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Singapore American School: A culture of possibilities

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Singapore American School (SAS) has a rich history and heritage, producing exemplary graduates who achieve lifetimes of success.

Celebrating its 60^th year in 2016, SAS started from the humblest of beginnings. Since opening its doors to just 105 students, the school has grown to become a symbol of education excellence in Singapore, counting its world-class 36-acre campus as the largest K-12 single-site school in the world.

Now home to 1,200 high school students from 57 nationalities, SAS continues to strive for greatness. It maintains a staggeringly good track record of graduate success, with 100 percent of last year’s class gaining acceptance to universities all over the world. Ninety-one percent progressed to college straight after graduation – and, in case you were wondering, the other nine percent went on to serve in Singapore’s National Service or explored the wider world in an action-packed year out of study.

As you can see from the results, this reputation for success is well-earned. But it’s not just the purely academic teaching that allows SAS students to shine…

The faculty and the curriculum reflect the school’s central belief that one mould doesn’t fit all when it comes to education. At SAS, students are afforded every possible opportunity to explore interests, delve into passions, and discover their true self through experiences that ultimately shape them.

SAS goes out of its way to indulge each child’s aspirations and ambitions, and the results are truly remarkable. Here, students gain experiences that are incomparable to any other school; experiences that open their eyes, not just to their own potential, but to the untold potential of professional life after study.

Take, for example, the SAS Space Lab. In a truly stellar (pun intended) opportunity, SAS high school students launched Singapore’s first experiment to the International Space Station.

After a year of dedicated collaboration, painstaking planning and in-depth research, the group of teens saw the challenge from inception through to fruition when the results of the experiment returned from the International Space Station.

Chances like this don’t come along often, and SAS kids are having these ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ experiences before they even graduate high school.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

James Quek, 2017 graduate, got the chance to work alongside a Yale NUS Professor to develop his biomechatronic assistive limb exoskeleton. Having had an interest in robotics and mechanics from a particularly young age, James was encouraged to spread his wings thanks to the school’s accommodating learning approach. Providing resources and expertise, SAS gave James the tools he needed to realise his own dream.

“This experience will definitely benefit me in the future, as I am gaining a lot of practical knowledge about this field,” says James. “I really appreciate the chance it’s given me to work on a project I thought of, persevere through ups and downs, and see it through to a conclusion.”

Jamie Uy

Jamie Uy also seized SAS opportunities with both hands. After her research paper – titled, The Modern Mythical Place: San Fransokyo, Hiro, and Hybridity in Disney’s Big Hero 6 – was selected by the College Board as the exemplar paper and became an example for thousands of future AP Research students, and Jamie became a teaching assistant and member of the SAS faculty as a teaching assistant.

During her senior year, Jamie gained valuable experience in the classroom while imparting her knowledge and expertise to those in younger years. On top of this, her time studying the AP Research course helped her hone essential skills for lifelong learning and career success.

“The discipline needed to conduct college-level work, schedule time to meet a professor, and reach out to people challenged me incredibly,” Jamie says. “Fortunately, SAS is a well-funded school. I’m so grateful that when I needed a $100+ film textbook or articles behind paywalls, I could get them.”

“AP Research taught me many ways to conduct research, helped me develop discipline, and taught me the value of being proactive.”

These world-class opportunities at SAS mean graduates go on to top-flight universities across the globe, entering the world with a sense of self that stays with them for life.

Among the universities that SAS grads have gone on to are University of Cambridge, Columbia University, Cornell, MIT, the University of Oxford, and Harvard, just to name a few.

Kartikye Mittal, a 2016 graduate, used his SAS achievements to find his way into the world-renowned UC Berkeley. After being granted permission to complete a one-semester internship at Stanford, Kartikye used the opportunity to work on PocketQube Sat for his senior project. Thanks to the school’s commitment to connecting student interests to unique projects, as well as their support and guidance, Kartikye is now looking at a bright future among the stars.

SAS graduates are also basking in the limelight, with 2015 graduate Colton West currently pursuing his lifelong dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer. West credits SAS with helping him reach new heights in dance.

Arriving at the school as a technically-advanced ballet dancer, his high school dance teacher taught him the art of choreography and the importance of hard work. Fittingly, West credits Ms Van der Linden with much of his success.

“I don’t think I would have been a professional dancer and I don’t think I would have grown as much if it wasn’t for her influence,” he says.

And these are just a handful of SAS success stories. Among their alumni they also count a rocket scientist, a US senator, an assistant director, and umpteen entrepreneurs.

The opportunities on offer at SAS are truly life-changing. These events and experiences have the potential to alter the course of your life as you discover your true calling.

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