of these programmes are very tangible as students return to school with a more experienced and mature outlook of themselves and of life.

Sport Year by year we have increased the opportunities available for our students to participate in sport. We have new and emerging sports such as golf, badminton and climbing with participation levels growing in cricket, netball, basketball, and girls and boys touch rugby. Our Merlions Swimming programme grows from strength to strength as does our gymnastic standards and performance. I am particularly pleased to note the increased participation by our students to a high and, in some cases, international level. Learning to lose and learning to win in sport are important life skills and we nurture these attributes in our students to make the most of both scenarios.

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Service

The Arts The new Moot Theatre in the Nixon Building has provided much needed additional space for performance and events in music and the arts. At Tanglin Trust School it is ‘cool’ to sing, act, dance or play an instrument. Skills in fine arts and an appreciation of art in all its forms are high on our agenda as we seek to develop the whole child and to recognise abilities beyond the core academic subjects. In particular, we look for opportunities for our students to work with or exhibit alongside students from other schools, as we witnessed recently at the Across Asia Youth Film Festival and the International Schools Art Exhibition. Whether watching or participating in the arts, all our lives are enriched by our involvement in them.

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We believe that an appreciation of all we have and the opportunities that lie before us is very important.

We also believe that our students should have a view on the world and their role in it. An important part of this is through service. There are a growing number of opportunities for our students to serve or support others. To have a conscience and awareness that prompts them to give their time and energy for the benefit of others. I have the privilege on a regular basis to have lunch with leaders from the Infant School who never fail to astonish me with their insight, actions and solutions. The Junior School Entrepreneurs’ programme and ‘Lend with Care’ projects are fine examples of how we introduce more specific opportunities to serve in the middle years.

This continues into the Senior School, with a wide range of ‘giving’ activities through the House System, National Youth Achievement Award (NYAA) and the Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) commitment in the Sixth Form. The fact that many of our students (and a growing number of our Alumni), choose to continue their programmes on a voluntary basis is evidence of the sense of responsibility our programme has nurtured. We plan to develop the service programme even further in the future.

The developing role of the TTS Foundation is playing a very important role in supporting many of these extraordinary experiences both in and outside of school, that may otherwise not have been possible.

Our thanks go to the parents, staff and Alumni that generously support our TTS Foundation programme.

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Key Strategies This year has seen two of our whole school strategies move to be higher priorities. They are wellbeing and sustainability.

We have always included a statement and commitment to the welfare of our community and in particular our students. In 2015 it was: To nurture and inspire a vibrant community of happy, confident, lifelong learners of all ages who are thoroughly prepared for our world, with a commitment to service.

At the time it was one of seven key strategies with ‘Digital Literacy’ being at the centre.

‘Wellbeing’ now sits at the centre of our strategies and is defined as: Having the mental and physical health needed to flourish and to meet life’s challenges

Children are normally full of beans, happiness and energy. As parents, we are not too concerned about our children’s wellbeing when everything is going well like this. But occasionally, if they begin to lose their spark, that zest, the natural energy and exuberance that they

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normally have, it can cause us concern. Try as we might, we can’t remove or protect our children from all the stresses, strains and disappointments of growing up, in fact, it would be a mistake to try. However, we need to be able to recognise and understand what is going on and give them strategies that will equip them to address or better cope with what is happening. Tanglin Trust School works extremely hard to provide the right environment and support for all children when things go wrong. The full picture of ‘Wellbeing at Tanglin’ is covered by our Director of Learning, John Ridley, later in this edition.

Sustainability The sustainability agenda is affecting or infecting us all.

Finally, we are hearing the call to action for everyone to do something about sustainability rather than simply acknowledge that there is a problem. As our mentor and friend the Arctic Explorer, Robert Swan OBE, said: ‘The Greatest Threat to Our Planet Is the Belief That Someone Else Will Save It’

To make sure that we don’t forget this message, it’s emblazoned on the amazing TTS Foundation Eco Vista Wall in the Junior walkway. Robert’s visit to speak with us and the premiere showing of the film ‘The Plastic Ocean’ have ignited a passion in the community that is growing exponentially!

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Our aim for all our community is to develop the awareness, an understanding, the knowledge and the motivation to do something about the plight of our earth, about our behaviours and those of others. I can assure the reader that this agenda is firmly ensconced in the Tanglin programme and culture. To give you an idea of the strength of feeling growing across the school towards sustainable practices, I was presented with a petition last term which was signed by virtually all the Junior and older Infant children demanding that we remove all single-use plastics from our school as soon as possible. As a school, we are delighted that this strategy is one where the energy and demand for change is coming from the students!

Capital Development The second phase of our main school site building programme has already begun with early conceptual discussions taking place at the Board of Governors level.

This project involves a building at Gate C which will begin construction in 2019. At this early stage, we have been taking feedback from all areas of the community on how best this new facility can serve the school. As with the Nixon Building, a micro-site will be established for the community to follow the planning and building process.

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New CEO In July of 2018, after eight incredibly enjoyable years at Tanglin Trust School, I will be leaving with my family to live and work in Dubai for GEMS Education as a Vice President in their Head Office. Tanglin has been my family for these eight years and as such has been just as joyful, challenging and rewarding as a family can be! It has been a great privilege to be CEO of this world-class school and it will remain in my heart and the hearts of my family for years to come wherever we are. I am delighted to be handing over the reins to Craig Considine who is presently in his tenth year of being Headmaster of Millfield School in the UK. Craig comes with a wealth of international experience alongside that of leading one of the top UK independent boarding schools. I have every confidence that Tanglin Trust School will go from strength to strength under his leadership.

Peter Derby-Crook Chief Executive Officer

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Community Engagement

Partnering with schools • Tanglin has a long tradition of engagement with the local educational community, collaborating with local and international schools on joint philanthropic projects, sports activities and hosting curriculum enrichment opportunities.

• Examples include professional development for teachers from other local and international schools, hosting World Scholar’s Cup, Speak! Debate Championship, Computing Games, Across Asia Youth Film Festival and working in collaboration with other international schools for the IN Art Festival hosted at the Australian High Commission.

Action in the community • In every student’s journey through the school there is the opportunity for meaningful engagement with the local community and the world beyond. This might be through the Junior Award Scheme for Schools (JASS)

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in Years 5 and 6, the Learner Profile Award in Years 7, 8 and 9 or the National Youth Achievement Award (NYAA) and Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) in Years 10 to 13.

• In addition, all students take an active role in philanthropy particularly in building strong relationships with local Singaporean charities. This includes the Reading to Dogs programme with SPCA, fundraising for SportsCares, Food From the Heart and Chen Su Lan’s Children’s Home, amongst others.

Engagement with local businesses • Connections with our business community provides opportunities for our students to learn about the world of work. We have established links with local employers which provide essential and valuable support to our Careers Fair and guest ‘expert’ speakers to come into school. In 2018, the careers fair saw over 80 members of our community volunteer their time to talk to our students about their career path and university choices. Students from Dover Court School were also invited to attend this event. Year 10 students take part in a three-day work experience programme

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(which is being increased to five days in 2018) which provides an opportunity for students to learn, firsthand, about the varied job opportunities available within Singapore (and beyond).

• We actively engage with our neighbours at one-north which has allowed students to visit local businesses to enhance their curriculum studies. We have also participated in one-north community events where our music ensembles groups have performed.

