Reflections 2020

Reflections

2020

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Contents

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CEO’s Foreword Remote Learning TTS Foundation Summer Programme Inspirational Speakers and Events Infant School Junior School Senior School Exam Results University Destinations The Arts Sport Outdoor Education Governance Management

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Chief Executive Officer Craig Considine The previous academic year will be remembered for many things, but chiefly of course the Coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19 is reminiscent of the SARS and Influenza A (H1N1) viruses, but its capacity to inflict harm has been significantly greater. The sadness and upset that has beset the world cannot be compared to any other moment in peace time.

The gloom of 2020 has also been compounded (and confounded) by man-made and natural disasters. These included wildfires in Australia and North America; floods in India, China and across Asia; earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, cyclones, and locust swarms; the explosions in Lebanon, and of course the Black Lives Matter movement, sparked in the USA by the death of George Floyd on May 25. Through all of this has been a beacon of hope: education.

Term 1 of 2019/20 was a different stanza altogether, packed with committed learning, creativity and collaboration. A number of highlights are mentioned within this report. Children and young people continued to engage positively in the classroom, on the sports field and on stage. Who could have imagined or foreseen how the year would grind to such a resounding halt?

The school moved to remote learning on March 19 due to uncertainty created in the Tanglin community by several factors.

The movement of people travelling across borders and poorly co-ordinated controls made it impossible to ensure the safety of staff and students, and their families. We also feared a Government-imposed closure, should a case of COVID-19 be diagnosed among us. It is worth noting that after moving to remote learning, there were subsequent positive tests in the broader Tanglin community.

It was reassuring that the Chair of Governors (virtually) attended nearly all of the COVID-19 Crisis Committee meetings held.

This ensured all Governors were kept informed of the processes that were being implemented within the school. I would like to say a particular thank you to Mr Nixon for his energy and wisdom throughout the escalation of the pandemic.

The rapid removal of school-based learning created pressures for parents and children, for which we were sorry. Thank you, parents, for your understanding, and your acceptance of the limited notice you were given regarding the closure.

COVID-19 has created challenges for all businesses. A one-off rebate equivalent to 10% of Term 3 fees (for Infant School children), or 5% (for students attending the Junior and Senior schools) was credited to parents’ accounts as recognition of the hardship parents were facing. The school felt it important to target those that required additional assistance, and so the Tanglin COVID-19 Support Fund was instituted. This fund was publicised to all families and key criteria were established. By the end of the 2019/20 academic year, $220,000 had been disbursed to support families in need. The uncertainty surrounding examinations also led to the school accepting the burden of examination entry fees for IB Diploma, A Level and (I)GCSE students.

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Teachers’ salaries remained stable through the year, and there were savings associated with utility costs and other consumables, as well as additional income from the Government to support local workers. A number of our Malaysian staff were unable to travel into Singapore but were supported through their non-work period.

There have also been additional costs associated with the Gate C construction project, and additional expenses around supply teachers, cleaning and sanitation supplies. The pandemic impacted several school suppliers. KAL – our bus transport supplier for the last 20 years – was negatively impacted by the move to remote learning and Tanglin made a co-contribution to the bus fee refund to parents.

A key strategic decision in the latter part of Term 3 was the continuation of the Gate C project in its current form. The building meets the expectations of the Singapore Government, who required an increase in the plot ratio of the site as part of the 2015 lease negotiation. This needs to be completed by 2023. Governors did, however, undertake a review considering a range of possible variations. After due consideration these were dismissed, as they still left the plot ratio requirement unfulfilled and did not lead to significant cost savings. The scarcity of construction workers and supply chain materials has delayed the TOP date of the building and the current completion date is most likely January 2022. The opportunities the building will afford our students once completed will be immense.

Examinations are designed to assess various skills and forms of knowledge at terminal points in a young person’s education.

Alas, examinations for IB Diploma, A Levels and (I)GCSE subjects were cancelled for 2020, and Centre Assessed Grades (CAGs) became the currency for progression to university, work and other future possibilities. This has been a significant disappointment to our students, who were readying themselves for the cut and thrust of testing their intellectual mettle in the

fire of public examination. Universities have found selection challenging and this will also have ramifications for 2021.

I have only seen two Year 13 graduation ceremonies during my time at Tanglin – they were both superb. This year’s Graduation Ceremony took place virtually, and carried a powerful message centred on parent and family aspirations. The inclusion of parent messages in the online event would not have happened had a “normal” graduation taken place. This was emotional and heart-warming – something for the annals of time – and no doubt something to work into future occasions. Let’s see what Mr Goodliffe and his team come up with in 2021.

Our cultural boundaries were challenged in 2020 as the world reeled in the face of the Black Lives Matter movement. Tanglin is an anti-racist school and responded to an open letter from Alumni challenging our position on this, and questioning elements of diversity and inclusion in the school. Our response identified our position but indicated we will need to consider the different facets of these issues in more detail as 2020/21 progresses.

The challenge of teaching as a profession is enduring. As time passes, the students face change, assessment systems are modified, and there are differing societal and cultural expectations.

However, this year has been one unlike any other, and I must thank the optimistic, effervescent, and positive colleagues I have the pleasure to work with. It is the people who make each and every day count who make a great school. The Tanglin community is fortunate to have such a professional and caring group of teachers and support staff.

Several colleagues have provided summaries of key areas of school life in this report. They paint a picture of an almost normal year at Tanglin Trust School. The learning, the physical development, and the social and emotional growth of our young people continued in many ways. You will also find a synopsis of the very

positive academic results achieved by students and an outline of their future university destinations, starting on page 20.

In conclusion, this year has been one of the most challenging that schools across Singapore and the world at large have ever had. We have missed the day-to-day interactions with the students and young people whose lives we share. The richness of a true education is only ever realised within a community, where we can explore and reflect on our abilities and shortcomings. Doing, thinking, and reflecting make us who we are. We look forward to more of it in 2020/21.

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Remote Learning

by John Ridley, Director of Learning “On moving to remote learning in March, Tanglin Trust School worked hard to ensure students were motivated and engaged in learning, and that they and their families felt well supported by its staff. A parent survey on remote learning was overwhelmingly positive, with 79% of Tanglin parents agreeing the structure was right for their child and more than three-quarters ranking teachers’ instructions as good or excellent.

The structure of remote learning was tailored to the age and stage of each child, and therefore varied between the Infant, Junior and Senior schools.

To help families with children in the Infant and Junior Schools plan their days, a suggested daily timetable with recommended activities was sent out to parents the previous afternoon. Students used the school’s online platform to submit work and see feedback from their teachers. Virtual circle time and lessons in small groups helped students feel connected to their teachers and their classmates, and ease feelings of isolation.

Senior School students, meanwhile, registered with their teachers each morning and had a daily timetable of either five or six lessons to follow. Students were given the work in advance, with teachers on hand during the lesson to support and stretch where necessary.

The pastoral system remains a strong feature of Tanglin education, and the school continued to ensure each child was fully supported during this challenging period and beyond by contacting families who may have been particularly affected.”

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PARENT SURVEY RESULTS IN NUMBERS

85%

846

responses

of Senior School students engaged for 4 hours per day or more

75%

69%

of Infant School students engaged for 2 hours per day or more

of Junior School students engaged for 4 hours per day or more

“I just wanted to write to say ‘thank you’ to the Infant School staff. During this time of uncertainty, Tanglin has been a bedrock of support and help. I get the sense that all the staff are working so incredibly hard as they are so quick in their communication, which hits just the right tone of helpful detailed instruction without being overwhelming or alarming. The morning and afternoon videos are especially helpful to me and my three-year-old as they are a source of enjoyment for [my daughter] and also have practical ideas that keep us both occupied during the day. I just wanted you to know that the experience that we have had of [remote] learning couldn’t have been better, and we really appreciate all the efforts and hard work of Tanglin Infant School.”– Infant School Parent

“I have a son in the Senior School, a daughter in the Junior School and a daughter in the Infant School, so I am well positioned to observe the various approaches.

First, each of the schools seemed extremely well prepared to move to remote learning, evidenced by the packs of information that came home with the children [before the Easter break]. Second, I have been hugely impressed with the amount and quality of educational resources available online that Tanglin has directed students to, as well as the children’s ability to easily communicate with their teachers. Third, I have been surprised by my children’s determination to stick to a timetable every day, which I imagine has been impressed on them by the school. Well done.”

–Tanglin Parent

“I wanted to write in to compliment you and the team – and especially [my son’s form tutor] for doing such an amazing job with home-based learning. It’s brought normalcy to our children’s lives in these uncertain and trying times, and has helped to keep the children focussed and their learning curve active. The Zoom calls have really helped to give them direction and have added a personal touch. The comments and voice messages on the assignments submitted are detailed and helpful, and we are really thankful to all of you for your hard work and dedication.

I do hope that we continue with this level of remote-based learning until the children are able to resume school.

Thank you so much. We are truly appreciative of your dedication and focus.”– Junior School Parent

“Our family are really benefitting from the online learning in Years 7, 8 and 10.

We are finding it wonderful to have some structure to the day, and the introduction of registration and the expectation to attend lessons at the right time means that my children are continuing with their work as best as they can in the circumstances.

The Microsoft Teams meetings are allowing them to feel like they are back in the classroom to some degree, and it is also encouraging them to stay in touch with their friends and the others in their class.

The Senior School’s balance of expectation for work to be done, combined with understanding that this is not always possible, has been just right. [Our family’s] experience has very much been a positive one and we are grateful for the dedication of all the teachers and support staff who are trying to make this work.”

– Senior School Parent

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TTS Foundation Summer Programme

by Cecilia Handel, Director of Development “The 2019/20 academic year was an unprecedented time that required all facets of the school to pivot their thinking and come up with creative solutions to complex problems – and the work of the TTS Foundation can be included in this.

Due to the closure of the Tanglin campus and other restrictions related to COVID-19, several projects that the TTS Foundation supports were unable to take place, and thus surplus funds could be allocated to the school in the latter half of the year.

At the same time, many parents were experiencing, and continue to experience, financial pressures due to the pandemic, as well as the stress of balancing work and family life under the same roof.

Equally – and despite the success of remote learning – children of all ages yearned to be face-to-face with their peers and teachers for a sustained period of time.

The values of the TTS Foundation, and Tanglin as a whole, have always involved supporting the community, and so the idea was conceived of a programme that would alleviate some of these stressors and allow children from across the school the opportunity to learn and have fun on the Tanglin campus.

The TTS Foundation Sumer Programme hosted across the Infant, Junior and Senior schools, ensuring families were supported for the month of July.

