United World College of South East Asia: An Overview

The United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA) is an independent international school located in Singapore, an integral part of the United World College (UWC) movement, a global network of 18 schools with a shared mission. UWCSEA distinguishes itself through its comprehensive K-12 education, which integrates five interlinking elements: academics, activities, outdoor education, personal and social education, and service.

History and Development

The site now occupied by the Dover Campus has a rich history. It was formerly St John's School, which catered to the families of British military personnel under the British Families Education Service. Following the British military withdrawal in 1971, the land was repurposed, leading to the establishment of the Singapore International School, officially opened in 1971 by Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. In 1975, the school affiliated with the United World College movement, adopting the name United World College of South East Asia. Initially a secondary-only institution, UWCSEA Dover expanded in 1998 to include a primary section, welcoming students from the age of 4.

In 2011, a second campus opened, making UWC SEA the largest of the UWC colleges, with students from more than 100 countries and more than 90 languages spoken.

The Dover campus is notable for being one of the few remaining structures in Singapore constructed with bricks from the old Alexandra Brick Works, located at the current PSA building.

Campuses and Locations

UWCSEA operates two campuses in Singapore: Dover and East.

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Dover Campus: Located at 1207 Dover Road, Singapore 139654 (1°18′10.88″N 103°46′38.68″E / 1.3030222°N 103.7774111°E), near Dover MRT station and One North MRT station. Today, the total number of students on the Dover Campus (Kindergarten 1 - Grade 12) is over 3,000.
East Campus: Situated at 1 Tampines Street 73, Singapore 528704 (1°21′33″N 103°55′55″E / 1.359286°N 103.931864°E). UWCSEA's East Campus opened its doors on 1 September 2008 in a transitional campus in Ang Mo Kio. The East Infant School moved to its permanent home at the Tampines campus in 2010, and the rest of the grades followed.

Both campuses are equipped with a campus-wide wireless network and a central IT help desk for students. Interactive whiteboards are present in all classrooms.

Distinguishing Features

UWCSEA stands out from many other UWC schools. Most UWC institutions are wholly boarding schools offering a two-year International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme for scholarship students aged 16-19. In contrast, UWCSEA admits students from the age of 4, with the majority being children of expatriates or immigrants in Singapore. While there are over 300 boarders from 76 countries across both campuses, and over 100 students from 47 countries in grades 8-12 who are supported by scholarships, Singapore government policy restricts most citizens from attending international schools within the country. Consequently, UWCSEA has the smallest percentage of local students among all UWCs.

Curriculum

UWCSEA offers a K-12 holistic and concept-based curriculum. Students from K1 to Grade 10 follow a UWCSEA-designed curriculum. The UWCSEA learning program leads to the UWC Program in Grades 9 and 10 and the IB Diploma in Grades 11 and 12.

Currently, students can choose either the UWCSEA program or the IGCSE curriculum for grades 9-10. Beginning in August 2025, the unique UWCSEA curriculum will replace the IGCSE option. The UWCSEA program culminates in a UWCSEA High School Diploma. It centers around the subject domains of Art and Design, Mathematics, Science and Technology, Humanities, English, and an additional foreign language. Additionally, there’s a compulsory core, much like the IB DP core, including 1 year of the course UWC Perspectives and 2 years of the course Wellbeing and Physical Education. Students are required to take 10 courses each year.

IGCSE British Curriculum

The British education system is a popular curriculum commonly offered at international schools worldwide. Functioning similarly to the AP curriculum in the American system, students of the British system select subjects to study for the year and then take the corresponding exams to earn a General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). There are over 60 different GCSE subjects for students to choose from. After studying GCSE subjects for approximately five terms, students take the corresponding GCSE exams to earn certificates. Students can add 7-9 more subjects to their course load depending on their stage or year level. At UWCSEA, students in grade 9 to 10 take an international version of the British GCSE exams (IGCSE). This is Key Stage 4 of the British curriculum, and the grade levels are known as Year 10 and Year 11.

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In Key Stage 4, students continue studying their core and foundation subjects and their modern foreign language. They also add on their chosen GCSE elective subjects. Core subjects include English, Math, and Science, while foundation subjects include Computing, Physical education, Swimming, and Citizenship. Additional subjects such as design and technology, history, geography, art and design, music, personal, social, and health education (PSHE), and citizenship, may also be offered in a school under the British IGCSE system. Typically, students take 9 GCSE subjects at this stage. Year 10 students may take their IGCSE exams early if they feel prepared, while Year 11 students must take the IGCSE exams.