Embracing Singapore • Awareness of the diversity of cultures in Singapore is woven into our values. We actively celebrate the many cultural days, including Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Diwali, inviting performers and artists into school to share their love of these vibrant cultural festivals. Our Arts faculties have strong links with the local arts community and our music students are often lucky enough to perform in public spaces across Singapore including a Mother’s Day performance at Singapore Zoo, Christmas carols at one-north, music ensembles at Star Vista and the upcoming Botanical Beats performance in the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

This year, our art students will be exhibiting at the National Gallery Singapore; the first time a school has collaborated on a project with the gallery.

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Connecting with our own community • Tanglin has a diverse and vibrant community and we strive to provide opportunities for parents to engage with the school and with each other. Our ParentWise programme offers a range of workshops, courses and presentations for parents and helpers. This year, the programme included workshops on spelling, writing, motor-skills, Chinese, English Speaking Board (ESB) and healthy eating tips for helpers. We also encourage our community to join us in taking action for causes that we support. For example, using public transport on Car Free Friday, providing a facility to correctly dispose of e-waste, collecting hygiene packs for Caring For Cambodia, donating Christmas presents for local children’s charities and supporting our drive to not sell plastic water bottles or plastic bags on campus.

• In November 2017 Tanglin held its first ever International Day to celebrate the diverse cultures, nationalities and languages of Tanglin. Across the three schools, special activities took place to showcase the national dress, dance, arts and crafts and cuisine. Parents donated food from their home country and dedicated their time to capturing children’s imaginations with craft activities, music and costumes.

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Wellbeing at Tanglin At Tanglin, we take pride in our holistic approach to education. Our mission statement talks about learners who can contribute to the world ‘with confidence’ and who are ‘happy and successful’; in our Tanglin learner profile being ‘balanced’ and ‘caring’ are considered just as valuable attributes as being ‘knowledgeable’. In short, we want our community of learners to be ready for whatever the next stage of life’s journey has in store for them; equipped with both the knowledge and the skills not only to survive in life, but to thrive.

Whilst it is relatively easy to express that aim, it is a significant challenge for schools in today’s fast paced world, to identify the right combination of knowledge, skills and strategies necessary to prepare for the unknown challenges ahead. This is why the concept of wellbeing has been particularly useful for us and why it became a key principle of our strategic plan in 2017.

There is no universally accepted definition (or spelling!) of wellbeing but it is often associated with the word flourish, in the sense that ‘wellbeing is the ability to flourish’. This simple definition resonates very strongly with our holistic educational aims. After some further research, the management team adopted this definition: Wellbeing is having the psychological, physical and social resources needed to flourish and to meet life’s challenges.* It is important to note that wellbeing is not a fixed state. As individuals move through life, they will be faced with different challenges and so will need different sets of resources in order to meet those challenges and continue to flourish. This also fits well with Tanglin’s mission, in which we refer to ourselves as ‘a community of lifelong learners’. This does not just apply to the students. We believe that learning should continue through life and we aim to support adults in our community as well as young people as they develop their skills and knowledge to prepare for the challenges ahead. Whilst in many ways making a commitment to the ‘wellbeing’ of our community of learners is just * Wellbeing definition adapted from the model suggested by Dodge et al: Dodge, R., Daly, A., Huyton, J., & Sanders, L. (2012). The challenge of defining wellbeing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 2(3), 222-235. doi:10.5502/ijw.v2i3.4

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another way of stating our holistic aims, the use of this word and the definition above highlights the importance of the psychological resources required. In other words, mental health. Many of the challenges facing our students, and indeed all of us, in the future will be emotional in nature rather than physical or intellectual.

This has led us to examine how we react to mental health issues and how we work proactively to prevent challenges developing into crises.

Supporting Students There are two ‘keys’ to effectively supporting young people who are struggling emotionally: early identification of issues and good communication between supporting adults. At Tanglin we are fortunate to have specialist nurses, counsellors and an educational psychologist available to work alongside our pastoral and learning support teams to support students. Over the past year, we have examined the referral and ongoing monitoring systems for students with pastoral concerns and vulnerable students, to ensure that any identified issues are addressed as early as possible and with clearly communicated strategies. To help with this, our Health Centres, School Counselling and Educational Psychologist have been re-branded as ‘Co-ordinated

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Wellbeing Services’ (CWS) to emphasise that whilst they each have their own specialist area, all three have the same goal. On a practical level, there is overlap in the skills and expertise available in the three teams and the closer co-ordination makes it easier for one individual to take a lead role in supporting a particular student, whilst keeping others informed.

In the Senior School, it is recognised that students have many different teachers and any one of those adults may be in a position to pick up early warning signs of a serious emotional issue. With this in mind, Clare Lancaster (Educational Psychologist) and Clare Anderson-Au (Assistant Head Teacher, Care Guidance and Support) have both trained to be able to deliver the ‘ASIST’ (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) course. They have begun to deliver this training to Senior School teachers, with the ultimate aim that all teachers will feel confident to approach students (or adults) who are showing signs of distress and keep them safe. Whilst this initiative began with our Senior School students in mind, suicide prevention skills are incredibly important across our whole community and beyond. This course has been offered to teachers from other schools across Singapore and also to colleagues from business support teams in Tanglin.

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Proactive Approaches Whilst it is important that we are able to respond to the needs of students who are struggling with emotional wellbeing, it is even more important that we find ways to help all students to learn strategies and develop skills that will enable them to be resilient in the face of emotional challenges.

Developing this proactive approach is a shared goal of the CWS team and our PSHCE (Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education) teams across the school. Drawing on available research from the field of Positive Psychology, elements have been added to the PSHCE curriculum so that students experience a range of techniques from mindfulness meditation to laughter yoga. These activities help to make students more aware of their own emotions, as well as building up a ‘toolkit’ that they can draw from in the future when they find themselves in stressful situations.

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WELLBEING AT TANGLIN

Staff Wellbeing

Whole Community Approach

Just as we want our students to flourish, so we want all staff at Tanglin to flourish. The school can be a very intense working environment during term time which can take a toll on both the mental and the physical health of staff members. Over the past year various initiatives have been launched to help staff to maintain their own wellbeing. These have included MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Relief) courses offered by the Head of School Counselling; staff yoga and Pilates sessions offered at lunchtime and after school and a whole school ‘wellbeing committee’ being formed to plan a series of activities through the year which encourage staff to take a break. Alongside these initiatives, we are also seeking views from staff on how their regular tasks and interactions support or work against their wellbeing. This is being done through HR forums as well as various working groups. For faculty staff, the CWS team recently completed a large scale project where all teachers had the opportunity to contribute to anonymous focus group discussions on ‘supports’, ‘blockers’ and ‘suggestions to improve’ their wellbeing. The results of these discussions have now been collated and presented to the school leaders so that issues can be addressed.

The focus on wellbeing will remain a central theme of our strategic plan moving forward. In October 2017, Tanglin committed to working towards the Wellbeing Award for Schools (WAS) which is a framework developed by the National Children’s Bureau in the UK. This has already involved a wide range stakeholder survey to find out current perceptions of students, staff and parents on how well the school supports emotional wellbeing. The survey results show that we already have a very positive school culture in terms of individuals’ understanding that emotional wellbeing is important and wanting to look out for the emotional wellbeing of others. However, it also shows that we have more work to do in supporting adults and young people alike in being able to talk about their own wellbeing and in feeling equipped with a range of strategies to effectively support their wellbeing. As our mission statement says, the ultimate aim is for Tanglin to be a community where every individual can be “happy and successful”.