The TTS Foundation is funded philanthropically and I would like to thank our donors for their ongoing generosity which made this opportunity so widely available. I encourage all Tanglin families to show their appreciation and support by making an annual donation in doing so we can continue to enable exceptional educational opportunities.”

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Donate at tts.edu.sg/giving

INFANT SCHOOL

557 students

61 teachers and TLAs

JUNIOR SCHOOL

581 students

SENIOR SCHOOL

681 students

69 teachers and TLAs 365 hours of teaching for

61 teachers and TLAs 99% of students said

they enjoyed their first week of the programme

A Level and IB students

TTS FOUNDATION SUMMER PROGRAMME Monday, 13th July – Thursday, 30th July 2020 The Infant School transformed into a magical environment during the first two weeks of their programme with a “Marvellous Magic” theme. Highlights in Key Stage 1 included a visit from Magic Evan via Zoom, and lots of science activities such as potion making and invisible writing. Reception children were in awe during their magical milk investigation, while Nursery children loved making their witches’ hats!

Meanwhile, in the Junior School, students worked collaboratively on cross-curricular group projects on two themes: “Change Makers” in Week 1 and “Record Breakers” in Week 2. Public figures such as environmental activist Greta Thunberg inspired the children to design sustainable, seafaring crafts, and to invent their own socially-distanced games, while aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart was the inspiration for both artwork and potentially record-breaking PE challenges!

In the Senior School, the Design and Technology department had set Year 8 a challenge for the first fortnight: to assist in the design and manufacture of at least one face shield per child for the new Nursery cohort. The designs were themed to the different animals of the eight Nursery

class bases, and the Year 8s were involved in every stage of the process: cutting and laminating the designs, using a laser-cut template to form the shield, and attaching repurposed foam head strips and elastic. The challenge was an astonishing success, as 320 face shields were produced by the students, equating to two shields per Nursery student.

In the final week of the programme, a new theme for the Infant School, “Incredible Inventors”, saw Nursery and Reception children making their own The Cat in the Hat-inspired headgear and inventing a product that would help at home. Year 1 children designed and created their own marble runs and pasta towers, while Year 2 were busy devising their own “Curious COVID-19 Contraption” and building them using LEGO Robotics tools.

The Junior School was also a hive of industry, with “Innovators” week challenging the children to create their own restaurant – complete with its own logo, menu and layout – as well as Andy Warhol-inspired art.

In the Senior School, bespoke activities were planned for each year group and included investigations into keyhole surgery, a test of wits against the clock in an escape room, and an oil slick research project in which students learnt how best to contain and clear up a spill through hands-on experiments. The varied curriculum included enterprise and philosophy lessons, and saw students getting

creative in our drama studios and world-class film facilities.

All in all, the three-week Summer Programme was a wonderful success; after the disruption caused to the school year to COVID-19, it was fantastic to see the students engaged in learning and collaborating with their peers.

Below are just some of their, and their parents’, thoughts about the experience.

“We were disappointed not to be able to travel overseas this year, but were very glad to be able to send all three children to the [Summer Programme] during the first three weeks of the holiday. We thought it was exceptionally well run, not least because each of our children clearly enjoyed and looked forward to attending every day. We were pleased that the Senior [programme] was more academic, especially as all the children had recently missed a significant amount of physical school.” – Tanglin Parent

“My favourite part of Marvellous Magic week was when we saw all of our friends in class doing magic tricks.

I also liked making potions.

I put cotton, string, glitter and baking soda and it exploded!”

– Eira, Year 2

“I made a witches hat that had stars and words on it.

It has ‘pop’, ‘bang’ and fizz on it!” – Ethan, Reception

“[My son] brought home some fantastic ‘graffiti’ artwork yesterday that he was really proud of, and I was so impressed by it” – Junior School Parent “The Summer Programme was a great alternative to a travel-free summer!” – Saanvi, Year 10

“My favourite part was building with clay and pasta. We were trying to make the tallest building that could survive an earthquake. Mine was the tallest, but then I tried to make it even taller and it collapsed!”

– Magnus, Year 4

“I made a cool poem and an extreme backing track” – Kai, Year 3 “I definitely found the origami hard but instead of giving up, I brought some home with me and I am going to practice at home with my mum. I am going to teach her the mini fox I made today” – Sophia, Year 6

Inspirational Speakers and Visitors While the school’s events calendar was significantly impacted in the latter half of the year due to the Coronavirus pandemic, students still benefitted from a rich programme of educational opportunities and experiences. The following pages highlight just some of the high-profile speakers who worked with members of the school community, as well as major events hosted and organised by Tanglin – many of them supported by the TTS Foundation.

LEGO Robotics Challenge Supported by the TTS Foundation This Saturday event in the Moot saw 60 Year 2 and 3 students working together to build and programme a robot that could move 10 LEGO blocks a distance of three metres. At the end of the event, teams were rewarded for their efforts and achievements with awards such as “Best Team”, “Best Robot” and “Most Creative Design”. The event also offered the children the chance to experiment with LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 robots – technology that is usually used by Senior School students – as well as Dash and Bee-Bot mazes. Students who excelled at the challenge were offered places on Tanglin’s LEGO League Robotics Team.

Hack to the Future Hackathon Supported by the TTS Foundation Led by Year 13 and Year 12 students, this exciting event required Junior and Senior school students to work collaboratively in addressing two themes of the UN Sustainability goals – Life on the Land and Life below Water – through the creation of an IT product.

The students were assisted in their projects by Henry Simpson, Engineering Lead at metal and mining corporation Rio Tinto.

There were also speeches by Mr Dinesh Sharma, Head of APAC FX and CPM Technology at Bank of America Merrill Lynch – who led a student workshop on cryptography – and Ms Aishwarya Prasad, Manager of Studio Technology at Lucasfilm. All students left with a product to be proud of and a desire to fix “big” problems.

US Embassy Visit Tanglin works closely with the US and Canadian embassies in Singapore to offer students workshops and fairs when universities are visiting the region. In Term 1, we hosted our annual talk for parents and students, Applying to the US, and were delighted this year to welcome in staff from the US Embassy to join in discussions on applying for a visa and work opportunities in the US, post studies.

Speakers included Michelle Segal, Vice Consul of the US Embassy in Singapore, and Zehra Ratani, Director of EducationUSA.

Charles Tighe Supported by the TTS Foundation Charles Tighe is an Orff-Schulwerk practitioner from the US with a wealth of experience and expertise. Orff Schulwerk, or simply the Orff Approach, is a developmental approach used in music education that combines music, movement, drama and speech in an experience that mimics the way children play. In October, Mr Tighe led a bespoke programme in the Infant and Junior schools, guiding workshops for Year 2, 3 and 4 that incorporated music, poetry, movement and the visual arts. The children involved had a fantastic experience, actively participating in developing their own musicality across the curriculum and gaining the insight that music not a standalone subject.

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Andy Mulligan Best known for his young adult fiction, British writer Andy is a prolific author whose perennially popular 2010 novel Trash was shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal. He has also won The Guardian Children’s Fiction prize. Following on from the publishing of his first adult novel, Train Man, last July, Andy visited Year 6, 7, 8 and 9 students in November 2019 to talk about his work and sign books for his fans. He also took part in a lively lunchtime Q&A session with Junior School Library student reps.

Mark Grist This British performance poet and former secondary school teacher is the winner of two Lovie awards that celebrate online excellence, and regularly competes in international rap battles. The wordsmith brought his flair for rhythm and rhyme to Tanglin Junior School this year, presenting some of his back catalogue to Year 5 and 6 students, and helping them to perfect their own performance poetry skills.

Mark Hill Mark is a physical theatre artist and educator who has worked with a range of drama students at Tanglin over a number of years and we were pleased to welcome him back once again to work with Senior School Drama students. Mark has worked with innovative international theatre companies such as Zen Zen Zo (Australia), SU-EN Butoh Company (Sweden), and Dairakudakan (Japan) and is a visiting educator at international schools around the world.

Chris Riddell

X-Periment! @ One-North Festival

Chris Riddell, OBE is an illustrator, an acclaimed political cartoonist for the Guardian and the Observer, and an occasional children’s book author. He was the UK Children’s Laureate between 2015-17 and has won three CILIP Kate Greenaway medals. In November, Chris visited the Junior School to lead a workshop of 16 Art Ambassadors, before signing books on the Mezzanine and later presenting some of his work to some 200 Year 4 students in the Berrick Hall.

Back in September 2019, Tanglin Senior School students shared their STEM projects and research at this annual festival organised by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and the Singapore Science Centre that gives the public an opportunity to test and try the latest innovations in AI across a multitude of fields.

TEDx Tanglin Trust School

This exhibition was started in 2011 by a small group of art teachers to help inspire students and the Australian High Commission offers the use of their gallery space each year for this purpose. Tanglin Trust School is at the heart of the huge exhibition and indeed was one of four schools that initiated the project. The Senior School’s Head of Art and Design Robert Le Grice now leads a team of 15 teachers from a variety of schools, as the showcase grows from strength to strength. Each school selects outstanding artwork from its older, usually (I)GCSE, IB Diploma and A Level, students that exemplifies their creative energy and skills. A selection of 10 Tanglin students’ artwork was selected this year to be displayed in this prestigious art show. We are well-known for the ambitious and diverse range of experimental techniques evident in our work.

This year, around 500 students, parents, teachers and guests attended the celebration evening.

In the spirit of “ideas worth spreading”, TEDx is a program of local, self-organised events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. In November, members of the Tanglin community gathered in the Berrick Hall for Tanglin’s third TEDx event; a fun and engaging evening that aimed to spread ideas, and encourage debate and discussion on pressing issues. We were privileged to hear from six of Singapore’s “thinkers and doers”, including financial analyst and pioneer in the energy industry Christine Amour Levar, and Yuxhuan Chua, Creative Manager of Singapore’s largest humour network, SGAG.

EPIC Arts Supported by the TTS Foundation The Junior Drama department welcomed back EPIC Arts from Cambodia this year; EPIC Arts is an inspirational organisation which promote diversity and accessibility to the arts for people with disabilities. All students in the Junior school participated in a workshop and performance during House Day, and a smaller group also participated in a weekend festival with the company. See the Arts section for more information on this exciting occasion.

Zoe Griffiths Supported by the TTS Foundation As she has done in previous years, Zoe visited Tanglin to give presentations to and lead workshops of Years 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 students during maths lessons. Featuring ideas, puzzles and concepts, these sessions aimed to build enthusiasm for mathematical thinking, and stretch students to think about maths in new ways. A “real world” approach helped demonstrate just how and why maths is relevant, and Zoe’s enthusiasm for the subject made a tangible impact.

