Gems: A Cut Above The Rest

Keeping in line with the GEMS vision of pursuing excellence and leading through innovations, GEMS World Academy (GWA) Singapore’s new Principal – Secondary years, Jan Stipek, wants to ensure life-long success of his students rather than just university admissions.

- Nithya Subramanian

You know a school is a school when educators and not businessmen run it. GEMS Education – the world’s largest operator of private school – exemplifies this, as it was founded by Indian-born teachers K S and Marina Varkey in Dubai in 1959. The same ethos is present in its schools across the globe, including Singapore, where it opened a plush 3000-capacity school more than two years ago.

Today GWA (Singapore) is buzzing with students from various countries and ethnic groups, making it seem like a United Nations of education. GWA (Singapore) offers world-class facilities to nurture diverse talents in academic, sports and performing arts, partners with parents through engagement programmes and has exceptional educators with an average experience of 15 years in teaching. It also draws resources from its global network of educational institutions to ensure outstanding results.

The first cohort of 21 students will be appearing for their International Baccalaureate (IB) in 2018, a landmark event for this school. Jan Stipek, Principal - Secondary Years, who has years of experience of working on and teaching IB Programmes, leads the team of educators at GWA (Singapore).

“Being the first batch, our students may not have seniors here to support them, but they are part of a global Theory of Knowledge (TOK) cohort, interacting with students in other GEMS schools. We also invite young university students, recent pass-outs, to come and share their experiences with them,” he said.