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John Ridley Director of Learning

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Infant School ‘I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with so many exceptionally professional, caring and dedicated staff who are clearly providing a very high standard of education for so many super children,’ Steve Howland MBE, Educational Consultant for Educational Development Trust, during his visit to Tanglin in November 2017.

We were delighted to receive such praise as we continue our journey to excellence each and every day.

This year we have focused on three main areas: children’s voice, parent voice and sustainability. We have also continued our whole school focus on wellbeing and this is closely connected with staff voice.

Children’s Voice We have always had a wealth of leadership roles for our children but this year we wanted to enhance these. We have rebranded our children’s roles and with this have added to their responsibilities.

Initiatives are also now funded by our TTS Foundation.

Our teachers take every opportunity to nurture a child’s natural desire to lead. In Nursery and Reception, children begin to understand what it means to take responsibility for their actions. They value being given the chance to lead the way in areas such as environmental, health and wellbeing issues by being an ‘Eco Monitor’ or ‘Sun Monitor’. As the children move into Key Stage 1, additional leadership activities focus on promoting school spirit and improving the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom.

To further raise the profile of our children’s voice and to provide

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more children with the opportunity to become a Key Stage 1 leader we have, from Term 1, re-launched our leadership positions as follows: • Student Council - led by our Assistant Headteacher • Green Team (individually known as Planet Protectors) - led by our Assistant Headteacher • Wellbeing Warriors (formerly Sun Monitors) - led by our Assistant Headteacher • eCadets - led by the Head of Curriculum for IT • Tech Leaders - led by the Head of Curriculum for IT • Playtime Captains - led by the Infant PE Specialist • Song Leaders - led by the Head of Curriculum for Music Through the Key Stage 1 Leadership Programme we aim to: 1. Empower our children to work in partnership with staff towards shared goals.

2. Enable creativity to flourish as the school community benefits from the wealth of experiences, ideas, skills and sense of fun that our children bring.

3. Provide opportunities for our children to develop leadership skills through a variety of inspiring, challenging and valued projects which impact positively on learning and teaching.

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This is what our children have to say: ‘Hello I am Sara. As a Wellbeing Warrior I have been learning about what ‘wellbeing’ means and how to keep my mind and body healthy. As a team we were also asked by Food Services Manager Mrs. Bibbings if we could share our thoughts and ideas on introducing packed lunches into the Infant School. We even got to taste lots of different food too!’

‘Hello my name is Harrison and I am a Playtime Captain.

This term I have learnt about how to be a good leader.

We have learnt about fair-play, being friendly and well organised. We even got to play at The Yard where we learnt cool and exciting new skills. It has been great fun!’

‘Hello I am Alec. I have been a Tech Leader this term and learnt how to manage the iPads, make videos and use green screens. I even got to go to the Singapore Science Centre to take part in a Lego Robotics workshop. It was great, because we got to build a robot, program it and have a race. I like being a Tech Leader as I get to learn new things and help my friends and teacher in class.’

‘Hello my name is Rida and I am in the Year 2 Green Team. As a Planet Protector I help my class to think about ways in which we can look after ‘Our World’ both in and around the school. This term I enjoyed meeting the PTA and hearing the ways in which they are

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reducing the amount of plastic which we use at Tanglin.

I also enjoyed helping them to judge the International Christmas tree competition.’

‘Hello I am Ila and I am a Year 2 Song Leader. There are sixteen of us in Year 2 and our job is to help other children to join in with singing games at playtime. We also share our songs with others in the community and recently visited our friends at Chen Su Lan Children’s Home. We taught them songs such as ‘Jump Jim, Joe’ and ‘Leo the lion’.

‘Hello my name is Tallulah and this term I was voted on to the Student Council. I have enjoyed attending all the meetings and especially having the opportunity to meet and speak with Mr Derby-Crook in the Nixon board room and to talk about the work we have been doing.

The Student Council were also asked for their help in choosing teachers who would like to come and work at Tanglin.’

‘Hello I am Connor. This term I have been an eCadet and I have found out about how to keep safe online and be a principled user of technology. I have learnt about keeping our personal information private and how to ask an adult for help if I see something that upsets me. Next term, I will be sharing my knowledge with the younger children and helping to make an e-safety video for the Infant School.’

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Parent Voice Communicating with our parents is very important to us and we are always searching for the best way to do this. We have been using the Interactive Learning Diary for some time in the Early Years Foundation Stage, but over the last year have introduced a similar platform for Key Stage 1 called ‘Seesaw’. Seasaw is an App that allows children to record their own learning in pictures or video and then reflect or explain their ideas using verbal or written comments - this is also possible on their classmates’ learning, teaching them how to think critically and respond to others’ ideas in appropriate ways. Initially we piloted this with just a few classes and have since rolled it out across Years 1 and 2 as a classbased tool. However, more recently we have trialed the option to share it with two classes of parents who have been able to see their own child’s learning and leave comments. Our Head of Integrated Technology will be surveying the staff and parents before we decide whether or not it is the best available tool for sharing learning in this way. If the response is positive, we hope to roll it out to the rest of Year 1 later this academic year.

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We also support parents through curriculum workshops, which have been successful for a number of years. We have recently extended this to our family domestic helpers as well and had a very positive response to our reading workshop, led by Heads of English and developing healthy eating habits, led by the Assistant Head of School and our Food Services Manager.

We have also tried to cater to our youngest families in the mornings who have older siblings along with Nursery children who start school at 9am. To get our 3 year olds energized, we have introduced Music and Movement sessions in our new Raffles Hall from 8-8.45am on Wednesday mornings. A parent or helper accompanies the child and great fun is had by all!

Thank you to the PTA for making our physical development dreams come true with the introduction of our climbing wall. It is truly amazing and was opened

by Kate Saynor, PTA President, and a visiting explorer Dr Gazhala who is an NHS surgeon and in her spare time climbs mountains, and has recently returned from the South Pole.

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Sustainability has also been at the forefront of our minds and our Planet Protectors have been instrumental in making things happen. As part of this drive to go natural, again the PTA stepped in and helped to fund our natural outdoor kitchen and early years music shed.

Inspirational speakers really help support initiatives and raise the profile of sustainability and help foster a love of animals in their natural habitats. Here we can thank the TTS Foundation for bringing David Murray, a photographer who enthralled our Year 1 and 2 children with his adventures of how best to move rhinos from South Africa to Botswana (Rhinos Without Borders).

Author and wildlife photographer Jan Latta also shared the environmental cause and explained how she has met animals in the wild, this time through literature with our Reception children. Jan captivated our children with her tales of holding a baby sloth at the Jaguar Rescue Centre in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca in

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INFANT SCHOOL

Sustainability

Costa Rica. This was the inspiration for her latest book ‘Sleepy the Sloth’.

The culmination of our environmental crusade was in Term 3 which epitomized all that is great about our Infant School. We were tremendously impressed by the creativity of our staff and children in the Reduce, Reuse and Reimagine Art Exhibition, an extravaganza that was opened by Soma Biswas from the Zero Waste campaign.

Who would have thought an old fan could become a flower or an aged and yellowed book could become an original work of art?

To sum up the year so far I refer to TTS Foundation Inspirational Visitor Andy Meller’s words back in September who said, ‘It has been both a pleasure and a privilege to visit Tanglin Trust Infant School. The children are happy, confident and articulate in their learning in testament to the dedication, commitment and enthusiasm of the staff. The school is a truly inspirational place to be and I wish the school every success on its journey ahead’. Andy Meller, educational consultant and part of the Chris Quigley group (September 2017).

