The world’s largest pre-school for kids aged 18 months to six years was officially opened in Singapore today (August 30).
The Early Learning Village is a collaboration between the Australian International School (AIS) and the Stamford International School. At 50,000 sq ft, more than 100 classrooms and five buildings, it has the capacity to take in 2,100 children, says a Channel NewsAsia report.
“If we had set up schools separately we wouldn’t have been able to have such an amazing facility that we [the schools] can both share,” said Mr Michael Day, Stamford American’s early years’ principal.
A snapshot of the play area and pool. Image: screengrab, Channel NewsAsia
“The building does look large when you come in from the outside,” said Mr Adam Patterson, head of early years at AIS. “But for the children and the parents, the experience is that the hub of four classrooms is like a secure little village school.
“And because we have play decks on many different levels, they can go out to the play deck any time they like, and it’s not like every single child goes out to play at 12pm,” he is quoted by Channel NewsAsia Times as saying.
Some of the features of the village include:
- Multifunctional spaces like outdoor play decks
- A 20m swimming pool complete with lanes for both beginners and more confident swimmers
- Cosy, intimate spaces for the kids (despite the large size). For example, kids in the same year group are housed on separate floors and ‘classroom communities’ are found in groups of four to create little communities on each level.
All nationalities are welcome at the Early Learning Village. More than 80 Singaporean kids are already enrolled.
According to Channel NewsAsia, “fees vary depending on the age of the child and number of days attending. For a three-year-old attending the school five days a week, the fee is around S$14,500 per semester.”
Despite the fact that AIS and Stamford American are on the same location, they are independent schools and offer different curriculums. Stamford offers the International Baccalaureate and US curriculum from August to June, while AIS offers the Australian curriculum from January to December.
So parents, would you enroll your child here? We’d love to hear your opinions!
Reference: Channel NewsAsia