Clive Leach

2019 Inspired: Singapore International Schools Art Exhibition

ParentWise Programme Tanglin’s ParentWise programme was established to enable our community to connect with the school, and provide a toolkit for Tanglin parents and carers to gain knowledge, increase confidence and seek assurance. Courses, information sessions and workshops cover four main themes: Educational and Curriculum Support, Parent and Student Wellbeing; Hot Button Topics and Inspirational Speakers. While the ParentWise calendar was impacted this year by the Coronavirus pandemic – and, more specifically, the necessary restrictions on visitors to campus – a varied programme took place in the early part of the academic year. Talks included All About Sleep: The Impact of Sleep on Mental, Emotional and Physical Performance, with Educational Psychologist Clare Lancaster.

Practical workshops included Helpful Helpers - Sharing Stories – a popular session offering strategies for helpers to use at home when sharing stories with children and supporting them with home readers – and an Early Years Foundation Stage Maths workshop, both led by Heads of Faculty in the Infant School.

Supported by the TTS Foundation Clive, an organisational coach who works widely across the education, government and corporate sectors, spoke to both students and parents on the first day of Term 1. He talked to Senior School students about their character strengths and “mental toughness”, introducing the idea that this is an attribute that can be learnt, developed and strengthened. This message was reflected in parent talks on developing resilience and resourcefulness in young people, and helping them to flourish. Both talks were part of a larger program that aims to provide all students with the skills and mindset to flourish both while at school and as Alumni.

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Infant School

by Paula Craigie

What a year it has been for the whole world – and likewise Tanglin Trust School. So, my Reflections focus for the Infant School this year will be on our approach to so many “firsts”.

I will also highlight how we have coped and continued to flourish despite all that has come our way during the 2019/20 journey.

I think one of our key strengths has always been to demonstrate the qualities we aim to instil in our youngest children; namely to learn new ways of doing things and being flexible in the way we do them.

Firsts for teachers and teaching and learning assistants (TLAs) have included devising and setting up Zoom-based learning, taking individual swab tests, and preparing for and teaching lessons to whole classes of children from their homes. On returning to school, there were further firsts: teaching to smaller

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classes of children sitting at tables placed one metre apart or, in the case of the Early Years Foundation Stage children, on carefully spaced-out chairs.

Of course, there were also many firsts for the children. Not seeing their friends for extended periods was a huge change, and the ways in which they learned altered significantly, too. Uploading their learning via Seesaw, seeing their teachers and TLAs publish videos and online stories, and taking part in interactive sessions instead of face-to-face lessons were learning experiences in themselves. On returning to school, wearing masks or face shields, and walking through thermal scanners, became the “new normal”, as did standing on blue dots to ensure social distancing.

We have learned to create whole-school assembly videos and to keep colleagues informed of changes and developments through Staff Briefing videos; we have also managed mass car pick-ups, utilising precise systems, an outstanding security team and, of course, a microphone to call children to the front of the line!

Despite the challenges of remote learning

and the staggered return to school, we have achieved other “firsts” this year which we are incredibly proud of. We were honoured to be featured in the Curiosity Approach book, From Ordinary to Extraordinary,

by Lyndsey Hellyn and Stephanie Bennett.

For the first time, we entered the International Schools Award and were shortlisted for the Initiative to Support Students as Future-Thinking Innovators.

Three colleagues attended the exciting and inspiring black-tie event in Covent Garden, London. They were able to share their Early Years approach to learning; an approach that encourages creative, independent, sustainable thinkers and learners.

We have continued to adapt and have maintained strong numbers on roll for August 2020. We are changing the way we do things because we have to. Nursery tasters have changed from conducting on-site visits to creating bespoke storybooks that capture a day in the Nursery at Tanglin. There are also welcome packs which those children will receive in the post. When a few children asked whether they would need to catch a bus to the Junior School, we realised the transition preparations needed a boost. So, the Head

of Year 3 prepared an “all-action” GoPro video to re-enact the journey from the Infant to the Junior School – with key landmarks such as the library, canteen and Eco Vista featuring along the way – accompanied by a catchy tune!

Since there was no travelling for any of our families or colleagues this summer, we were delighted to be able to offer placements in the popular TTS Foundation Summer Programme.

This was the perfect way to give back to the community as best we were able. The chosen themes of “Marvellous Magic” and “Innovative Inventors” seemed apt as our teachers and TLAs continued to bring learning to life – and keep our children active and learning – for an extra week during the summer break.

Underpinning this journey have been the Five Ways to Wellbeing – Connect, Take Notice, Keep Learning, Be Active and Give. This set of five actions applied as part of everyday routines and activities, can improve our wellbeing. Good mental and physical health help us all enjoy a healthier and happier life, and ensure we are resilient. So, even during the period of remote learning, our Key Stage 1 student leaders were connected. They maintained their positive relationships, whether they were a Song Leader, a Book Buddy or even a Games Captain, in ways that were both purposeful and meaningful. The Wellbeing Warriors found out about each other’s strengths, interests and personal passions. They shared stories and photographs to demonstrate how they were practicing being kind to themselves as well as to others, by dancing, painting, reading, playing chess or helping around the home with everyday jobs.

Above all, this year has shown that we can flourish despite the challenges we face if we work together and support each other. These are key skills that will help our children as they grow up and mature; concepts that Tanglin Trust School has always adopted and that underpin all we do – we are, after all, Team Tanglin!

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Junior School

By Clair Harrington-Wilcox

The 2019/20 academic year proved to be one of the most challenging I have experienced in my 20 years at Tanglin Trust School. However, through the many and oft-changing challenges of COVID-19, it can be said that the whole school community – staff, children and families – pulled together. While many of us lamented the loss of normal school life, there were many positive outcomes from the disruption.

During the Circuit Breaker period, our children demonstrated great resilience, developing a stronger growth mindset and an even keener sense of independence in their approach to their learning. Upon their return to school in Phase Two, staff were impressed by the technological skills the students had mastered with confidence, and the personal journeys they shared. Their sense of philanthropy in supporting others less fortunate, and appreciating the contributions of frontline workers, is something to be admired. This historic challenge also demonstrated quite clearly that Tanglin has a very special community that is able to face adversity head on, remains undeterred in their desire to work together, and continues to strive for excellence.

In 2019, we achieved outstanding in every aspect of our British Schools Overseas (BSO) inspection report, which read: “Since the last BSO inspection in 2016, the school has gone from strength to strength with standards higher than ever.” One of the most

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pleasing comments was: “The school’s vision to ‘make every individual feel valued, happy and successful’ is evident across all year groups. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are exemplary; they are confident, self-assured learners.”

However, in true Tanglin style, we are never complacent and always aim for every child to achieve their “personal best”. This was the theme of our Speak Up Competition, and the Year 6 Graduation that was live-streamed to families. Our young people demonstrated in their speeches that they are confident public speakers who are confident to express their own views and who I know will go on to achieve great things in their Secondary education.

While we continue to drive our school improvement strategic headlines, there have also been many successes to share.

Flourishing Individuals We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded the Gold level of the UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Award; we are the first school outside of the UK to have done so. The spirit of the award is reflected across our school – in our curriculum, our pastoral care, and the way in which all members of our school communicate and interact with each other. Our Rights Respecting Schools leader and the Library team have also curated an incredible collection of books relating to the different rights, and have developed a dedicated space in the mezzanine for children to access them.

This year, we also introduced wrap-around care to support working families, including a breakfast offering that was beneficial to those involved in early morning sports training and music performance preparation, and was extended to the rest of the community.

We look forward to resuming this in 2020/21 once we are able to. In addition, we were able to expand the 5pm bus service for Years 5 and 6 students in response to parental feedback.

Inspired Learners Quality learning spaces are at the heart of our development plans.

We began with the classroom redesign project inspired by a student visit to Google and our next phase will be to develop the collaborative unit areas; a goal we hope to achieve in 2020/21.

The refurbishment of the science laboratory this year resulted in a brighter, more accessible learning environment for all. In addition, the Future Learning Room was converted to the Virtual Reality Portal, with the intention of developing and using Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies to expand learning within the Junior School.

As the importance of technology increases exponetially across the globe, and therefore at Tanglin – whether to support remote learning needs, or learning within and beyond the classroom – so too must the children’s skills continue to develop. Experiences such as writing code on an iPad; piloting and controlling drone flight; learning the fundamentals of programming and sequences; and developing student authored e-books with embedded videos and photos; demonstrates their high skill level and expertise.

This year, the Junior School once again achieved the Historical Association Silver Award – we are the only school in South East Asia to have done so. We look forward to going for Gold next; we currently hold the Gold award for Geography.

Helping students to enhance their critical thinking skills and recognise the intersection of art, science, technology, engineering, and maths are the STEAM principles brought into Junior School science curriculum. Science Week had a STEAM theme, and Junior School science continues to hold the Gold award, demonstrating the consistent delivery of a quality curriculum.

We were delighted to have been able to set the English Speaking Board exams for Years 3-5 before COVID-19 affected in-school learning, and the results are absolutely outstanding. The examiners were impressed with how articulate and confident the children were in their presentations, and we look forward to incorporating the essential life skill of public speaking once more into our curriculum when visitors are permitted to visit the Tanglin campus.

The importance of learning a language is evident throughout our Chinese programme, and the introduction of a third-morning enrichment session to cater for the growing number of nearly-native Chinese students from the Infant School, and those continuing with Mother Tongue in the Senior School, demonstrated its success.

We are continuing to review our age 3-18 curriculum to ensure our academic pathways from school to school remain as strong as possible, and that learning opportunities are maximised.

provide a breadth of experience so that children can develop their own passions. The introduction of the viola to the Year 4 Strings Programme will further enhance Tanglin’s orchestras and ensembles. We are delighted to offer the Harp Ensemble to help cater for the growing number of students learning this beautiful instrument. Charles Tighe, an Orff-Schulwerk practitioner from the US, led outstanding workshops for students from across the Junior School, further developing this music pedagogy in the classroom.

Masterclasses were held for students in preparation for recitals, and solo concerts were given by visiting professional musicians.

The Arts continue to grow in strength, and a visit earlier in the year

by EPIC Arts involved workshops that set up performances on House Day that involved all Junior School students. The development of an EPIC Arts weekend event provided an opportunity for the children to work with the company, and our Senior students were on hand to guide and support their younger peers. In the future, we aim to design exciting new Arts spaces that support innovation and assist in the development of a world-class Arts programme.

Team Tanglin Ensuring we are an outward-facing school that forms strong bonds with other local and international schools, and the independent sector, remains even more important during a global crisis. We are proud to be members of the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS), a membership that has required us to demonstrate an outstanding education. Within Asia, we are also members of the Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA); this affords us a variety of sporting, performing and academic competitions across Asia.