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Junior School At Tanglin we are often defined as a restless school as there is a tangible sense of our continuous pursuit for excellence. Whether pastoral or academic - we strive to be the best that we can so that our children strive for the very same. Qualities of resilience and a growth mindset are prized so that every child feels proud of their own unique achievements.

Our core values of Respect, Responsibility and Purpose are woven throughout our learning community and we are committed to our whole school foci of sustainability which comes under the Junior area of ‘Community and Beyond’, and everyone’s wellbeing is placed at the heart of our decision making.

RESPECT - Personal development Our curriculum is designed to prepare students for life in today’s world and as such transferable skills and strong character attributes are given as much prominence as specific subject knowledge and academic challenge.

We are amongst the first international schools to be working towards becoming a UNICEF Rights Respecting School (RRS). The RRS Award places the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child at the heart of a school’s ethos and curriculum. The Convention sets out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all children everywhere are entitled to. Children learn about their rights and the responsibilities that go alongside these, providing them with a strong moral compass, positively affecting children’s attitudes and contributing to an inclusive, caring school atmosphere. A Rights Respecting School not only teaches about children’s rights; it also models rights and respect in all its relationships.

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In a new development in 2017, the High Commissioner’s Award has been rebranded as the new Junior Awards Scheme for Schools (JASS).

JASS develops the whole individual by offering recognition in four key areas – regular physical activity, exploring a personal interest, working for the good of the community or the environment and completing an outdoor activity or challenge.

RESPONSIBILITY - Community and beyond Many of our children often live far away from family and friends, so we appreciate the importance of creating a strong community, both within the school and more widely. In 2017, International Day provided a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the culture and diversity of our school. Children and staff dressed in their national costume and took part in activities to deepen their understanding of other cultures.

Our children are global citizens, and it is essential that they learn how they can have a positive impact on the world around them. In the Junior School, we have taken to heart the statement by the Polar explorer Robert Swan, that ‘the greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it’. Miss Campbell, our designated sustainability lead teacher, works closely with the ‘Global Guardians’ in each class so that children become more responsible for the school and the planet. This year we hosted an incredible gallery event auctioning children’s artwork inspired by photos of Robert’s 2041 Antarctic expedition. More than 200 visitors attended and a total amount of $17,500 was raised on one night.

TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL REFLECTIONS

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Philanthropy is woven through our curriculum and in 2017 we introduced a Mufti Week to raise money for Lend With Care, our whole school charity. Alongside this, each year group works with a charity and in 2017 children in Year 3 donated $21,000 to Conservation International, enabling them to name and tag a whale shark.

‘Junior’ was tagged in November and we are looking forward to tracking him on his journeys around the ocean.

Our belief in the importance of forming strong links with the wider community was highlighted in our achievement of the British Council’s International School Award.

During the process our teachers and children formed close links with schools locally and abroad to provide international learning opportunities. We developed a school link with Raffles Girls Primary School; they attended our Junior Model United Nations conferences and ‘A Day in the Life’ immersion days were hosted by each school.

Our children gained a valuable window into different cultures and countries, helping them develop as responsible global citizens and preparing them for life and work in a global society.

PURPOSE - Teaching, learning and assessment The core purpose of any school is learning. Constantly developing and refining our curriculum in line with best practice from education systems from around the world, we are justifiably proud of the broad and balanced curriculum that we provide. 2017 saw the first full year since our adoption of the best aspects of the new English National Curriculum and our standards remain exceptionally high.

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comparative judgement as part of our moderation process, enabling teachers to plan and improve the quality of teaching and learning in response to detailed assessment information. In a recent visit, our school improvement officer, Steve Howland, highlighted the leadership and management of the school’s evolving system of assessment as ‘first-class’.

Alongside the new curriculum we have developed our assessment practices, introducing new standardised assessments in English and Maths as well as assessment of pupil attitudes. We are now able to triangulate the results of progress tests against children’s cognitive reasoning ability and attitudes to enable us to spot trends and put early intervention strategies in place. In 2017 we became the first international school to implement

Communication is an important life skill and we recognise the importance of public speaking and developing confidence in different modes of communication. We are delighted that 2017 saw the highest enrolment and results so far in the English Speaking Board exams. Children in Year 6 were also given the opportunity to take the Youth Chinese Test (YCT), an international standardized test of Chinese language proficiency, demonstrating their ability to use Chinese as second language in their daily and academic lives.

REFLECTIONS

TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL

JUNIOR SCHOOL

In other exciting developments, 2017 saw students from the Junior School beat children from 32 schools to win the FOBISIA Primary Mathematics Challenge and we were delighted to achieve a Gold Primary Quality Mark in Geography, adding to our existing quality benchmarks in History and Science.

Every child deserves the opportunity to be successful and we are proud of our unique Personalised Learning Team (PLT). The team brings together various aspects of additional support and challenge, from our Learning Support teachers to the Precision Teacher, who works with students from a range of abilities to ensure that they make the progress they are capable of, and our Head of Enrichment who ensures that we provide challenges to extend thinking. Through the PLT, we are able to provide individualised learning pathways for all our children to achieve their very best.

TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL REFLECTIONS

The breadth of our curriculum continues to be a vibrant element of the ethos of the Junior School, and in 2017 students of all ages, genders and ability levels benefitted from an exciting range of learning opportunities.

In Sport, the House Competitions – Swim Galas, Murphy Cup Football, Netball and Junior Sports Days – contributed enormously to the feeling of integration and belonging. At a competitive level, children represented Tanglin at the ACSIS Cross Country, Basketball and Football finals, with the girls coming first and the boys third out of the seventeen participating schools in Cross Country. 80 Junior swimmers participated in the UWC, Nexus and SAS swim meets, and 100 Junior students competed for the first time in the Children’s Spartan Race in Sentosa, where Tanglin proudly won the award for the most participating students!

23

It has been a busy year for the arts. From exciting new ceramic projects involving clay, to year group art exhibitions featuring Year 6 acrylic poppy compositions, children have had the opportunity for greater differentiation via specialist art lessons. We were delighted to see the children express their activity through art to support sustainability and philanthropy projects. Year 5’s Pristine Planet watercolour paintings were truly exceptional, and the design of a flag helped build excitement for the tagging of Junior the whale shark!

In Drama, thanks to the support of the TTS Foundation, we continue to invite international artists to work with our children. This year they were wowed by the storytelling techniques of Chris Salisbury and the art and puppetry of Greg Ruhe. Tanglin also hosted another successful primary ISTA Festival (International Schools Theatre Association), ‘What’s in the Box’, attended by 120 children from five international schools across Singapore.

In Music, there has been an increased focus on studentled contribution to performances. This year’s Year 4 concert showcased students’ original compositions and improvisations in their class items, involving a vast array of instruments. Children have benefitted from links with the local community, with performances in one-north including Year 3/4 Choir Christmas Carols at Biopolis and increased enrichment opportunities for students to attend concerts and events in Singapore. Large numbers of students attended concerts at the Esplanade and the Victoria Concert Hall throughout the year led by the Junior Music staff.

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REFLECTIONS

TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL

I do not underestimate the absolute privilege it is to be the Head of such an outstanding school. Staff who provide excellent pastoral care and outstanding learning opportunities, parents who care deeply about their child’s education and children who are motivated and engaged in their learning. We are in the memory making business for our young people and have the pleasure of helping them to be ready for whatever their future dreams may hold.

