Taylor’s Schools aims to ensure that its learners take their place as productive leaders on the global stage.

Speaking to The Edge, Taylor’s Schools president B K Gan says its focus is to ensure that learners from all of its six international schools across Malaysia and Singapore are learning all they need to future-proof themselves and be relevant so as to thrive in a global environment.

He adds that Taylor’s Schools is driven by one purpose: to educate youth to take their place as productive leaders in a global community.

Gan says the high academic achievements of the learners at its schools is a result of its initiatives both in and outside of the exam system to develop young minds. Each of its schools is recognised and accredited by international organisations. For example, Taylor’s International School is the world’s first Quantum Learning Distinguished School accredited by Quantum Learning Network, a global leader in education and teacher training based in the US and founder of SuperCamp, a summer camp programme that has over 85,000 graduates from 21 countries.

Meanwhile, Nexus International School in Malaysia and Singapore and Garden International School (GIS) are Apple Distinguished Schools — centres of leadership and educational excellence that demonstrate Apple’s vision of learning with technology. To date, there are only 535 Apple Distinguished Schools in the world.

On a similar note, Australian International School Malaysia (AISM) is the first visible learning school in the world. Visible learning is an ­evidence-based approach to teaching and learning researched and developed by the University of Melbourne’s Professor John Hattie.

Gan also emphasises that the development of the learners’ social psyche is paramount to their success. This means that learners at its schools are given the opportunity to learn about stress management, digital safety and interpersonal skills. At the same time, they are strongly encouraged to develop interests beyond the classroom to become well-rounded individuals who are curious and learn for the pleasure of learning rather than for the sake of exams.

At Nexus International School Singapore, its classrooms quite literally do not have any walls. Gan explains that the school was developed with a more collaborative ethos in mind, where classes are held in open areas, much like the way meetings are held in large tech companies, to facilitate collaboration and open mindsets.

“The teachers have become facilitators in the learning process, which has in turn shifted the ownership of learning from the teachers to the learners,” he says.

Unlike traditional classrooms, learners compete and collaborate with one another to develop solutions and answers to the problems and questions raised during the course of the school day, making the learning environment a vibrant one.

According to Gan, Nexus was established with a view to expanding globally. He says the Singapore government’s award of a piece of prime land close to the city state’s central business district (CBD) to Nexus for the purpose of building its campus serves as a validation of Taylor’s Schools.

Another aspect on which Taylor’s Schools places a lot of emphasis is community. Gan says GIS’ strength is its community, where teachers, parents and learners alike are engaged in the learning process and form part of the school’s community of learners. In a typical school term, there are many workshops on various topics that parents can attend, including English lessons for parents who are non-native English speakers.

In the same spirit of community and future-proofing its learners, Taylor’s Schools also works closely with companies and businesses to give learners a perspective on how the real world works. Gan says corporations are invited to pay a visit to its schools, not only to give the learners an understanding of what corporates do in real life but also for corporates to find out how Taylor’s Schools learners can come up with groundbreaking ideas to help them create new solutions.

He notes that while the schools do look at new ways of learning, they also ensure that learners do well in standardised exams. That being said, he points out that, increasingly, universities are moving away from total dependence on standardised exams and looking at the qualities, achievements and potential of applicants.

When asked what role technology plays and how it is being utilised in schools in the current climate, Gan says children of today are digital natives and that there is no point in trying to keep technology out of the classroom. Instead, new technologies should be harnessed in a safe manner to ensure that the learning process and the enrichment of learners are conducted effectively.

“Certainly, technology has helped online learning, which has accelerated in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he notes.

Gan reiterates that while online learning does change the way things are done, children are fairly adaptable. 

In summary, Taylor’s Schools not only emphasises academic achievements but also helps learners broaden their horizons so that they can thrive, innovate and lead in a rapidly changing and dynamic global environment.