Enhancing local community links through our enrichment programme were demonstrated when students from Year 5 hosted a group of returning visitors from Raffles Girls School, Singapore.

The visit coincided with a celebration of Tolerance Day, a particularly relevant occasion given the recent challenges in our modern world. Teaching the importance of mutual respect – regardless of differences in culture, faith, language, religion and gender – remains a priority. Our young people rightly respect and appreciate the diversity within our own community and beyond.

One thing that’s certain about education in the current climate is that it needs to prepare our young people for anything. Today, children need to be equipped with the ability to adapt, be flexible in their thinking, have the willingness to tackle problems and find new solutions, and above all to develop inner resilience. These life skills must be woven through the fabric of our curriculum if we are really to prepare them to succeed in later life.

The collaboration with Sydney Grammar School began with workshops and ended with a stunning concert performance involving our Year 5 and 6 singers and instrumentalists. Once again this year, the TTS Foundation funded a visit from Aspire More Able - Thinkers in Education to enrich scientific learning and challenge students’ perceptions. A collaboration with the Infant School that saw 60 students undertake the LEGO Robotics Challenge was a wonderful example of inter-school teamwork, while the wonderful Illustrator Chris Riddell visited to work with our Art ambassadors.

Personal Best

Other People

Our vision is for every child to strive for their own “personal best”.

With this in mind, we have been restructuring our Physical Education and sporting pathways, and creating additional Arts performance opportunities. This will remain a priority for the coming year.

I could not be more proud of the Junior School staff for creating a bespoke summer programme that catered for the vast numbers of students enrolled. Willingness to give up their summer leave and working tirelessly to support the community during Phase Two are certainly special qualities to be found in Tanglin staff.

Some of the sporting changes have included a House rugby tournament featuring contact and touch matches for Years 5 and 6. Contact rugby was also offered to Years 5 and 6 girls, along with new orienteering technology in lessons. With new Heads of Sport in place to help develop an Age 3-18 Pathway, we are thrilled that we have been able to increase after-school sporting opportunities. We look forward to enabling greater student participation and offering additional chances to represent Tanglin.

I look forward to welcoming new staff and families in 2020/21.

My hope is that we will enter Phase Three sooner rather than later, and emerge stronger together as “one Tanglin”: a bright and positive community that has an even brighter future.

Music is at the heart of the Tanglin experience and we seek to

15

16

Senior School

by Allan Forbes

I was once again delighted with the academic results achieved in the 2020 examination session at (I)GCSE, A level and IB, despite the unprecedented set of circumstances leading up to them. The headlines included: • 78% of all (I)GCSE grades were A*, A, or equivalent (7, 8, or 9) • 98% of all A Level grades were in the range A*-C • Our IB average stands at a record 39.1 (compared to a global average of 29.9).

These exceptional outcomes should be taken in the context that Tanglin is a non-selective school and we remain focused on supporting our students pastorally, and developing their learning and skills with experiences beyond the classroom through Sport, the Arts, academic enrichment, House events, service projects, Outdoor Education opportunities, and links with our local community and further afield. The central aim of the Senior School is to “Prepare students for life beyond Tanglin”, and the Tanglin educational journey reaches destinations way beyond the single-minded desire, drive and achievement of these amazing academic outcomes.

This year we were faced with many challenges regarding students university decisions and destinations with students considering taking or cancelling Gap Years late into August. With the UK government’s decision to U-turn on the use of exam board grades and honour our Centre Assessed Grades (CAGs), a large proportion of our students headed to the UK were able to secure their first-choice university. As those students navigate international flights and quarantines, we are seeing some opting to study from home for the first semester of their degrees.

Overall, we have 142 students planning to start degrees this year across nine different countries. Twelve students will be enlisting for their National Service this autumn, while 16 have opted to take a Gap year, with six students making applications this autumn to Australia and Austria. We are expecting increased competition for places at universities in 2021 and more international fee status decisions as the terms of Brexit come into effect across the European Union.

Notable successes over the past 12 months have included the completion of an excellent five-year IB Diploma evaluation process, the revamping of the Languages and Classics Department on Level 2, and the opening of a KS3 Pastoral Hub. There was also the introduction of 10 new colleagues last August, including several new additions to the Heads of Faculty team: Mrs Josephine Allen Dr Richard Forster Mr Richie Baxter Mr Joseph Loader

Head of English and PPRS Head of Science Head of Arts IBDP Coordinator

Please turn over for the reviewed and revised commitments of the Senior School Development plan, in line with the Strategic Plan.

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Pastoral

CPD

•

•

•

• • • • • • •

The completion of an all-year-group Student Wellbeing Survey to benchmark where we are as school, and to identify key strengths and areas for development Positive Education with a focus on positive relationships, and including: - Focus in tutor time on character strengths - Student coaching - Student leadership - Student Voice - Nurturing CPD for form tutors.

Leading to the development of character strengths, to explore ways for students to know their strengths and areas for development, and to flourish and develop more resilience and “bounce-back-ability” Completion of the Life Skills curriculum audit Writing and developing Safeguarding policies Displaying and integrating the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into curriculum Building a greater understanding and awareness of “digital citizenship” Reviewing our rewards and awards procedures Developing more social spaces for students Introducing a common language in the Student Code of Conduct.

The extended school lockdown period provided many challenges for the Pastoral Support team, but we were impressed by how the student body responded to the challenges of adapting to the restrictions, staying on top of their remote learning, and not seeing their friends.Some students did struggle, but the efforts of Heads and Assistant Heads of Year, tutors, and counsellors alongside class teachers provided excellent support to these students and their families. Having line of sight into our most vulnerable students was not easy but, on reflection, the systems and processes that we introduced were very effective.

Some of our pastoral initiatives that we had planned for last year have been delayed, so we are looking forward to getting back on track as things return to normality next year. The Wellbeing Survey has provided a useful benchmark for us, and the second survey in September 2020 will provide us with an excellent opportunity to evaluate the 2019/20 academic year.

Academic Learning and Teaching

• •

Improve the consistency of faculty monitoring and our quality assurance processes including the use of Student Voice to inform Learning and Teaching Develop an integrated study skills programme which emphasises the importance of Active Reading; Handwriting, Note taking; Memorisation and Recall

Assessment and Reporting

• • •

Develop Homework and Assessment opportunities that balance students’ independent learning and wellbeing needs appropriately, and are supported by our study skill initiative and focus for 2019/20 Develop the use of Formative Assessment to support learning and the progress of our students Review what and how we report in the Senior School.

Curriculum

• • 18

Review the A level Languages uptake Examine the curriculum articulation of Languages from KS2 to KS3.

•

Evidence-based Education programmes; Assessment Essentials (to be offered to all colleagues) and Assessment Lead Opportunities for Middle Leaders to maintain their professional development via secondment to academic team meetings and whole-school leadership projects.

Following extensive feedback from key stakeholders in Term 3 of 2018/19, we launched the new Year 10 and 11 Assessment timeline in September 2019. The initial feedback from our Year 10 students was positive as they understood the need for Summative Assessment windows, but also appreciated the added importance placed upon regular and valuable formative feedback from their teachers. Our drive to create and take advantage of opportunities continues as there has also been a focus on developing colleagues through numerous CPD channels, for example Assessment Essentials and CPD carousels.

Of course, the Coronavirus pandemic had an impact on many of our priorities. While the situation provided a multitude of challenges, it also created opportunities. One such “silver lining” was the way in which my colleagues and Senior School students adapted to a new way of working. Remote learning became the norm for all of us during an eight-week period straddling Terms 2 and 3. The flexibility of our community to move away from traditional teaching and learning methods, and adapt quickly to a new way of operating was simply outstanding.

The utilisation of Microsoft Teams to interact in a purposeful and meaningful way, and to ensure good progress was made, was beyond impressive. New terms entered a teacher’s vernacular.

A mix of synchronous (live) and asynchronous (offline) methods were employed to ensure the blend of pedagogical approaches used were appropriate to both context and content. Student, staff and parental surveys were conducted, the results of which supported our approach and strategy as we strived to ensure continuity in our teaching and learning.

Learning Beyond the Curriculum Through our Co-Curricular Activities Programme We are considering models to restructure the Senior School timetable to enable greater participation in CCAs with more efficient use of facilities to include: - - - -

Enhanced opportunities in Sport Enhanced opportunities in the Arts Enhanced opportunities in Academic Enrichment Enhanced opportunities for Houses

Leading to a broader and bolstered range of CCA opportunities on offer in the Senior School.

Outdoor Education and the Duke of Edinburgh Award

• • • •

Mr Richard Tuck to be appointed a Duke of Edinburgh Award Coordinator Introduce and build numbers for the Duke of Edinburgh Award, with a focus on high completion rates in Years 10 and 11 and in the Sixth Form, for the Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards The Outdoor Education team, with additional member of staff Mr Peter Ayompe, to support the development of the award Encourage form tutors to develop their knowledge of the award.

To Review All Outdoor Education experiences, to ensure they are fit for purpose, relevant, develop skills and show clear progression, and to make certain these are balanced with curriculum time and with an awareness of parental expense, to avoid creating a financial burden and taking time out of lessons.

To Support • The Friends of Tanglin, with a focus on supporting key aspects of the school and a shift towards “friends-raising” rather than “fundraising” • The set up of a working party across the school that works towards making a conclusive decision on the House System and whether Houses have a key role to play in the Senior School • Our school leavers’ transition to university by supporting the development of Alumni Chapters at key universities that feature a large Tanglin Alumni population • The improvement of the sustainability messaging around the school, with a clear focus on responsible consumption, energy-saving actions and food recycling.

home following their respective Remote Learning programmes.

However, the Senior School has continued to strive, with an uncompromising resolve, not to be seen as complacent and not to allow initiatives and projects to stall. We have pushed on in every way and sense possible, under trying and unprecedented circumstances, and I have been delighted with the progress made over these past 12 months.

Tanglin Senior School remains an impressive and outstanding school when one considers the ways in which it builds trust with its stakeholders, maintains balance and order, and shows genuine affection and appreciation for the incredible energy, enthusiasm and enduring commitment of the staff, students and parent body; it also benefits greatly from the guidance and support of its Governors. I remain very fortunate and proud to be the Head of Tanglin Senior School, and to lead such inspiring learners and dedicated teachers each in pursuit of their own “personal best”.

I would like to highlight the progress of the Duke of Edinburgh Award at Tanglin, with significant numbers embarking on both the Bronze Award in Years 10-11 and the Gold Award in Years 12-13. I noted during the Circuit Breaker period that students who were pursuing an award kept the motivation to continue with their Physical Activity, Skill and Service wherever possible.

The Adventurous Journey opportunities will return, but remain a challenge at the current time.

