Residential life

UWCSEA offers a residential boarding experience unmatched by traditional boarding school programmes. While we are a large and busy international school, our relatively small community of boarding students who live on each campus are a vital part of each community.

Each of our boarding houses provide a supportive community for the young people who live there.

Settling-in

On arrival, all students are allocated living and study spaces that they can personalise as part of a boarding orientation programme which welcomes new boarders before the ‘day school’ orientation starts and returning boarders re-join the house community.

Experienced staff ensure our new boarders are immersed in a schedule of planned activities that include Singapore and campus exploration days, as well as time to get to know each other and the daily routines of the house.

Boarding orientation

The whole boarding house participates in a weekend programme in the second month of the school year to help all our boarders get to know each other in a relaxed environment after the initial busy weeks settling in to school routines. Pre-pandemic this was a trip to neighbouring Malaysia or Indonesia and we hope to return to the short overseas trip format in future.

This is the first in a series of activities that foster friendship and community spirit and helps students adjust to a more ‘communal’ life, supported by our experienced staff and wider community. Singapore’s multi-faceted expatriate community is reflected in the over 100 nationalities that make up our community. Most of our students, day or boarding, understand the challenges and opportunities of living in a new country, and this understanding support is available to our boarders as they adjust to living away from home.

Many students adapt to boarding right from the start, but we recognise that for some it can take a little longer. We proactively support our students in establishing themselves as part of our friendly and caring boarding community. Our weekly routines help our boarders strike a balance between academic and leisure pursuits, and enables them to engage fully in the Learning Programme offered at the College, as well as in residential life.

Daily life

All boarders have a daily schedule, with a gradual increase of self-management expected of students as they reach the final years of High School. Our younger boarders have a more structured routine, to help them maintain a healthy balance by ensuring they get enough sleep, with scheduled study times, and greater structure in their routines. We also play a greater role in helping them manage their use of technology. Our ultimate goal is for boarders to learn to manage their time and grow in personal responsibility, preparing them for life after school.

In any one week, boarders might participate in a house meeting, attend a music lesson or recital, perform on stage, debate a current affairs topic with their peers and play in a sports match—all in addition to their studies! There are also a host of recreational options in Singapore which boarders are encouraged to explore on the weekends, including bicycle and exercise trails, libraries, parks and performance spaces. Those who wish to do so are able to connect with and participate in activities and worship in their religious community in Singapore.

A wide array of events and activities on campus and outings around Singapore includes cultural talks (in which boarders introduce the rest of the community to their country and culture), themed evenings, movie nights, thought-provoking discussions and presentations, sports such as dragon boating and trips to The Esplanade for concerts and other festivals. These activities provide boarders with the chance to hear different perspectives and share ideas, and to develop an appreciation for others and their different viewpoints.

“So, how is boarding life? …

… I might be totally different from my peers, but we share a common dream to make the world a better place and a curiosity for other people. I am so honoured and grateful to call these people not only my friends, but rather my sisters and brothers through the amazing and absolutely incredible UWC moments, that I will think of 50 years from now.

Each of us will watch the news as grown ups, not putting a location to a country, but a face, a memory, a feeling. And that is not only going to change us, it’s going to change the way we act and how we influence other people. Changing the world just a little bit. Today by helping one of the Chinese Grade 10s with her homework, listening to the girl from Bhutan talking about Buddhism, with her face glowing like the sun itself, giving me a feeling for the religion that no book has ever done before, and then laughing and crying arm in arm with my Kasach roommate. How would I ever—and I mean ever—support a war that would put any of my friends’ homes in danger?

Not all of us will go into politics, but there will come a time when we’ll have to make a decision on where we will stand in this world, and not only crossing the right box while electing a party, but calling our friend to say ‘what on earth can we do about that earthquake in the hometown of our friend’ and ‘which other former roommates can help us with that.’”

Julia, Germany

Wake up

7am

This probably seems like a sleep-in to our day community ... living on campus makes getting to morning sports training much easier.

If we’re not feeling well we can go to the clinic to see the Doctor.

Lights out!

11pm

Younger students go to bed earlier, however in Grade 11 our main lights go off at 10.30pm, and reading lights at 11pm. WiFi curfew starts at midnight and runs until 5.30am.

CommuniTea, relaxation and organisation

9-11pm

At 9pm, we have a bed time snack, and time for a chat and a catch up with friends and Houseparents. Hang out with friends, get ready for the next day, extra study, make a snack, read … also, if you’re in Grades 8–10, hand in your device at ‘technology curfew’.

Breakfast

7.15-7.45am

Breakfast check-in at Santai is compulsory for everyone. We go directly to lessons from there.