Of course, to be able to provide these outstanding opportunities to our children, it is essential that we recruit and retain the best teachers in the world. We offer a comprehensive professional development programme which ensures that our teachers remain at the leading edge of educational developments. Within the Junior School we work closely with experts in their fields to develop and improve our programmes. In 2017 this included local and UK mathematics experts, drama and art specialists and learning support. We believe in developing leaders and during 2017 four members of staff completed the National Professional Qualification in Middle or Senior Leadership.

Clair Harrington-Wilcox Head of Junior School

TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL REFLECTIONS

JUNIOR SCHOOL

In Technology, a new and exciting range of CCAs were offered to students: Wearable Technology with Arduino Bean programmable microprocessor boards, Coding in Minecraft Educational Edition, and Digital versus 3D printed pinhole camera. In the classroom, Year 4 experienced digital drawing using new iPad Pros and Apple Pencils and Year 5 commenced a LEGO Brickfilm Animation project, a long-term project incorporating script writing, animation techniques, lighting, modelling and whole year group collaboration to make replications of Cheng Ho’s life during his 7 voyages from 1405 till his death in 1435.

I look forward to a fabulous 2018 with our entire community.

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Senior School

I was absolutely delighted with the academic results achieved at GCSE, A Level and IB Diploma in the summer of 2017. Whilst the grades and scores are impressive, I believe it is the dedicated and professional Heads of Faculty and teaching staff who are responsible for inspiring, enthusing, supporting and challenging their students to achieve exceptional ‘value added’ across the cohorts. Our students are well-rounded, happy, have the coping mechanisms to deal with stress and setbacks and fully embrace our core values of Respect, Responsibility and Purpose – throughout their time and Tanglin and in preparation for life beyond.

In the Sixth Form, 2017 has seen excellent progress and growth. This year we saw a record-breaking Year 11 graduate into the Sixth Form and a record-breaking Year 13 depart for their dazzling array of chosen universities. As ever, our University Guidance Counselling team did a fantastic job of supporting the students with their applications to universities across the world and guiding them in choosing other career paths for life post-Tanglin. In addition to increasing the staff in our Careers and University Guidance department, we also relocated the team to a suite of rooms and offices in the Sixth Form Centre to enable them to better support and offer individual advice to our students.

26

REFLECTIONS

TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL

That said, we consider statistics to be just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what it means to be a Sixth Form student at Tanglin. We work hard on creating a cohesive Sixth Form College where the two year groups intermingle naturally and are inspired by the successes of each other. The first half of Term 1 is a very exciting time for everyone, when Year 12s are excitedly settling into their new surroundings and courses.

‘Outstanding’ Inspection Report The 2016/17 academic year started with our preparation for the Senior School Inspection by the British Schools Overseas Voluntary Inspection Programme. I greatly respect the process and I believe the inspection team did an excellent job in identifying our core strengths pastorally, academically and beyond the classroom.

The outcome ‘Outstanding’ in all aspects is indeed very pleasing and satisfying.

Senior School Development Plan While we have excellent exam results, university entrances and inspection reports under our belt, there is no room for complacency and, like our students, we strive for continuous improvement. As we move into the second year of the Senior School development plan, I would like to take this opportunity to revisit our overriding goals.

Our students: • are known well and supported in all that they do • are resilient enquirers with strong self-management skills • are as likely to learn and develop outside of the classroom as they are inside it • are inspired to achieve highly and have positive attitudes to learning • flourish with the support of outstanding student services in world class facilities Our school: • positive relationships and effective communication lead to a strong community ethos • our staff experience a variety of opportunities for professional learning and leadership development in an inspiring, positive and supportive environment

TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL REFLECTIONS

• our parents are welcomed, listened to and informed on matters relating to their child’s education, care, guidance and support in an atmosphere of mutual respect and cooperation The latter has been added to ensure our parent body feel part of our journey and success.

The Senior School has been striving forward with the various elements of the development plan and with wellbeing, curriculum development and sustainability as the overarching themes since August 2016. The following pages reflect on just some of the areas of focus in the Senior School and the progress that has been made in the past year.

27

Community and Pastoral support Over the last year the Senior canteen, balconies and social platform have all been popular with the students in providing spaces for students to eat, but more importantly from the school’s perspective, providing a variety of places for our students to relax and socialise with their friends during their breaks and lunchtimes.

‘Coffee with Clare’ has been well received with large numbers of parents attending both sessions.

Internet safety and discussions about relationships can be difficult and it was positive to share ideas on how to make this easier for everyone involved.

support for each student enhances greatly their levels of achievement and progress’. I am very pleased to report that these relationships provide the foundations of our day-to-day interactions with Year 10 and 11 students as they make the transition from children into mature and responsible young men and women that we can all be very proud of.

The Senior School aims to enhance its own community spirit and embrace communities beyond the campus and has done so this year through events including Sports Day, House Day and International Day.

The pastoral relationships that we are committed to forging ensure that our students do not face challenges in isolation but do so in conjunction with the support of vastly experienced and dedicated pastoral staff. This was again exemplified in our recent inspection where the team of experienced inspectors observed that ‘Students and staff enjoy highly positive and supportive relationships’ and ‘The bespoke academic and personal

28

REFLECTIONS

TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL

SENIOR SCHOOL

Learning Beyond the Classroom This year has seen the development of our Lifeskills programme at Key Stage 4, which replaced Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education (PSHCE) two years ago. In a similar way to PSHCE, students have experienced important lessons in sex education, many aspects of health education and careers and study advice. Lifeskills also features additional opportunities including practical lessons in basic car maintenance, sewing and ironing.

Students have been cooking in these lessons and have also had training in skills as wide-ranging as assertiveness and dining etiquette, all adding to the exciting and varied Tanglin week.

WEX (Year 10 Work Experience) was extremely successful in 2017 with all students completing valuable 3-day work experience placements at local companies and service establishments. In 2018 this programme will be extended to five days to further the experience for our students.

Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) continues to provide opportunities for our Sixth Form students to be challenged and thrive outside of the classroom. The variety of CAS activities so often provides those lasting golden memories of human interaction that will survive long after exam content has been forgotten. The unforgettable challenge of the Service Expeditions at the end of Year 12 are also often the occasions where lifelong friendships are cemented.

Witnessing the awe-inspiring student Head Team lead and inspire others from Nursery children to fellow Year 13s has been a joy to behold. This group of eight students – Harry, Nima, Maddy, Dan, Julius, Nathan, Brooke and Taylor – proudly embody the ethos and values of Tanglin.

TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL REFLECTIONS

29

Opportunities for the arts, ‘Sport for All’, service projects, sustainability drives and community links continue to expand. A rapidly increasing number of students completed their Tanglin Learner Profile Award in Years 7 and 8, NYAA Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards in Years 9 to 13 and CAS which is part of every Sixth Form students curriculum, whether following the A Level or IB pathway. All these ‘extra’ opportunities form the basis of our ‘Learning Beyond the Classroom’ curriculum.

Technology The new Design and Technology suite was completed in October 2017 and included a very generous S$80,000 donation from the PTA towards state-of-the-art resources and facilities. Mr James Bleach, the new Head of Design and Technology, is already looking forward to the longer-term planning of a suite of workshops to enable us expand our range of design and technology options in the Senior School.

30

Design and Technology has been incorporated into the curriculum for Year 9 students allowing a choice to continue studying at (I)GCSE in 2018/19. We will gradually expand Design and Technology both up into the Sixth Form and down to Years 7 and 8 over the next few years. The subject is rather different to the traditional woodwork and metalwork lessons of the past and instead will see students learning how to use various tools and technologies to design solutions to problems that face groups of people. One example that our Year 9 students have been exposed to already this year is designing prosthetic hands using 3D printing technology. While we adults may be justifiably proud of the spice racks and money boxes we made during our woodwork lessons, I hope that Tanglin students’ projects will have more of an impact on the community, helping to find solutions to authentic problems.