It is easy to underestimate the impact of COVID-19 in recent months with such a large part of the school year taking place outside the Tanglin campus, with staff and students at

19

Examination Results CHANGES TO EXAMS AND UNIVERSITY APPLICATIONS IN 2020 Tanglin Trust School is part of a global community of schools that was impacted greatly by the Coronavirus pandemic, resulting to major changes to this year’s exam season. In March, the UK’s Secretary of State for Education announced the Summer 2020 GCSE and A Level and IB Diploma exam series would be cancelled to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Instead, students due to sit these exams would be awarded grades based on teachers’ predicted grades, with the results from each centre subjected to various statistical tests and procedures.

Moderated A Level results were published as planned in August, however following on from a U-turn by the UK government, all exam boards then reverted to Centre Assessment Grades (CAGs). This created much confusion and frustration for students, but also resulted in outcomes that better reflect their efforts and achievements; an exceptional 38% of all results were graded A*.

Centre Assessed Grades were also upheld for our (I)GCSE students and, in a number of Pearson subjects, even surpassed for some individuals. All of the Year 11 cohort – 42% of whom received A*, A or equivalent for all of their subjects – can now focus on the next stage of their education.

You can read more about Tanglin’s 2020 exam results over the next few pages.

University Applications 2020

by Zoe Williams, Head of Careers and University Guidance As the COVID-19 crisis unfolded in the latter half of 2019/20, the Careers and University Guidance team was kept immensely busy, monitoring changes to university testing policies, requirements and their social distancing protocols. Often, this required my team to work late into the night or in the early hours of the morning in order to retain personal relationships with universities across different time zones, in online discussions, conferences and webinars.

In late May, we held a virtual coffee morning with parents of Year 13 students to communicate the most up-to-date information from universities, as well as to answer any specific questions from the community. At this time, most universities were already offering a hybrid style of tuition, with seminars and tutoring taking place as usual but large lectures held remotely. Understandably, many parents and students were concerned that educational provision would not be sufficient in their current forms and that the university experience would not feature its usual rites-of-passage, such as Freshers Week, and clubs and societies. Despite the uncertainty, our advice at Tanglin has always been that students should start their courses as planned.

Universities have been unable – or unwilling – to guarantee deferred entries, while mass delaying could create a “bottleneck” of graduates in search of university placements in 2021 and – in the case of European students applying to UK universities – complications due to Brexit and the incoming EU Settlement plan.

Despite the uncertainty, this has been a fantastic year for Tanglin, with 86% of students achieving their first choice this year.

20

Four students have been admitted to Oxbridge; two students will read Natural Sciences at Cambridge, and two are headed to Oxford – to read Biological Science and History respectively. One student will enrol at Stanford, USA in 2021, while another will attend the University of Chicago this autumn. Three students have been accepted to UC Berkeley, while three students will attend UBC in Canada.

Here in Singapore, one student will attend Yale-NUS and another has been accepted to La Salle College of the Arts. A full list of university destinations for the Class of 2020 can be found on page 24.

Looking ahead to 2020/21 We are anticipating an extremely competitive year for our current Year 13s as they will be applying to courses where places have already been filled with this graduating cohort. It will also be the first year EU students are being asked to pay International fees.

We are launching a weekly bulletin to be shared via InTouch to keep students and their families up to date with university-related events.

There are a wide variety of virtual visits, talks and enrichment lectures on offer so students must be strategic in their choices.

Due to COVID-19, the Lion City Fair has moved online, and will take place over three weeks with more than 100 universities taking part.

Students will be able to attend general information sessions as well as more targeted sessions. They will also be able to make appointments to chat with university representatives one on one.

Examination Results: (I)GCSE (I)GCSE Results Table 2016

100*

2017

100

2018

(I)GCSE Summary for 2020 (Class of 2022) Year

No. of Candidates

No. of subjects offered

100

2016

173

30

2019

100

2017

174

29

2020

100

2018

184

29

2019

166

24

2020

187

25

* (I)GCSE examination results for Class of 2022 (2020) - 100% of Tanglin students achieving 5 A* to C or numerical grades 9-4

No. of Candidates

Subject

29 107 49 107 32 187 49 79 6 52 187 49 107 56 160 40 1296

Art and Design

Biology Business Chemistry Design and Technology English Literature French Further Maths Graphic Communication History Maths PE Physics Psychology Science (Double Award) Spanish TOTAL TOTAL %

No. of Candidates

Subject

68 37 39 187 55 18 48 60 21 533

Computer Science

Drama Economics English Language Geography Latin Chinese Moving Image Arts Music TOTAL TOTAL %

No. of Grades 9

8

7

15 55 11 55 7 71 18 33 4 19 56 18 55 12 15 13 457 35%

7 27 8 27 11 58 12 30 1 14 47 6 27 11 19 8 313 24%

6

5

5 2 19 6 12 12 19 6 11 1 42 13 7 5 16 1 10 8 32 23 8 10 19 6 12 9 28 50 10 4 251 155 19% 12%

2

4

2

2 3 2

5

1 23 6

6 1

7 19 4 69 5%

5 22 1 42 3%

C

D

No. of Grades A*

A

B

35 18 19 41 31 12 32 11 12 211 40%

27 15 11 75 19 6 10 25 8 196 37%

4 4 8 56 4 4 20 1 101 19%

C*

2 1 14 1

1

1 3

1

1 1 0%

22 4%

2 0%

187

187 students who took (I)GCSE in 25 subjects

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

3

2

7 9 1%

76% 77% 39% 77% 56% 69% 61% 80% 83% 63% 55% 49% 77% 41% 21% 53%

93% 94% 63% 94% 91% 91% 76% 100% 100% 83% 72% 65% 94% 63% 39% 78%

100% 100% 96% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 96% 100%

59%

79%

99%

%A*

%A*A %A*C

51% 49% 49% 22% 56% 67% 67% 18% 57%

91% 89% 77% 62% 91% 100% 88% 60% 95%

100% 100% 100% 99% 100% 100% 98% 100% 100%

40%

76%

100%

54% of all grades achieved were A* or equivalent

78% of all grades achieved were A*, A or equivalent

99% of all grades achieved were A*-C or equivalent

42% Equivalency Table

UK Grading

A*/A

B

C

USA Grading A+/A A-/B+ B /B-

D

E

C+/C C -/D+

F/G F

% A* or 9/8

% A*/A or 9 - 7

48%

77%

% A*- C or 9 - 4 99% of students achieved A or A* in all their subjects

21

Examination Results: A Level A Level Summary for 2020 % of A*/A grades achieved by Tanglin Students TTS Average 42% 2016 TTS Average 50% 2017 TTS Average 45% 2018 TTS Average 47% 2019 TTS Average 67% 2020

Year

No. of Candidates

Tanglin % passed

2016

122

100

2017

117

100

2018

97

100

2019

120

100

2020

118

100

Subject English Language English Literature Psychology Philosophy Mathematics Further Maths Computer Science Art and Design Drama Moving Image Arts Biology Chemistry Physics Geography History Politics Business Economics A Economics B Chinese French Spanish PE Totals Percentage No of Students

No. of Grades A*

A

B

C

D

1 8 3 18 6 4 9 2 4 24 13 8 4 4 5 2 7 4

1 4 12 3 19 2 7 4 2 10 5 11 5 2 6 5 6 4 5

4 4

2 5 1 1 6 1

1 2 1 1

U

2

3 1 3

1

2 1

1 7 2%

2 0 1% 0%

A*

A

B

C

Extended Project Qualification

117

53

33

20

11

45%

28%

17%

9%

Pass rate of Tanglin students

67%

100% 93% 91% 91% 95% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 97% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 90%

100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

of grades were at A* or A

98% of grades were in the range of A*-C

45% of students taking the EPQ achieved an A*

118

No. of Entries

100%

%A*A %A*C %A* -E 14% 33% 87% 55% 63% 73% 85% 87% 80% 78% 74% 80% 52% 75% 71% 59% 44% 85% 60% 0% 100% 33% 80%

1

1 1 1 1 1 5 3 1 133 116 85 29 36% 31% 23% 8%

Equivalancy Table UK Grading A B C D E U USA Grading A+/A A-/B+ B/B- C+/C C-/D+ F

22

3 13 2 2 1 1 4 6 5 9 2 4 5 9 2 6 1

E

Subject

Percentage

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

% of A-C grades achieved by Tanglin Students TTS Average 92% 2016 TTS Average 92% 2017 TTS Average 93% 2018 TTS Average 91% 2019 TTS Average 98% 2020

No. of Candidates 7 15 23 11 59 11 13 15 5 18 39 30 25 8 14 17 18 13 15 2 1 3 10 372

% of A-B grades achieved by Tanglin Students TTS Average 70% TTS Average 78% TTS Average 75% TTS Average 73% TTS Average 90%

E

U

0%

0%

73% of students taking the EPQ achieved A* or A

Examination Results: IB Diploma Tanglin Students Average Diploma Score (out of 45) 2016

38.1

2017

38.7

2018

38.1

2019

38.2

2020

39.1

Wo rldWorld Average 29.7 2020 Average

29.9

Subject English A: Lang and Lit HL English A: Lang and Lit SL English A: Literature HL English A: Literature SL Danish A: Literature SL Dutch A: Literature SL French A: Literature SL Spanish A: Literature SL Chinese B HL Chinese B SL French Ab Initio SL French B HL French B SL Latin SL Spanish Ab Initio SL Spanish B HL Spanish B SL Business Management HL Business Management SL Economics HL Economics SL Geography HL Geography SL History HL History SL Philosophy HL Philosophy SL Psychology HL Psychology SL Biology HL Biology SL Chemistry HL Computer Science HL Computer Science SL Environment and Society Physics HL Physics SL Maths Studies SL Mathematics HL Mathematics SL Film HL Film SL Music HL Theatre HL Theatre SL Visual Arts HL Visual Arts SL

No. of Candidates

No. of Grades 7

6

5

25 21 4 7 1 1 2 1 3 4 9 3 6 2 19 2 7 11 2 13 4 7 6 5 5 5 3 5 3 15 13 17

14 12 1 3

9 7 1 3

2 2 2 1 1 1

1 1 2 2 4 1 4

1

4 1 8 14 3 12 20 26 9 5 4 3 2 5 1

4 1 3 9 1

9 1 2 6 1 2 1 4 5 2

1 3 2 6 4 8

6 1 6 4 1 3 2 4

1 1 3 2 2 2 5 1 5 4 1 4 2 3 1 3 5 4 2 1 1 4 6 7

3 2 1 2 6 15 2 1 3

1 1

4

3

39.1

Tanglin IB average

100%

successfully achieved the full Diploma

4

1 2

4

1

students achieved 44+ points, placing them in the top 1% of students in the world

98%

of our students scored 32+ points

1 6 1

1

11

students scored 42+ points 1

67%

1 4 2 1

1 1 1

5

students achieved the bilingual diploma

2 3 1 10 3 9 1

4 1

of the cohort scored 38+ points

1

Equivalancy Table IB Grading 7 USA Grading A+

6

5

4

3

2

1

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

23

University Destinations This list is correct as of September 1, 2020 and is subject to alterations and amendments.

