Boarding school for less well-off teens sees first batch of graduates

Five of the Il students win places in tertiary or other institutions via early admissions

- Shermaine Ang

For 14-year-old Xavier Ng, a boarding school became a refuge from a difficult home life.

Picked on by his stepfather, Xavier, an only child, spent most of his time in the family’s one-room public rental flat glued to his phone or computer, unable to go out without permission.

His mother, Ms Theresa Kong, who works in a private clinic, typically returned home at around 8.30pm.

Ms Kong, 54, first heard about =Dreams, the boarding school, through a family coach supporting her family as part of ComLink+, an initiative for low-income households.

Ms Kong, who has since divorced her husband, felt that a boarding school would be a better environment for her son.

Now 16, Xavier is among the first graduating batch of I from =Dreams, Singapore's first residential programme for disadvantaged teens. Students stay at the =Dreams campus on weekdays, commuting to and from their respective schools. They return home on weekends.

He has secured a spot in the retail and online business course at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College East through the early admissions exercise (EAE), which offers conditional entry based on aptitude.

Started in 2023 with 28 Secondary land 2 students, =Dreams has since awarded scholarships to 77 students, fully covering the cost of the programme, food and lodging on campus.

=Dreams, which is endorsed as an approved Institution of a Public Character, is funded by donations from foundations and individuals. The campus, located at the former Geylang Serai Community Club in Haig Road, can take ina total of 150 boarders.

Of the I graduates, most of whom took the N-level exams, five have secured places in tertiary or other institutions through early admissions.

One of them, Vivian Tan, secured a scholarship from SJI International School, while three others will be studying nursing, passenger services, and communication design at ITE.