IB Curriculum

The International Baccalaureate curriculum is offered at all 18 UWC schools and nearly 6,000 schools worldwide. IB contains four main curricula: IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) for elementary school students, IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) for middle school, and IB Diploma Programme (DP) or IB Careers Programme (CP) for high school. In other schools, students choose either the IB DP or IB CP route for their high school education, but UWCSEA offers the IB DP to its grade 11-12 students.

IB DP contains six subjects, as well as the DP Core. Subjects offered include language and literature, language acquisition, individuals and societies, sciences, mathematics, and arts. The DP Core consists of Theory of Knowledge (TOK), Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS), and The extended essay.

All IBDP students at UWC complete a co-curricular programme called Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) - an integral part of the IB qualification. Students are involved in CAS for the whole of their IB Diploma and ideally spend 3-4 hours a week engaged in an extracurricular pursuit.

Foreign Language Program

UWCSEA has a unique way of teaching foreign languages. Formal foreign language classes (known as School Supported Language SSL courses) include Chinese, French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Dutch, Hindi, and Korean. Informal, small group first language classes aimed at preserving a student’s native tongue (known as Home Languages Programme HLP) have been offered in Bahasa Indonesia, Bengali, Burmese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Dzongkha, Filipino, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Malay, Marathi, Mongolian, Sinhalese, Tajik, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Urdu, Vietnamese, Albanian, Belarusian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Ukrainian, Amharic, Bemba, Kinyarwanda, Shona, Siswati, Swahili, Zulu, Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian. HLP classes are taught in small groups of 3-6 students, filtered by age and fluency, and are held after school or during lunchtime. This can be very helpful for students who want to achieve the IB Bilingual Diploma.

Activities and Programs

An after-school activities program is offered from K1, including activities covering sports, arts (music, drama, visual art), leadership, clubs, and special interests. Sports available include athletics, badminton, basketball, climbing, cricket, cross country, football, gymnastics, hockey, netball, rugby, sailing, softball, swimming, tennis, touch and ultimate frisbee. There are also other activities like the Radical Math Club and Model UN. The Model UN program, at UWC East in particular - is the largest in South East Asia, and they organise two MUN conferences each year, with delegates flying in internationally.

The personal and social education program aims to encourage learning, growth, and social development. Students in all grades participate in service projects.

College, within the school community.
Local, within the Singapore community.
Global Concerns, a student-run and led program that partners with grassroots organizations outside Singapore.
Initiative for Peace, an action-based program that was founded by a group of students and teachers at UWCSEA in 2001.

UWC SEA offers a K-12 holistic and concept-based curriculum. Diversity: Students are selected based on deliberate diversity, including factors such as culture and life experiences. Vibrant Location: Situated in the city-state of Singapore, UWC SEA leverages its central location as a global hub in Asia. Students benefit from meaningful local community connections woven into their learning experiences. K-12 concept-based curriculum: The holistic learning programme consists of five interlinking elements: academics, activities, outdoor education, personal and social education and service. IB Systems Transformation: Leadership for Change is an innovative new course, carefully designed by passionate and experienced educators in partnership with the IB. It is for students looking for further challenges and authentic, project-based experiences in their learning journey. Through project-based learning, students explore how to connect and lead others; how to understand and navigate complex systems; and how to be resilient and adaptable in the face of challenges and failures. There are five distinct areas in which skills and capabilities will be taught and assessed in this course.

Extracurricular activities

UWCSEA offers nearly 2,400-2,800 different activities, in which students spend an average of 3-4 hours per week. A highlight to remember UWCSEA is its spectacular outdoor activities facilities such as theaters, tennis courts, a climbing wall, floodlit swimming pools, Astroturf playing fields, camping and climbing gear, kayaks, and so much more. Additionally, UWCSEA houses 20 drama productions, 15 concerts, art exhibitions, and more each year.

UWCSEA East campus categorizes activities into 4 seasons spread across the school year, and students choose activities from 6 different pathways: Arts and Performance, Mind Matters, Create and Innovate, Learn and Lead, Wellness for Life, and Sports.

UWCSEA Dover campus activities are categorized into Art Design & Technology, Drama & Dance, Global Affairs & College Affairs, Language & Culture, Music & Instrument Teaching Programme (ITP), and Sports Health & Fitness.