Canada University of British Columbia University of Waterloo France École Polytechnique The Netherlands Amsterdam University College University of Groningen Singapore Yale-NUS La Salle College of the Arts Spain IE University IED Barcelona Switzerland École hôtelière de Lausanne UK Arts University Bournemouth Bath Spa University Cardiff University City, University of London Durham University Falmouth University Goldsmiths, University of London Imperial College London Kings College London Lancaster University Liverpool Hope University London School of Economics Loughborough University Newcastle University Northumbria University, Newcastle Nottingham Trent University The University of Edinburgh

24

University College London University of Bath University of Birmingham University of Bristol University of Cambridge University of Essex University of Exeter University of Kent University of Leeds University of Leicester University of Manchester University of Nottingham University of Oxford University of Sheffield University of Southampton University of St Andrews University of Surrey University of Sussex University of the Arts London University of Warwick University of Westminster, London University of Winchester University of York USA Carnegie Mellon University Chicago Columbia-Sciences Po Michigan University The University of Chicago Savannah College of Art and Design Stanford University University of California, Berkeley University of Austin, Texas Applications to Australian universities are currently under way.

25

The Arts INFANT SCHOOL

Art & Design

by Libby Henderson, Head of Art & Design (Infant) Despite the disruption of the pandemic, amazing artwork still took place and one highlight of our year was the Big Draw. The theme, “Drawn to Life”, focused on wellbeing. All children from Nursery to Year 2 drew and made marks in a range of ways using different media, at large and small scales, and in different places.

One favourite space was the “Drawing Rooms” – rooms covered in paper from floor to ceiling.

Stephanie Wijaya, our new Art STLA, joined the team in January.

She has since worked with children in Year 1 to produce some incredible prints and supported Year 2 with developing their clay skills. In 2020/21, we hope she will be able to work with Nursery and Reception students on projects that were forcibly cancelled this year due to COVID-19.

During the remote learning period, children stayed creative, crawling under tables to paint like Michelangelo, exploring colour like Kandinsky, and creating their own Lonely Beast, inspired by Chris Judge’s book. Once the children had returned to school, we gave them resources to help develop their at-home creations. Children produced collages of The Great Wave of Kanagawa by Hokusai, and their very own Superworm or Jack and the Flumflum Tree-style patchwork sacks, inspired by the Julia Donaldson books.

Music

by Delphine Hastwell, Head of Music (Infant) Events conspired this year to cancel several much-anticipated performances. Sadly, song leaders were unable to visit Chen Su Lan Methodist Children’s Home in Term 1, and Term 2 and 3 events, such as the Year 1 Concert, Recorder Concert, Year 2 Ensembles, and Year 2 Choir performances at Cluny Court and Singapore Zoo, were cancelled due to the

26

Coronavirus pandemic. However, there was still plenty to celebrate.

The Year 2 Choir, for example, were exceptionally busy in the first half of the year, performing the finale song at a joint concert with Sydney Grammar School in September alongside Junior and Senior performers, and opening St George’s Festival of Music in December with a performance of two songs – one a solo – in front of local families.

To help kick off the festive season at Tanglin, Year 2 ensembles performed at the Friends of Tanglin Christmas Fair, while the Year 2 Christmas Show, held in The Berrick Hall, featured the entire year group singing, dancing and acting, as well as each class

performing an instrumental item during a wonderful rendition of The Elf on the Shelf. In the same month, the Nursery Singalong saw all eight nursery classes dressed in red and green performing Christmas songs to and with their parents in Hall 2, which was decorated with Christmas Trees and fairy lights.

JUNIOR SCHOOL

Art & Design

by Peter Hinckley, Head of Art & Design (Junior) The children in Junior School have the opportunity to access an ever-increasing range of specialist art resources including specialist tools, media and equipment for painting, drawing, textiles and ceramics.

Learning in art fosters individuality, creativity, confidence-building and expression. Throughout the year, the children had access to a wide range of media and opportunities to progressively develop their skills and techniques. Our curriculum nurtures opportunities for individual and collaborative work, both within art and across the curriculum.

This year, we expanded the children’s experience in art through visiting illustrators, a collaborative arts project for the Year 6 Production, War Child: We’ll Meet Again – in which the students actively contributed their own art to the set design – a gallery exhibiting the students’ acrylic Poppies paintings, and a collaborative art project for the Year 4 Production; this sadly was postponed due to COVID-19.

Next year, we hope to realise our plans for a Junior Arts night that will include a visual celebration of artwork from Years 3-6, something that was unable to take place in 2019/20.

Drama

by Theresa Chapman, Head of Drama (Junior) The Junior Drama department had a busy and successful start to the academic year, welcoming back EPIC Arts from Cambodia.

EPIC Arts is an inspirational organisation that promotes diversity and accessibility to the arts for people with disabilities. All students in the Junior School were able to participate in a workshop with the group during House Day and consider their “Every Person Counts” message. Over the following weekend, a group of Junior School students then participated in a weekend festival with the company, devising a performance to present to their families.

The Year 6 unit was abuzz in November with preparations for their integrated arts performance, War Child: We’ll Meet Again. This new project shifted the focus of the annual performance to the Year 6 curriculum, and children were involved in weaving together work from drama, music, English, technology and art lessons into a powerful and thought-provoking original performance inspired by the experiences of children during World War Two.

Music

by Fiona Knight Lucas, Head of Music (Junior) The Junior Music Department has seen another busy and exciting year, with children across all year groups demonstrating their passion and commitment to music making. Our ensembles have seen ever-increasing numbers and the Term 1 performances impressed the community with their high levels of achievement.

Solo performers have continued to inspire us all with their talent and dedication through a wide variety of formal and informal recitals, open mic events and concerts. In Term 1, the Year 6 Production showcased the musical, artistic and dramatic flair of the entire cohort, who acted, sang and played orchestral and classroom instruments.

Throughout Terms 1 and 2, the Junior School joined together regularly in uplifting community singing. During the Remembrance Service at Kranji War Memorial – a poignant and significant event in Singapore’s calendar – members of the Junior and Senior Chamber Choirs sang with choirs from Marlborough College, Dulwich College and Dover Court International School. All Junior School choirs, alongside the Junior Orchestra, Gamelan Ensemble and Junior Rock Band performed ensemble items at the Junior Festive Assembly with Junior School children singing festive songs.

COVID-19 inevitably cancelled several calendared events, however staff and students found new ways to create and perform.

The Junior Chamber Choir, for example, recorded the piece they had prepared for the Botanic Beats Concert and shared it with the community online. A video of the Junior Young Musicians in Concert 2020 – in which 25 students from Years 3-6 performed solos in front of a small audience – was also shared.

The Junior Drama department were due to host the Singapore Primary ISTA Festival this year, however this was unfortunately cancelled due to COVID-19 and we look forward to adding this to our calendar in 2020/21. Amidst the negative impact of COVID-19, however, there were some positive outcomes for our Junior dramatists. Remote learning brought about a wave of fresh inspiration and innovation, and students showed an impressive resourcefulness during this time, creating characters, performances and set designs. The power of the arts has certainly shone a beam of light through our community during these uncertain times.

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SENIOR SCHOOL

Foreword

by Richie Baxter, Head of Arts The Senior Arts Faculty has offered so many outstanding opportunities for Tanglin’s aspiring artists this year through curriculum lessons, Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs) and visiting artists. Throughout the year there have been numerous events both in school and in the community that have showcased our students’ talents, and we have an outstanding team of teachers and technicians who are dedicated to realising these.

Even during the Circuit Breaker period, there was a burst of creativity to find new and innovative ways for the students to create, collaborate and share their talents. One such highlight this year was our first ever Arts Week. This was done remotely and included online masterclasses from professional artists for Key Stage 4 and 5 students; a competition for which students creatively expressed themselves through the theme of “Community”; a Key Stage 3 Arts Day; and a Tanglin version of the BBC’s Desert Island Discs. We also announced the annual winners of the Outstanding Contribution to the Arts awards from 50 student nominees.

Art & Design

by Robert Le Grice, Assistant Head of Faculty (Art & Design) Term 1 got off to a lively start, with all 200 students of Year 9 visiting the National Gallery Singapore. This wonderful collaborative project sees the gallery’s rich paintings act as a stimulus and the final “Arts Showcase” generously hosted by the gallery. Year 12 also ventured out on their residential to Luang Prabang. This annual trip challenges the students to live and learn in rural Laos. It’s a busy term for the Sixth Form art students: keeping the coursework flowing, producing portfolios for University applications and attending the many artist and university workshops available. In November, the artist Chen Shitong hosted a series of printmaking workshops, focused on Year 12. We always enjoy the lively and colourful energy he brings into school. November’s huge Singapore International Schools Art Exhibition – ‘IN’ 2019 – saw a selection of 10 students’ artwork displayed. This year’s celebration evening was spectacular, with around 500 students, parents, teachers and guests attending.

On returning from the Christmas break, it was clear the remainder of the year would be challenging. The climax to our National Gallery project was cancelled, but we were still able to honour our annual visit from Ian Murphy in February. His series of drawing and painting workshops with Years 10 and 12 was a resounding success and shed a little light on an increasingly grey outlook. Celebrating Year 13’s IB Visual Art course with an exhibition was another bright moment.

Remote Learning provded challenging to our young artists since so much of their work is active, collaborative and “messy”. Making good use of digital media, the students rose to this challenge and produced some very creative responses on the expressive themes of home, isolation and virus. The return to school was an invaluable time, particularly with the older students. We look forward to a new year in which Tanglin students will show us their talents once again.

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Dance and Drama

by Kate Edwards, Assistant Head of Faculty (Drama) 2020 has been a year of contrasts in the Senior Drama department.

We started the year in a flurry of activity, with visiting artists, teacher training events and performances. Gecko Theatre kicked off the year with a week’s Artist-in-Residence course, and was quickly followed by Jennifer Hartley, Mark Hill and David Cartwright – each of them visiting artists in school who worked with Senior Drama students. The school also hosted more than 30 teachers at the FOBISIA Drama Teacher Job Alike Workshop (JAWS) in September.