REFLECTIONS

TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL

SENIOR SCHOOL

The strength of our Technology for Learning faculty is that it always puts the learning before the technology.

Six years ago, the Senior School made the groundbreaking move of embarking on a 1:1 iPad programme for students. This year the initiative has grown further with students from Year 9 upwards being given the option of using a ‘pen-enabled’ device. We believe that this technology allows for more cognitive interaction with learning materials and more engaged learners.

Together with the deployment of these devices to staff, students are benefiting from more immediate, richer feedback from their teachers. More and more departments are using Microsoft OneNote to structure their lessons and share resources with their classes, encouraging students to develop as independent learners.

At the start of 2017 we were delighted that both the senior canteen and the Film/Media department were fully operational. Film/Media shifted from the Sixth Form College into brand new facilities in the Nixon Building, and the classrooms and flexible work spaces continue to provide an amazing environment for our GCSE, A Level and IB students studying those courses.

TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL REFLECTIONS

Teaching and learning at Tanglin continues to be progressive and focused more on enquiry, selfmanagement and independence. The development in resources, facilities and buildings support to further enhance teacher and student performance.

In conclusion, I hope it is indeed clear from these Senior School reflections on 2017 that we are holding true to the mission, vision and core values of Tanglin Trust School. I truly believe the learning journey for every student and member of staff is dynamic, nurturing and inspiring. It is no small wonder the academic and social outcomes are so far reaching and exceptional. I remain very happy and proud to be Head of such an outstanding school and I wish to finish by thanking everyone, staff, students and parents, who play a role in its phenomenal success.

Allan Forbes Head of Senior School

31

Examination Results (I)GCSE (I)GCSE Results Table 100% 90% 80% 70%

Year

No. of Candidates

No. of Subjects offered

2015

173

28

2016

173

30

2017

174

29

(I)GCSE Summary for 2016 (Class of 2018)

173

(I)GCSE examination results for Class of 2019 (2017) - 99% of Tanglin students achieving 5 A* to C

60%

students took (I)GCSE examinations in 30 subjects

UK national average 69.9% of students achieving 5 A* to C

0% 2015

2016

2017

2016 (I)GCSE Examination Results (Class of 2018) No. of Candidates Art & Design 31 Art & Design - Graphics 10 Biology 86 Business Studies 38 Chemistry 86 Chinese 55 Classical Civilisation 2 Computer Studies 43 Dance 8 Drama & Theatre Studies 38 Economics 31 English Language 172 English Literature 170 Film Studies 45 French 51 Geography 69 German 12 History 56 ICT 7 Latin 10 Mathematics A 173 Music 29 Physical Education 43 Physics 86 Psychology 50 Religious Studies 6 Science (Double) 134 Science AQA (Core) 21 Science AQA (Additional) 17 Spanish 45 TOTAL 1624 Subject

100%

TOTAL %

Subject Additional Mathematics

A* 9 4 49 7 59 45 2 15 10 8 25 74 20 22 29 6 9 1 1 44 11 10 57 7 3 23 22 572

A 14 5 23 13 20 7 22 2 19 11 70 60 21 13 29 4 13 4 4 56 10 12 23 15 3 35 17 525

B 5 1 13 14 7 3 6 3 7 7 60 35 4 8 9 1 13 2 1 44 7 6 6 17 40 2 5 4 330

35% 32% 20%

No. of Grades C D E 3 1 3 1 2 1 2 4 1 17 1 6 2 1 1 1 13 6 2 2 1 23 5 1 1 11 4 9 2 18 13 5 14 4 1 10 1 1 1 1 143 42 11 9%

No. of candidates A B C D E U % A*-E 48 25 5

7

3

6

2

96%

3%

1%

F 1 1

G 0

U 0

0%

0%

0%

68%

% A*/A % A*-B % A*-C 74% 90% 84% 53% 92% 95% 100% 86% 25% 76% 61% 55% 79% 91% 69% 84% 83% 39% 71% 50% 58% 72% 51% 93% 44% 100% 43% 0% 0% 87%

90% 100% 99% 89% 100% 100% 100% 100% 63% 95% 84% 90% 99% 100% 84% 97% 92% 63% 100% 60% 83% 97% 65% 100% 78% 100% 73% 10% 29% 96%

100% 100% 100% 97% 100% 100% 100% 100% 88% 100% 97% 100% 100% 100% 96% 99% 100% 86% 100% 80% 97% 100% 91% 100% 96% 100% 87% 76% 88% 98%

68%

88%

97%

of all grades achieved were A* or A

88% of all grades achieved were A* to B

35% of all grades achieved were A*

24%

Equivalency Table UK Grading

A*/A

USA Grading

A+/A A-/B+

B

C B/B-

D

E

C+/C C-/D+

F/G F

of students achieved A* or A in all their (I)GCSE subjects

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REFLECTIONS

TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL

Examination Results A Levels A Level Results Table

A Level Summary for 2017

Year

No. of Candidates

Average UCAS Point Score

2015

105

430

2016

122

425

2017

117

163.7

% of A*/A grades achieved by Tanglin students 2015 2016 2017 2017

TTS Average 47% TTS Average 42% TTS Average 50% UK Average 26%

% of A*-B grades achieved by Tanglin students TTS Average 73% 2015 TTS Average 70% 2016 TTS Average 78% 2017 UK Average 55% 2017 % of A*-C grades achieved by Tanglin students TTS Average 91% 2015 TTS Average 92% 2016 TTS Average 92% 2017 UK Average 79% 2017

2017 A Level Examination Results No. of Entries

Subject

No. of Grades A*

A

B

C

D

E

U

% A*-E % A*-C % A*/A

Art & Design

9

4

2

2

1

-

-

-

100%

100%

67%

Biology

29

16

6

2

3

1

1

-

100%

93%

76%

Business Studies

22

1

3

7

8

2

1

-

100%

86%

18%

Chemistry

25

4

9

8

2

2

-

-

100%

92%

52%

Chinese

2

-

-

-

1

1

-

-

100%

50%

0%

Classical Civilisation

4

-

2

1

1

-

-

-

100%

100%

50%

Computing

12

2

7

2

1

-

-

-

100%

100%

75%

Drama & Theatre

4

-

1

2

1

-

-

-

100%

100%

25%

Economics A

10

7

3

-

-

-

-

-

100%

100%

100%

Economics B

14

2

1

5

3

2

1

-

100%

79%

21%

English Language

13

1

1

8

3

-

-

-

100%

100%

15%

English Literature

15

1

4

4

4

2

-

-

100%

87%

33%

Film Studies

23

11

2

9

1

-

-

-

100%

100%

57%

French

7

1

1

1

2

1

1

-

100%

71%

29%

Further Mathematics

12

7

-

3

1

1

-

-

100%

92%

58%

Geography

25

3

9

7

3

2

1

-

100%

88%

48%

Latin

4

1

1

-

2

-

-

-

100%

100%

50%

Government & Politics

16

7

4

3

1

-

1

-

100%

94%

69%

History

13

4

4

1

4

-

-

-

100%

100%

62%

ICT

5

-

-

2

3

-

-

-

100%

100%

0%

Mathematics

59

15

22

7

6

8

-

1

98%

85%

63%

Philosophy

5

1

1

1

2

-

-

-

100%

100%

40%

Physical Education

10

4

-

5

1

-

-

-

100%

100%

40%

Physics

21

5

5

6

3

1

1

-

100%

90%

48%

Psychology

15

-

2

9

3

1

-

-

100%

93%

13%

Spanish

4

-

2

2

-

-

-

-

100%

100%

50%

378

97

92

97

60

24

7

1

6%

2%

0%

100%

92%

50%

5

-

-

100%

96%

64%

4%

0%

0%

100%

TOTAL TOTAL %

26% 24% 26% 16%

Extended Project Qualification TOTAL

114

TOTAL %

34

39

24

12

30% 34% 21% 11%

Equivalency Table UK Grading

A*/A

B

USA Grading

A+/A A-/B+

C B/B-

TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL REFLECTIONS

D

E

C+/C C-/D+

U

100% pass rate of A Level students

50% of grades were at A* or A, while 92% were in the A* to C range

163.7 average UCAS points tariff per A Level student

30% of students taking the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) achieved an A*; we are increasingly finding that the EPQ is being valued by universities

