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There are many ways a school can educate its students and shape their worldviews. What sets a school apart is its vision – and the learning environment it provides.
As an international school, the curriculum at Dulwich College (Singapore) centres around student well-being and helping learners cultivate their own voices.
Coming on the back of evolving student and parent aspirations in the post-pandemic world, Jacob Martin, Deputy Head of College, at Dulwich College (Singapore) described the importance for schools to adapt to the fast-changing learning landscape.
Source: All images are courtesy of Dulwich College (Singapore)
Dulwich College (Singapore) Celebrates 10th Anniversary By Rewriting Strategic Plan
Back in 2022, with a milestone 10th anniversary on the horizon in 2024, Dulwich College (Singapore) set out to rewrite its strategic plans for the next 10 years. The school had grown more than 4-fold, from 800 students in 2014 to nearly 3,000 students.
To craft its strategy for the following decade, Dulwich College (Singapore) had to understand its community – students (past and present), parents and teachers. Their thoughts and aspirations can form a foundational compass for its education.
Over several months, the college collected community surveys. Jacob explained that he also wanted unfiltered responses, setting up anonymous cardboard-based pods with an iPad at various locations in the school.
Unsurprisingly, the school found strong calls for traditionally stringent education that would lead students to good university placements. Hearteningly, Jacob also learned that there were cohesive voices from students, parents, advocating for environmental sustainability, as well as cultural diversity.
This is echoed by ecosystem partners such as OCBC – championing businesses that are committed to “Do Well, Do Good, Do Now”.
To this end, Dulwich College (Singapore) penned its guiding statement: Live Worldwise. Within its curriculum, it would equip students to be responsible global citizens and inspire them to take action to create positive impacts.
Building The Greenhouse: The First Net-Zero Building In An International School
Dulwich College (Singapore) invested $60 million in The Greenhouse, a state-of-the-art seven-story building within the college campus, to set an example for students. Supported by its green financing solutions, OCBC led a syndicated loan for The Greenhouse with two other banks.
Officially opened in November 2023, The Greenhouse represents a long-term commitment to help students achieve learning outcomes within creative and holistic learning spaces; all whilst integrating concepts of sustainability into the curriculum, driven by the design of the building.
The Greenhouse is equipped with facilities such as film and media suites and black box theatres. There is also a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and maths) workshop to instil STEAM learning and entrepreneurship. The facility also houses a professional teaching kitchen for students.
A vast two-story IB library, workspaces, study rooms and social spaces provide ample study and group-work environments for pre-university students.
The building is inter-connected with existing sporting facilities, including gyms, tennis courts, and a sports science laboratory for students to learn sports and keep active.
The Greenhouse is both a Green Mark Platinum Certified (the highest sustainable construction certification in Singapore), and a net-zero energy building. Its architectural design, construction materials and function all incorporate sustainable solutions.
Jacob explains that they could have simply built another standard school building, but “The Greenhouse serves as a beacon of the educational programme at Dulwich”. The $60 million investment in its future underscores the urgency to not only do well and do good, but to do now.
With the new building being housed within its existing campus, the college worked with sustainable design and architecture experts to create an eco-envelope surrounding the entire building to maximise space for solar panel placement.
To achieve net-zero, Dulwich College (Singapore) also had to reduce energy consumption and implement energy-saving technology and designs to match the energy that their solar panels were able to generate.
Dulwich College (Singapore) installed light shafts across its top floor and a central atrium to maximise natural lighting across the entire building. The central atrium also provides natural ventilation – minimising the need for air conditioning.
The college also incorporated innovative elements that increased student engagement with the building, while improving energy consumption. For example, they installed energy-generating kinetic floor tiles that are linked to a screen that showcases the amount of energy produced when students walk across them.
Apart from just being a net-zero energy building, The Greenhouse goes a step further to reduce water usage with its rainwater harvesting system and recycles water for irrigation.
Furthermore, the building uses sustainable building materials, such as mixed low-carbon concrete and recycled wood or plastic for interior design and furniture to reduce waste and carbon footprint in the process.
It is also Jacob’s hope that The Greenhouse does not remain the only net-zero building in an international school in Singapore for too long. “The Greenhouse can also serve as an example”.
During its official opening ceremony at the end of 2023, National Development Minister Desmond Lee applauded Dulwich College (Singapore) for pushing the boundaries of energy efficiency, highlighting that it would also encourage more organisations to follow suit.
Minister Lee also reiterated the fact that the true value of The Greenhouse lies in its ability to give its students a sense of ownership and confidence, as well as the tools to make a positive impact in our world.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdoTquzcGIQ
No business can drive sustainability all on their own. To “Do Well, Do Good, Do Now”, Dulwich College (Singapore) has partnered OCBC since 2015, supported by its regional banking solutions.
Besides leading the syndicated green loan to build The Greenhouse, OCBC has financed other commercial projects with Dulwich College (Singapore) over the years.
Commitment To Be A Sustainable School
To engage its students and community, the roof of The Greenhouse was outfitted to be an edible forest for students to forage for fruits and expose them to a more natural form of food production, instead of the more commonly seen farmed foods.
The teaching kitchen incorporates an on-site hydroponic farm to grow several different plants, herbs and mushrooms for students to harvest to create plant-based meals.
To deal with food waste from the edible forest, a vermi-composter and an insect farm will be incorporated into the roof garden where black soldier flies are bred. The larvae from the black soldier flies are then fed to fish in the pond, where the water is also used to irrigate the forest, creating a circular ecosystem.
The school also exposes students to various sustainability opportunities, no matter what area of interest they have. Within the curriculum, students are made aware of the necessary skills for them to thrive in a forever-changing world beset with environmental and sustainability issues.
Dulwich College (Singapore) also engages students in other sustainability activities. Through the collection of waste plastics, students can recycle the plastic into either art projects or possibly even products to be resold at school!
Dulwich College (Singapore) is also the first international school in Singapore to introduce Forest School into the DUCKS – kindergarten – early years programme. It’s not difficult to see why Jacob views this as an essential part of the Dulwich College (Singapore) curriculum. Young children in Singapore grow up without a direct connection to nature.
Forest School equips pre-schoolers with basic skills to co-exist with the environment (cutting wood, starting campfires) so they learn the risks and impact of human activity on the environment.
Older students may go on outdoor trips outside of Singapore. Jacob shares that the school avoids flying anywhere, to minimise its environmental impact, and so, has to locate places they can reach by buses or even boats.
The ultimate goal is to encourage students and its extended communities to make more informed choices, take inspired action and create a positive impact regardless of how small.
The post Moulding Global Citizens: How Dulwich College (Singapore) Marries Creativity & Sustainability In Their Classrooms appeared first on DollarsAndSense.sg.