In October, Years 7, 8 and 9 students gave wonderful performances in a production of Rabbit by David Foxton. A fabulous student-led Dance Showcase took place in November and, in the final week of the term, Key Stage 4 and 5 students presented A Christmas Carol, a production featuring some stunning performances and design work.

The implications of COVID-19, however, had a huge impact on the latter half of the year. The KS3 CCA production of No Regrets was cancelled on the morning of the first performance day in February; a bitter disappointment, but one students handled with remarkable resilience and grace. Much-anticipated theatre trips were cancelled, as was a visit by West End performers James Bennett and Noel Sullivan to work with students on the Senior production of Grease.

Drama is a subject that requires close collaboration and, as such,

then utilised with great results in final film production work.

Thanks to the support of the TTS Foundation, one of the highlights of the year was a visit

by Ben Lock, an esteemed visual effects producer and story supervisor who has worked for Disney, Aardman Animations, and Industrial Light and Magic. In Term 1, he spent a week sharing the logistics of a professional film shoot. The insight he gave was incredibly useful and made a huge difference to the way students approached their Term 2 production planning. In Term 3, as part of Arts Week, Ben worked with GCSE students, this time via Microsoft Teams meetings. The focus during these sessions was screenwriting, with Ben deconstructing a number of short films and identifying shared underlining narrative patterns that students could use to improve their own storytelling.

It was great to learn that Alumnus Richard Greene-Kelly, who is currently completing National Service, was selected to join the Air Force Information Command (AFIC) at Mindef HQ, a prestigious posting usually reserved for individuals with extensive media production experience. His role is to produce media that promotes the Singapore military, and his duties include creating films, conducting interviews and writing articles.

As Richard intends to study film and media production at university, this kind of practical experience will prove invaluable. While several Tanglin Alumni work in the film industry, Richard’s achievement is a first. all performance examinations had to be postponed for safety reasons. Remote learning has had to be creative and flexible, with answers to the question, “How do you teach meaningful Drama under lockdown?” being developed, revised and consolidated as we proceeded through the Circuit Breaker period.

We remain cautiously optimistic about the coming year; happily, Grease is projected to return for an end-of-year Senior School project and we are all looking forward to a return to practical studio lessons, as well as welcoming James Russell to the department.

Film

by Stephen Coughlan, Assistant Head of Faculty (Media Technology) Our target for this year was for students to develop their skills in sound design, and gain an appreciation of how carefully planned, recorded and mixed dialogue, alongside sound effects and music, can really bring a story to life. In Term 1, we studied scenes from classic films such as The Godfather and Citizen Kane – as well as a number of more recent releases – to consider how students could apply techniques such as panning and volume changes in their own work. During lessons, students were encouraged to explore the more advanced features in Logic Pro X, such as the automation tool and how to set up a film scoring project window. Other lessons focused on how to ensure location sound was recorded as cleanly as possible, using Zoom H4N recorders. These new skills and approaches were

Music

by Helen Owain, Assistant Head of Faculty (Music) This has been an extremely busy year for the Senior Music department, with students continuing to impress us with their talent and dedication to Music.

Term 1 saw many formal and informal performances, both in and out of school, all of which showcased the wonderful diversity of the music that is produced at Tanglin. Formal events such as the Senior Ensemble Concert and Music Through the Ages – which featured the entire Year 7 cohort perform alongside the Senior Ensembles – made for memorable evenings on the school campus, while the performances of two Senior bands at EduTech Asia, at the Suntec Convention Centre, was a wonderful display of talent for the benefit of the local community.

Carolling was also another chance to interact with the community at large. The Senior Chamber Choir sang during the British Club’s annual Tree Lighting Ceremony and gave a lunchtime performance for office workers at Biopolis. There were further performances at Tanglin Mall and The Providore.

Although musical performances were forced into different formats in Terms 2 and 3, students and staff stepped up to the challenge and created some impressive online concerts, such as the Senior Young Musician competition and a Battle of the Bands. Our musicians are continuing to practise at home, and we will be back stronger, and ready to sing and play again next year!

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Sport

by Richard Shuttleworth, Director of Sport and Methodology

COVID-19 had an obvious impact on the Sports Calendar this year. While events in Term 1 ran as normal, leagues were postponed midway through Term 2, with the cancellation of all major events from late January onwards, including SEASAC. While internal training continued for a time, this was also forcibly cancelled as measures tightened ahead of the Circuit Breaker period and the closure of the Tanglin campus.

Despite the disruption, online provision continued during the remote learning period. The Junior and Senior School PE teams each developed a website of bespoke resources for online learning, including workout routines created by staff and students alike: Pilates sessions led by Friends of Tanglin Sport, skill challenges, and sport-specific activities in football, rugby, touch, netball and volleyball for our sports performers. Activities included practice, agility, and strength and conditioning sessions. In addition to this, swimming and gymnastics ran online programmes for fee-paying students, and virtual badminton sessions were piloted for Years 5-13. More on this below.

Junior School Co-curricular Activities (CCAs) during the Circuit Breaker took place via our Movement Matters website, under the section “More Movement Motivation�. This series of extra challenges were presented under the categories: Games, Skills and Challenges Zone; Personal Fitness Zone; Dance, Movement and Yoga Zone; Unwind and Breathe Zone. There were also several multi-skills challenges featuring our Heads of Sport.

Looking ahead to 2020/21 While the Junior School has unfortunately had to pull out of the overseas sports competitions we would normally attend during Term 1/Season 1, we are hoping to continue with our planned local programme in the coming academic year. This will of course be dependent on government guidelines, but we are optimistic we be able to by making the the appropriate modifications.

JUNIOR SCHOOL COMPETITIVE SPORTS PARTICIPATION Climbing Cricket Cross Country Football Golf Gymnastics Netball Swimming Rugby Touch 30

Boys

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0

100

150

200

Girls

JUNIOR SCHOOL COMPETITIVE SPORT PARTICIPATION BY YEAR GROUP 350 300

Boys

Girls

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Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

JUNIOR CCA Table Tennis 36 Golf 8 Badminton 54 Athletics 63

Water Polo 22 Tri-Golf 20 Tee Ball 18 Tag Rugby 25 Swim Development 46

Basketball 91 Ballroom Dancing 22 Cricket 51 Dance 56

Dodgeball 49 Fencing 9 Football 181

Rugby 17 Rock Climbing 99 Netball 50 THE MOST POPULAR CCAs Mini-Tennis 22 Hockey 9 Gymnastics 73

2

Rock Climbing

1

Football

3

Basketball

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Senior School To support learning during the Circuit Breaker period and beyond, we designed and regularly updated a Senior Sport and PE website.

The PE section features the following areas and activities used for lessons: Fitness & Wellbeing, Challenges & Competitions, a Skill Zone, and Iconic Sporting Moments. The Sport section has the following areas and activities directed to those who participate in competitive CCA Sport: Agility Training, Strength & Conditioning, Skill Development – with skill practice sets for football, netball, rugby and touch players – and Virtual Sport, in which students have created a virtual match or competition in netball and gymnastics.

As described above, the Tanglin Merlions also has its own website and activities for competitive swimmers, while Gym With Me has continued to run virtual sessions for gymnasts of all levels.

Looking ahead to 2020/21 Our Sport programme for the next academic year is in place, however these plans are contingent on government guidelines which continue to evolve. With our teams in place, we will be prepared to resume training, competition and inter-school ACSIS sport. Current restrictions means we have had to withdraw from overseas events such as the Bangkok Harrow International Football 7s and the Queensland All School Touch competitions.

However, we are still hopeful to compete in events such as SEASAC Cross Country and SEASAC Golf, both postponed until Term 2.

Sports trips and tournaments are an essential part of a full Tanglin educational experience and we hope to be able to offer alternative opportunities later in the year; with this in mind, we have been in discussions with other schools in Singapore who are similarly affected.

SENIOR SCHOOL COMPETITIVE SPORT PARTICIPATION BY YEAR GROUP 300

Boys

250

Girls

200 150 100

On behalf of the whole school, I would just like to acknowledge the significant contributions that David Radcliffe, Dean Scott and Joe Moriarty among many others have made in adapting a range of continued sporting opportunities to students across several mediums and platforms.

50 0 Year 7

Year 8

Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12 Year 13

SENIOR SCHOOL COMPETITIVE SPORTS PARTICIPATION Athletics Badminton Basketball Cricket Cross-Country Golf Gymnastics Netball Rock Climbing Rugby Softball Swimming Tennis Touch Volleyball

Boys

05

0

100

BASKETBALL IS THE MOST POPULAR SPORT FOR BOYS NETBALL IS THE MOST POPULAR SPORT FOR GIRLS 32

150

200

250

Girls

MAJOR SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS OF 2019/20 FOBISIA Champions 19&U Netball

SCC Rugby 7s Winners 16&U Rugby 7s 19&U Rugby 7s

ACSIS Division 1 Champions 12&U Girls Cross Country – Team Champions 12&U Rugby 19&U Girls Football 19&U Rugby

ACSIS Division 2 Winners 12&UB Netball 16&U Girls Football

ACSIS Division 3 Winners 12&U Boys Badminton

Heads of Sport This year, there was a restructuring of Senior School PE/Sport to offer Year 7-9 students a chance to train in their chosen sport in the morning, and additional “Open” Seasons for 19&U/16&U A teams to allow students to train and play for longer than the current ACSIS season allows. There was a significant reorganisation of sports staff in order to increase the quality of our offering to Tanglin students. While Mr David Radcliffe has been appointed Assistant Sport & Methodology Director, we have also been pleased to assign new Heads of Sport: Jonathan Baker Kirsty Robinson Andy Martin Vicky Paterson Andrew Hailey Lauren Sweeney

Head of Football Head of Netball Head of Rugby Head of Touch Aquatics Director Gymnastics Director

Tanglin’s new Gymnastics programme is a significant addition to the school’s sporting provision for the next academic year.

In addition to the excellent development and performance standards already attained by coaches and students involved in this sport programme, we now have an exciting opportunity for students to benefit from a wider transfer of gymnastic skills across the whole school; from the core PE curriculum to co-curricular activities, and recreational and competitive gymnastics.

Gymnastics supports the early development of every child’s foundational movement skills through exploratory movement practices, and this improved competency – along with the opportunity to gain greater confidence to perform – enriches many students’ life experiences. Importantly, it also supports young people in participating proficiently in a greater number or sports and activities in later life, while helping them to specialise in those they love and show potential in. Learning various forms of gymnastics will contribute to many individuals overcoming the increasing concerns and issues around obesity, reduced physical development and activity, while improving students’ wellbeing, self-esteem, and social and movement skills. It is a highly transferable activity sport that every child can be engaged in at Tanglin.