64% of students taking the EPQ achieved an A*/A

F

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Examination Results IB Diploma IB Results Table Year

No. of Candidates

Tanglin % Passed Diploma

2015

53

98

2016

41

100

2017

43

100

Tanglin Students Average Diploma Score (out of 45) TTS Average 37.0

2015

TTS Average 38.1

2016

TTS Average 38.8

2017

World Average 30.0

2017

100% pass rate for all our students who completed a regulation IB Diploma

2017 IB Examination Results No. of Grades

No. of Candidates

Subject

IB Diploma Summary for 2017

English A1 Lang & Lit HL

22

7 13

English A1 Lang & Lit SL English A1 Lit HL English A1 Lit SL French B HL French B SL German B HL German B SL Mandarin B SL Mandarin ab initio SL Spanish B HL Spanish B SL Spanish ab initio SL Language A1 SSS* Economics HL Economics SL Env. and Soc. SL Geography HL Geography SL History - Europe/Me HL Philosophy HL Psychology HL Business & Man. HL Biology HL Biology SL Chemistry HL Chemistry SL Physics HL Physics SL Maths HL Maths SL Maths Studies SL Film HL Film SL Music HL Music SL Theatre HL Theatre SL Visual Arts A HL Visual Arts A SL TOTAL

9 10 2 1 5 2 3 3 2 5 5 15 2 13 6 7 6 2 9 5 10 3 9 10 5 2 3 9 5 23 15 11 3 2 1 4 2 5 3 259

3 3 1 1 1 1 2 3 4 1 10 5 3 4 2 3 5 1 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 11 3 2 4 2 98

6 8

5 1

4 -

3 -

6 5 2 1 3 1 1 2 1 3 1 8 3 2 2 3 5 5 2 6 5 2 2 1 4 2 5 8 2 2 2 1 1 107

2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 3 2 3 1 1 6 1 30

1 1 1 1 1 2 7

2 2

236.2 average UCAS points tariff per IB student

23% of students scored 42 points or more

Almost three quarters scored 38 points or more

2 students achieved the prestigious bilingual diploma (Danish/Mandarin)

Equivalency Table IB Grading

7

USA Grading

A+

6

5

4

3

2

A/A- B+/B/B- C+/C C-/D+ D/D-

1 F

*Supported Self Study

34

REFLECTIONS

TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL

Graduate Destinations Australia Monash University Queensland University of Technology University of Melbourne University of New South Wales

The following gives an overview of the many universities Tanglin graduates have attended or received offers from in the last two years.

Lancaster University Leeds Beckett University Liverpool John Moores University London College of Fashion (University of the Arts, London) Canada London School of Beauty & Concordia University Make-up McGill University London School of Economics University of British Columbia Loughborough University University of Toronto Manchester Metropolitan University of Waterloo University Norwich School of Art The Netherlands Nottingham Trent University Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) Oxford Brookes University Erasmus University College, The Plumpton College Netherlands Queen Mary University University College Maastricht Robert Gordon University University of Amsterdam Royal Holloway, University of University of Groningen London University of Leiden Royal Veterinary College VU Amsterdam (Vrije Universiteit Southampton Solent University Amsterdam) St Mary’s University, Twickenham Singapore Staffordshire University Curtin University, Singapore Strathclyde University La Salle College of the Arts, Singapore University Arts London Yale-NUS College University College London University of Bath United Kingdom University of Birmingham Arts University Bournemouth University of Brighton Ayrshire College, Scotland University of Bristol Bangor University University of Cambridge Bath Spa University University of Cardiff BIMM (British and Irish Modern Music University of Chester Institute) University of East Anglia Bournemouth University University of Edinburgh Brighton University University of Essex Bristol, University of the West of England University of Exeter Brunel University University of Glasgow City and Guilds of London Art School University of Greenwich City University University of Kent Coventry University University of Leeds Durham University University of Leicester East London University University of Manchester Falmouth University University of Newcastle Goldsmiths, University of London University of Nottingham Heriot-Watt University University of Oxford Imperial College, London University of Sheffield Keele University University of Southampton King’s College London University of St Andrews

TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL REFLECTIONS

University of Staffordshire University of Sterling University of Suffolk University of Surrey University of Sussex University of Warwick York St John University United States of America Berklee School of Music Boston University Brown University Colby College Colgate University Colorado State University Columbia University Connecticut College Cornell University Florida Institute of Technology John Hopkins University Lafayette University New York University Northeastern University Pomona College Skidmore College Stanford University Tufts University University of California, Berkeley University of California, Los Angeles University of California, San Diego University of Chicago University of Wisconsin, Madison

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Financial Overview

Tanglin Trust School Ltd is a company limited by guarantee and is registered as a charity under the Charities Act. The school is governed by a Board of Governors that serves without remuneration. All key financial decisions including establishment of annual budget and schedule of fees are reviewed and approved by the Board of Governors. The Board of Governors also ensures that an annual financial audit is conducted.

The audited financial results for 2016-17 school year fell slightly short of the budget approved by the board as a result of lower student enrolment amidst ongoing cost containment efforts. Student enrolment was below approved budget following economy uncertainties across the world alongside competition from new and existing schools. Strategies to address these challenges were implemented and student enrolment managed to return to a healthy state in 2017-18.

Concurrently, with continuous efforts at managing costs, operating expenses in 2016-17 compared favorably to budget.

Large capital projects including the Nixon Building, power substation to support the new facilities and a full size playing field were completed in 2016-17. In addition, capital expenditure totaling $2m were spent on the covered concrete ramp alongside Junior linkway, installation of automatic lightning detection and warning system, audio visual system for Berrick performance hall and renovation of vacated spaces among others. These expenditures were spent to provide quality facilities to support education provision and to maintain the campus as it continues to age.

Overall, the total surplus of $6.3m in 2016-17 was added to the school’s reserve that is primarily designated for new buildings as well as developing and maintaining the campus.

It is notable that Tanglin fees in 2017-18 are comparable to similar schools in Singapore:

Infant Nursery Reception Year 1-2 Junior Year 3-6 Senior Year 7-9 Year 10-11 Year 12-13

School fees ($’000) TTS, 26.2 Comparable School Average, 29.4 TTS, 32.1 Comparable School Average, 31.8 TTS, 32.6 Comparable School Average, 35.0 TTS, 34.3 Comparable School Average, 35.0 TTS, 39.6 Comparable School Average, 39.7 TTS, 41.4 Comparable School Average, 40.7 TTS, 43.5 Comparable School Average, 41.3

Notes: School fees include tuition fees and building fund and are inclusive of GST. Fees of 4 comparable schools in Singapore are used for the above analysis.