East: Arts and Performance Pathway

Activities include ballet, chamber string ensemble, dance, jazz band, culturama, DJ club, rock school, and more.

East: Mind Matters Pathway

Activities include investment society, cryptocurrency club, board games, politics podcast club, mythology club, philosophy club, and more.

East: Create and Innovate Pathway

Activities include drawing, aviation club, mural art, origami, web development studio, yearbook, research and development (R&D) club, storytelling, and woodwork club.

East: Learn and Lead

Activities include debate, global cooking, law society, student council, astronomy club, biotech society, diversity equity inclusion justice (DEIJ) club, sports leadership program for coaching, medical society, Model United Nations, TEDEd club, and more.

East: Wellness for Life

Activities include circuit training, bootcamp, climbing, circus, hiking, martial arts, mindful meditation, scuba diving, yoga, run club, and more.

Dover: Art Design & Technology

Activities include a visual arts magazine, video editing, 3D Lego animation, an AI society, coding, an ethical hacking society, girls in tech, digital illustration, a film society, robotics, and more.

Dover: Drama & Dance

Activities include slam poetry, short-form plays, rock show production, dance show, K-pop dance, and more.

Dover: Global Affairs & College Affairs

Activities include debate team, Model United Nations, behavior business and economics society and internship, biotech society, black student union, chemistry competition club, vet med society, student publications, engineering society, law society, marine conservation society, and more.

Dover: Language & Culture

Activities include Hindi club, Korean club, Swedish club, anime manga game discussion, Chinese dialect, Chinese mahjong, sign language club, and more.

Dover: Music & Instrument Teaching Programme (ITP)

Concerts include Cantabile, Chamber Players, Jazz band, and Opus Finale. Activities include Camerata, Javanese Gamelan Ensemble for UN Night, music composition society, traditional Chinese drum club, songwriting club, and more.

East and Dover: Sports

On both Dover and East campuses, the following sports are offered: badminton, basketball, climbing, cross country, cricket (boys), football, golf, gymnastics, netball (girls), rugby (boys), sailing, softball, swimming, tennis, touch (girls), and volleyball. Dover additionally offers hockey. UWCSEA competes in the Southeast Asia Activity Conference (SEASAC).

Outdoor Education

Each year, UWCSEA students take an exciting, fun grade-wide trip off campus.

Grade 2: 2-day camp at Singapore Zoo
Grade 3: 3-day trip to Desaru, Malaysia
Grade 4: 4-day trip to Sibu Island, Malaysia
Grade 5: 5-day trip to Port Dickson, Malaysia
Grade 6: 5-day trip to Tioman Island, Malaysia
Grade 7: 5-day trip to Tioman Island, Malaysia (five-day sea kayaking trip)
Grade 8: 6-day trip to Thailand
Grade 9: 7 to 18-day outdoor expeditions
Grade 10 (optional): 7 to 18-day outdoor expeditions
Grade 11: Project Week (student-planned independent trip)

The UWCSEA Foundation

The UWCSEA Foundation is the fundraising arm of the college, established in 2008. By 2015, it had raised $12.4 million.

Community

UWCSEA Singapore is a united, welcoming community that embraces students and their families from around 100 different nations. Their community, while large, celebrates and builds on the success of individuals, with an aim to create a wider impact through our Mission. UWCSEA embodies everything the UWC Movement stands for: concern and compassion for others, the willingness to accept responsibility, and tenacity in pursuit of the truth.

Faculty

Out of the 602 teachers at UWCSEA, 41.3% are from Singapore, 19% from the UK, and the remaining from the US, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, India, China, the Philippines, and 34 other nationalities. Many teachers have postgraduate qualifications, and all are involved in a process of ongoing professional learning and development.

Technology

Students learn to use technology and computers effectively in all parts of the curriculum. UWCSEA adopts a Bring your own Apple Macbook policy beginning in 6th grade.

Dover vs. East Campus

UWCSEA Dover

Dover campus has 3,000 students and is a larger campus with older buildings. The main highlights and differences include an excellent, acclaimed gymnastics team, a film festival in grade 8, and more activities, such as a ropes course (a rope climbing outdoor activity) for grades 5-8. Dover also filters students into different math level classes in elementary school, which is earlier than East campus. Among students, Dover’s faculty is known to be more experienced and attentive to students.

UWCSEA East

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