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Outdoor Education

by Martin Foakes, Head of Outdoor Education

At the end of each academic year, we take the time to reflect on all the amazing outdoor opportunities that have taken place and celebrate the adventures that we have had together. This year, the Coronavirus pandemic effectively brought all group outdoor activities and school trips to a halt from March onwards and, while we did undertake trips in the first half of the year, for most students (and teachers) there was the undeniable disappointment of seeing these cancelled.

At difficult times like these, we tend to show our true characters.

What struck me about the end of the 2019/20 academic year was the resilience and positivity shown by our community in the face of this highly unprecedented and unpredictable pandemic.

I can think of no better example of this than the exemplary attitudes shown by our Year 12 students. Many in the year group were looking forward to the trip of a lifetime in the summer of 2020 – either by taking part in the school’s first expedition to Tibet or experiencing an overland trip to Mongolia. Many Year 12 students had been looking forward to undertaking a real “jungle adventure” in Borneo, while our Caring for Cambodia group were preparing fundraising activities for a trip to Siem Reap. More students had expressed interest in a planned residential to Japan than ever before.

As COVID-19 began to limit travel options, it was amazing to see how Year 12 students took this on the chin and calmly changed their planned destinations to areas that had not yet been affected by the latest travel restrictions. By mid-March, however, all options were off the table and indeed the Tanglin campus was closed. Throughout this challenging period, I was and remain very proud of all our students for the way they handled the disappointment. They demonstrated a level of maturity, patience and understanding that will stand them in good stead in the future. We hope they never lose their appetites for adventure.

Infant School Thankfully, we were able to complete several of our planned Infant day trips, such as a visit to Labrador Park and the local market.

By January, however, we were already being careful to avoid public spaces and so our remaining calendar of visits was cancelled. We are excited about exploring outdoor adventure opportunities in our surrounding neighbourhood next year and are working hard to make a Forest School-type experience a reality for our youngest children!

Junior School Happily, our Year 5s were able to enjoy a “best ever” trip to Malacca, Malaysia in Term 1; it included new activities such

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as a superb River Walk that involved plenty of splashing, falling over and, most importantly of all, lots of smiles. Huge credit is due to Mr Andrews and the Year 5 Team for making this trip such a great experience. While planned residentials for Years 3, 4 and 6 did not take place in 2019/20, there will be other opportunities in the coming academic year for these students as the local situation settles into a “new normal”, and we will continue to plan for a number of travel scenarios.

Senior School Around 140 students in Year 9 made it all the way to Camp Panther in North India, where they were welcomed by blue skies and the clear waters of the Upper Ganges. While Delhi was experiencing severe smog, up in the city and surrounds of Rishikesh, the weather was perfect for a week of outdoor adventure in the foothills of the Himalayas. We also offered a varied and exciting week of activities in Singapore for students who could not go to India – and with considerable uncertainty about global travel, it is these local experiences that will prove to be an increasingly important feature of how the Outdoor Education team will operate going forward.

Our Year 10 trip in conjunction with Outward Bound Australia was reluctantly postponed due to the devastating 2019-20 Australian bushfire season, but a residential to Vietnam and three Thailand trips (to Mae Teng, the River Kwai and our Chiang Mai Adventure) all went ahead in January. It was cold weather that challenged our Vietnam group the most, but they tackled the rain and chilly temperatures with fortitude and good spirits. CEO Mr Considine (complete with his signature red Tanglin Lions cap) paid a surprise flying visit to Chiang Mai where he joined the students on a visit to an organic farm and took a tour of the hot springs campsite.

Other notable and classic Outdoor Education experiences that went ahead in Term 1 included the Year 12 Geography trip, also to Chiang Mai, and the Year 12 Art residential to Luang Prabang, Laos. As always, students and staff threw themselves into the experience with open hearts and minds.

Looking Forward and Outward in 2020/21 At Tanglin, we are committed to learning that takes place beyond the classroom and are working hard to ensure the forthcoming academic year features a programme of exciting trips that also meet the need for social distancing and to avoid unnecessary risk. It is a careful balance, but it is certainly not impossible – and we will need to be able to adapt. We expect to start the year with a strong focus on local learning experiences in our near neighbourhood that can be gradually broadened into 2021. We are lucky to have so many exciting and varied learning destinations right on our doorstep, such as the historic Wessex estate, the Green Corridor and Tanglin Halt Market.

One positive aspect of the disruption this year has been the opportunity given to the Outdoor Education team to reflect deeply on the learning experiences we offer to Tanglin students, and to identify our priorities. Safety always comes first, of course, but it has become ever clearer that we must focus on the development of skills and learning opportunities that take place on a trip, rather than its destination. By doing this, we can continue to provide outstanding experiences that take place locally whenever our ability to travel is restricted. As a school, we have been lucky enough to visit an incredible range of inspiring destinations. But as all of us have discovered this year, it isn’t so much about where you go – it’s about who you’re with and what you do when you get there.

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Governance Tanglin Trust School Limited (formerly known as Tanglin Trust Limited) was incorporated on 21 August 1961 as a public company limited by guarantee.

It was registered under the Charities Act on December 29, 1984.

Unique Entity Number (UEN): 196100114C Registered Address: 95 Portsdown Road, Singapore 139299 Banker: Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited Auditor:

KMPG LLP

Governing Board Members of Tanglin Trust School Limited Dominic Nixon

Governor and Acting Chair of Board of Governors and Board Building Sub-Committee (Member since March 19, 2002) Robert Arbuthnott Governor (Member since February 16, 2012) Fang Eu-Lin

Governor and Chair of Board Finance & Audit Sub-Committee (Member since May 1, 2016) Colm McCarthy Governor (Member since March 7, 2013) Sue McNamara Governor and Chair of Board Education Policy and Schools Curriculum Sub-Committee (Member since September 1, 2009)

Sim Preston Governor and Chair of Board Building Sub-Committee (Member since June 1, 2020) Rajan Raju Governor (Member since July 2, 2016) Chris Riley Governor (Member since July 1, 2017) Neil Tottman Governor and Chair of Board Development Sub-Committee (Member since September 13, 2007)

Gina Lee-Wan Governor (Member since February 19, 2005)

Clare Wijeratne Governor and Chair of Board Staff Sub-Committee (Member since March 1, 2017)

Jon Robinson1 Governor and Chair of Board of Governors (Member February 11, 2006 – December 31, 2019)

Belinda Charles3 Governor (Member March 1, 2017 – March 19, 2020)

Jon Button2 Governor and Chair of Board Building Sub-Committee (Member September 1, 2011 – March 19, 2020)

Sally Robinson3 Governor (Member May 1, 2016 – March 19, 2020)

1Resigned as Governor and Chair of Board of Governors on December 31, 2019 2Resigned as Governor and Chair of Building Sub-Committee on March 19, 2020 3Resigned as Governor on March 19, 2020

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Some Governors have served beyond 10 years. The Board, collectively, wishes to retain these Governors as they have the necessary skills, relevant experience and commitment to serve Tanglin Trust School. For those Governors who have served beyond 10 years, re-election to the Board requires a simple majority approval of 50%. For Governors who have served beyond 15 years, re-election to the Board requires unanimity.

Sub-Committees

Board membership is voluntary and not remunerated. There are no paid staff who are close members of the family of the Chief Executive Officer or Board Members for the periods September 1, 2018 to August 31, 2019, and September 1, 2019 to August 31, 2020.

The Board appoints separate sub-committees in relation to the following areas of responsibility: • Education • Staffing • Finance and Audit • Building • Development

Whistleblowing Policy

Tanglin Trust School has a Whistleblowing Policy. The Policy is posted on the School’s website (tts.edu.sg) and may be used, if needed, by employees, suppliers, business partners and others in the school community.

4 3 2

3 1 1

3

3 3

1 3 2 1 2 3 1

Note: Due to business travel, work commitments and/or being in countries with different time zone, a few Governors were unable to attend some of the Board and Board Sub-Committee meetings.

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3 2 3

6 6 4 1 6 6 6 1 6 4 2 2 2 5 5

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-

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Staff Sub-Committee Meeting

No. of Meetings Held Dominic Nixon Robert Arbuthnott Jon Button** Belinda Charles** Fang Eu-Lin Colm McCarthy Sue McNamara Sim Preston # Rajan Raju Chris Riley Jon Robinson* Sally Robinson** Neil Tottman Gina Lee-Wan Clare Wijeratne

Finance & Audit Sub-Committee Meeting

6 3 3

Education Policy & Schools Curriculum Sub-Committee Meeting

2

6 5

Development Sub-Committee Meeting

4

8 3 3

Building Sub-Committee Meeting

6 3

Governors’ Attendance

Board of Governors’ Meeting

6 4 3

Staff Sub-Committee Meeting

14 5 4 1 3 4 4 5 4 4 4 4 2 3 4 2

Finance & Audit Sub-Committee Meeting

Governors’ Attendance No. of Members No. of Meetings Held Jon Robinson Robert Arbuthnott Jon Button Belinda Charles Fang Eu-Lin Colm McCarthy Sue McNamara Dominic Nixon Rajan Raju Chris Riley Sally Robinson Neil Tottman Gina Lee-Wan Clare Wijeratne

Education Policy & Schools Curriculum Sub-Committee Meeting

Period: September 1, 2019 – August 31, 2020

Development Sub-Committee Meeting

Period: September 1, 2018 – August 31, 2019 Building Sub-Committee Meeting

Board of Governors’ and Board Sub-Committees’ Meeting Attendance Record

Board of Governors’ Meeting

Board of Governors’ and Board Sub-Committees’ Meeting Attendance Record

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# Governor joined the Board of Governors on June 1, 2020 * Governor who left the Board of Governors on December 31, 2019 ** Governors who left the Board of Governors on March 19, 2020

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Management Team for 2020/21

Ling Guan Heng Chief Operating Officer/ Chief Financial Officer Appointed 13 April 2009

John Ridley Director of Learning Appointed 1 September 2011

Brian Teng Director of Operations Appointed 22 January 2007

Cecilia Handel Director of Development Appointed 23 August 2010

Paula Craigie Head of Infant School Appointed 1 August 2014

Clair Harrington-Wilcox Head of Junior School Appointed 1 August 2016

Sophie Harle Director of Human Resources Appointed 1 June 2013

Allan Forbes Head of Senior School Appointed 1st September 2015

Keith Rutherford Director of Educational Business Technology Appointed 5 August 2019

Tom Evans Director of Marketing and Communications Appointed 17 June 2019

Michael Holiday Director of Co-Curricular (Acting) Appointed 1 January 2020

Craig Considine Chief Executive Officer Appointed 1 August 2018

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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

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CPE Registration No.: 196100114C CPE Registration Period: 7 June 2017 to 6 June 2023