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TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL

2016-17 Revenue and Expenses Total school fees and related revenue comprised 96% of total revenue, with other miscellaneous revenue making up the remaining 4%.

Building Fund, 11%

Revenue composition for 2016-17 remained fairly consistent with 2015-16.

In its continuous efforts to provide outstanding education services, Tanglin continues to invest majority of fee income in attracting and retaining talents. Tanglin employs close to 600 staff members, out of which faculty staff make up 260. Salaries and benefits was the single largest category of expenses at 77% of total costs.

Capital Levy, 1% Enrolment Fees, 2% Placement Rights, 1% Others, 4%

FY16/17 Revenue S$97,064,593

Tuition Fees, 81%

Depreciation was the next largest category at 10% of total costs, rising by 3% from 2015-16 due to completion of the Nixon Building in 2016.

Teaching Resources, Campus Operations and Technology and Administration costs made up the remaining 13% which is fairly consistent with 2015-16.

Technology & Admin, 4% Campus Operations, 4% Teaching Resources, 5% Depreciation, 10%

FY16/17 Expenses S$90,749,901

Salaries & Benefits, 77%

TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL REFLECTIONS

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Financial Overview The Relationship between School Income, Operating Budget and Reserve 2016/2017 Total

Annual Operating Budget (1)

Building Fund (BF) (2)

Placement Rights (3)

S$ m

S$ m

S$ m

S$ m

Tuition Fees

84

84

Building Fund

12

Income (School fees)

Placement Rights

Less Operating Costs

1 84

(91)

(91)

(7)

Transfer from building fund (Approx. 50% of BF, to cover the cost of depreciation for capital items and bank interest)

38

1

97

Deficit

Statutory Accounts Reserve for the year (4)

12

7

(7)

(Equal to Deficit)

6

-

5

1

REFLECTIONS

TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL

1. ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET

2. BUILDING FUND

The Annual Operating Budget (AOB) from Tuition Fees is planned to make no surplus. It reflects, at the time of planning, the estimated cost of running the school for the coming year.

The Building Fund has two purposes:

Historically, the budget has been managed very successfully and an annual surplus has accrued in 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 where student enrolment numbers were higher than expected or budgeted as well as successful cost containment efforts.

A transfer, equal to the amount of depreciation of capital items and bank interest incurred to fund building projects, is made to the AOB each year, bringing it to a balanced budget with no / minimal surplus.

• •

to fund the cash flow required to pay for new buildings or upgrades, as well as lease renewals to pay for the annual costs of maintaining the land and buildings for the school.

The rationale for the Building Fund fees is to ensure that parents pay a smooth annual fee, irrespective of the stage of the building or lease cycle the school is in, and that the Building Fund over a cycle is in neither surplus or deficit.

3. PLACEMENT RIGHTS

4. RESERVES

Tanglin Trust School’s programme of Placement Rights is designed to offer accelerated access to a small percentage of places in exchange for a significant contribution to the school.

The annual contribution to the Reserve held by the school in a given year constitutes:

Two forms of Placement Rights are available, Guaranteed Placement Rights which offer a guaranteed place at school priced as S$165,000 exclusive of GST (S$176,550 inclusive of GST) and Standard Placement Rights which places a nominee in a higher priority on the relevant waitlist, these are priced at S$85,000 exclusive of GST (S$90,950 inclusive of GST. In both instances a child needs to meet the school’s entry criteria.

The Placement Right scheme is of particular benefit to individuals or companies seeking to relocate to Singapore at short notice by enabling access to Tanglin Trust School.

From the school’s perspective, Placement Right income represents a significant income stream which forms part of the school’s reserves and will be used to secure the school’s future both by contributing to the cost of the lease renewal and the associated building projects.

• • •

surplus/deficit on the Operating / Management Accounts in that year accumulation of Placement Rights revenue in that year surplus/deficit on the Building Fund in that year.

The Statutory Surplus each year is materially made up of Placement Rights and Building Fund, neither of which are considered operational in nature and are hence carried into the Reserve.

The reserves are currently accumulating and in 2016/17 stood at S$109m. The accumulation of reserves takes into consideration a contingency of 6 months operating expenses as well as the significant cost of redeveloping our Portsdown Road site, which is a requirement of the extension to our land lease. The new lease term takes the school up to 2038 on the current site. The Reserve will form only part of future major capital development requirements, alongside a loan agreement.

We are fortunate that a small amount of Placement Right income is diverted annually to support the TTS Foundation. This is used to support enrichment projects within the school.

TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL REFLECTIONS

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Parent Teacher Association (PTA) The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) continues to uphold the tradition of volunteerism at Tanglin Trust School, providing a valuable link between parents and the school and establishing good relationships with open lines of communication across our multicultural and diverse community.

Each year we run events such as our Quiz Nights, Christmas Fair, Summer Fair and Children’s Discos. This year saw some exciting new initiatives, such as the International Christmas Tree decorating and our charity fashion show for Caring for Cambodia.

In some cases our events also offer the opportunity to raise funds. Monies raised are used to maintain an operating budget and ultimately to fast-track projects selected by the PTA from a catalogue of initiatives from the schools operating plan across all three schools. These projects are typically a number of years down the line, but the PTA’s funding ensures that our children benefit immediately from this investment each year.

Integral to our ethos is the concept of giving back to the community (globally and locally) and to the school. Our sustainability initiatives have seen our events become almost free of plastic and our goal is to continue to push ourselves to lead on minimising our environmental impact and showcasing this at our Christmas and Summer Fairs.

On a local level we continue to support local charitable initiatives raising funds at our Quiz Nights and supporting our children, allowing both Enterprise and JASS philanthropic opportunities at our large community events.

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TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL

Giving back to the school is often most visible in the capital projects we support, and we raised $106,450 in 2017. Some of the projects supported last year include:

welcome events each term, and in 2017 our Sausage Sizzle at the start of the academic year attracted over 600 parents and children!

• The Design & Technology Suite in the Senior School • The Infant Climbing Wall • The Outdoor Kitchen and Music Shed in the Infant School • The EPQ whiteboard and furniture • Microscopes in the Science labs • The Visiting Authors programme

We continue to adapt our events to meet the needs of the community, scheduling evening time meetings and diarising events a term in advance, mindful of the increasing number of families where both parents are working during school hours. We are looking at developing online payment systems for our events and a website for costume hire.

We run a Parent Year Group forum to exchange ideas between parents, teachers and the school leadership teams. Through these forums we ensure that all queries and comments from parents are given due consideration and responses are then shared with the community through the TTS Portal.

We provide a strong support structure for parents and families who are new to the school and even to Singapore, an essential role in a modern international expatriate community. To that end we run informative

TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL REFLECTIONS

I have during my two years as PTA President had the opportunity to work with, meet and share ideas with the most incredible parents, teachers and business partners. I hope that the PTA and its volunteerism continues to thrive and provide the Tanglin family with the rich resource that it has been and I believe will continue to be.

Kate Saynor PTA President

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Tanglin Trust School Limited 95 Portsdown Road Singapore 139299 t: +65 6778 0771 f: +65 6777 5862 w: www.tts.edu.sg CPE Registration No.: 196100114C CPE Registration Period: 7 June 2017 to 6 June 2023 42

REFLECTIONS

TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL