German European School Singapore
Encyclopedia
German European School Singapore (GESS) is an international, multi-lingual, co-educational school in Singapore. GESS is a not-for-profit school providing education to 1,300 students from more than 40 nationalities. The GESS philosophy of “learning to live and to give” forms the backbone of its approach to education as the school supports and nurtures its students to become balanced, responsible and informed world citizens.
Since its foundation in 1971, the school has evolved into a one school – two system organisation. The European section offers all three International Baccalaureate Programmes (PYP
, MYP
, DP
) in English. As a German government accredited “Excellent German School Abroad”, the German Section of GESS offers all German school leaving certificates. GESS focuses on European languages and culture. For Dutch students the school offers a mother-tongue programme fully integrated in the curriculum of the secondary level of the European section. It is developed in cooperation with Rijnsland Education Worldwide .
The school places a great deal of emphasis on individualised support. That is why classes are kept small, thereby providing the opportunity for each student to realise its potential. As part of GESS’s approach to provide holistic education, students have numerous opportunities to engage in a large variety of creative and sporting activities, as well as embracing social responsibility through our community projects.
In the toddler, kindergarten and pre-primary groups the youngest members of the school community learn and develop together through activities which stimulate social, intellectual and fine and gross motor skills. The groups are taught by native speaking teachers to allow the children to strengthen either their German or English language skills.
Since its foundation in 1971, the school has evolved into a one school – two system organisation. The European section offers all three International Baccalaureate Programmes (PYP
IB Primary Years Programme
The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme is an educational programme managed by the International Baccalaureate for students aged 3 to 11. While the programme prepares students for the IB Middle Years Programme, it is not a prerequisite for it...
, MYP
IB Middle Years Programme
The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme is an educational programme intended for students aged approximately 11 to 16 . Thus, in the United States the programme is often taught throughout the middle school years and the first two years of high school...
, DP
IB Diploma Programme
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is a two-year educational programme for students aged 16–19that provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education, and is recognised by universities worldwide. It was developed in the early to mid-1960s in Geneva by...
) in English. As a German government accredited “Excellent German School Abroad”, the German Section of GESS offers all German school leaving certificates. GESS focuses on European languages and culture. For Dutch students the school offers a mother-tongue programme fully integrated in the curriculum of the secondary level of the European section. It is developed in cooperation with Rijnsland Education Worldwide .
History
The first lessons at the German School were taught on 25th August 1971 with six students enrolled. In April 1972, less than a year after the initial opening, the Kindergarten and Pre-School opened their doors. The school continued to grow quickly and the completion of a new school building at 72 Bukit Tinggi Road laid the foundation for what is now the GESS Main Campus. During 2004, the Board of Governors made the significant decision to offer students tuition in English as well as German and pursue accreditation with the International Baccalaureate Organisation. As a result, the school’s name was changed to the German European School Singapore (GESS). The following school year, the European (English speaking) section of the school started teaching the IB curriculum for grades 1 to 12. Growing student numbers, lead to the decision to open a separate Primary School campus at Jalan Jurong Kechil in August 2008. This is now home to students of both the German and European sections from grade 1 to 5. In 2010, the GESS pre-school department received accreditation to teach the Primary Years Programme IB curriculum and GESS became a fully certified, IB World School.Academic Programme
Since the decision to offer multi-lingual education, GESS has operated in two distinct yet cohesive sections. The GESS European section offers the IB Programme in English and the German section uses the German language to teach all German school leaving certificates. To support the cohesion of its school community GESS teaches both German and English language lessons at differing levels in both sections.The school places a great deal of emphasis on individualised support. That is why classes are kept small, thereby providing the opportunity for each student to realise its potential. As part of GESS’s approach to provide holistic education, students have numerous opportunities to engage in a large variety of creative and sporting activities, as well as embracing social responsibility through our community projects.
In the toddler, kindergarten and pre-primary groups the youngest members of the school community learn and develop together through activities which stimulate social, intellectual and fine and gross motor skills. The groups are taught by native speaking teachers to allow the children to strengthen either their German or English language skills.
Campus
The German European School Singapore (GESS) has two campuses located near to the Bukit Timah and Bukit Batok Nature Reserves respectively.- Main Campus (Pre-School and Secondary School) at 72 Bukit Tinggi Road
- Primary School Campus (Primary School) at 300 Jalan Jurong Kechil