While the College prides itself on the students’ strong results — the average International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma score in 2012 was 35.83 out of a possible 45 points — it also advocates learning outside of the classroom.

“The College has a wider project than just a straight academic programme,” said Mr Frazer Cairns, Head of Campus at UWCSEA Dover. “The fundamental purpose of the College is that students go on and bring about great change, and that is attractive to many people; it certainly chimes with me as a parent.”

Focus on Service

Indeed, bringing about change for the greater good is a big part of the College’s focus. As the biggest college out of the 12 UWCs worldwide, UWCSEA, with 4,900 students, can certainly do this on a large scale. Of this number around 3,000 study on the original Dover Campus whilst the other 2,000 are enrolled on the new East Campus in Tampines.

The UWCSEA learning programme is made up of five interlinking elements that provide a life-defining education for students: academics, activities, outdoor education, personal and social education, and service.

On the importance of service, Mr Cairns explained, “We do not allocate the same amount of time to each element, but things like service and outdoor education are fundamental parts of the education here, rather than a nice extra. That is a unique part of the College, and it is very exciting.

“Service is not just something you do, it is a mindset. It is central and fundamental for us, especially with regard to what students learn in their activity. The College finds its expression and purpose in the concept of service, and it runs through everything we do.”

Service takes three forms: to the College, to the community and to the globe. In college service, older students will take on leadership roles and provide peer support for the younger ones.

Community service sees students fan out into their local community — to nursery schools, hospitals and hospices where they interact with a wider group of people. This can be challenging, particularly when the students meet people close to death, but Mr Cairns believes such local connections are important.

Global service is when students venture beyond Singapore.

Learning Beyond Borders

Outdoor education encompasses expeditions, which students embark on annually, starting small in Grade 1 (i.e. seven years of age) with an overnight stay in their classroom and going on to travel to countries such as Malaysia and Thailand from Grade 3 and even further afield from Grade 9.

These overseas experiences culminate in Project Week when they are in Grade 11 and 17 years old. For this, students independently, in groups of four or five, decide on a low-cost travel project, usually to somewhere in Southeast Asia. The aim is to give them the opportunity to learn independence and responsibility whilst gaining exposure to life beyond the comfortable confines of Singapore.

In 2012, 328 students travelled to 15 countries in 78 groups and worked with nearly 60 organisations, reaching out to, amongst others, street kids, leprosy sufferers and the elderly. This year, for instance, a group of students is planning on going to Bhutan to teach English at a school there.

“What the College does, first of all, is to trust them as sensible people, but at the same time we make sure it is as safe as it could possibly be. We get representatives from organisations to ensure that they understand what the reasonable expectation is, and we make sure they are trained in first aid, that they are insured and have evacuation support. We have a relationship with the International SOS, so that if something goes wrong they have medical coverage 24 hours a day and if necessary, we can fly them out,” Mr Cairns said.

Many students have found that Project Week was the crucial point at which they learned to be an individual and to stand on their own two feet. “It’s probably the first time in their lives when they make real decisions that are actually going to affect them, because most of the decisions that young people make are quite enclosed,” said Mr Cairns. “But we trust them to make sense of their decisions, and to actually understand when something doesn’t go right.”

Following Project Week, the next big step many of them take is after they graduate at the end of Grade 12, and before they go on to university. The Gap Year Volunteer Programme sees students embark on nearly year-long projects or attachments that are inspired by any one of the trips and expeditions they have been on since they were eight.

An example is the turtle sanctuary on the Malaysian island of Tioman. Having visited it in Grade 6, made it part of their studies and even raised money for it, some students keep up their interest in the project throughout their time at UWCSEA. It is therefore quite possible that they will choose to go back there for eight months or so as a volunteer in their gap year.

Other students come up with their own initiatives. “In such cases, we provide logistical support. We have a certain amount of risk assessment and on-going monitoring. If a project is successful, we will retain a link with that organisation, and probably other students can go in the following years. We want our service projects to have an extended life, and if we go in one year and leave the next, we would have changed nothing. If we can have a flow of students for 10, 15 or 20 years, then we can help to bring about substantial change,” Mr Cairns added.

A Diverse Student Body

A global outlook is almost a necessity, given UWCSEA’s diverse student population.

“We want a range of nationalities, and if someone comes from a minority nationality, which is a nationality represented by less than three per cent of our student population, it becomes interesting for us, even if it doesn’t automatically mean the student is accepted.

“One of the things we would like to do is to have children from two sides of a conflict, so they can talk about it from their own perspectives and we can all learn, because sometimes people don’t get along and we have to understand why that is the case,” Mr Cairns said.

UWCSEA also has 83 scholars within its student population. Most scholars are there for a two-year scholarship on the IB Diploma Programme for Grades 11 and 12 offered by the UWC movement, while a small number are on a three- or five-year scholarship.

The funding for these scholarships comes from setting aside a small percentage of the annual tuition fees of the whole student body and from money raised by the UWCSEA Foundation itself. The College gives students $130,000 for a full two-year scholarship, which is inclusive of tuition fees, an allowance, air fares and funds for expeditions.

The task of sourcing for these scholars falls to the various National Committees of the UWC movement. They look for young people who, regardless of their socio-economic background, possess great potential, and contrary to what might be thought this does not mean that they need to be academically brilliant. Of equal importance is “someone who has a special spark with a capacity to bring about change.”

Scholars at UWCSEA come from all over the world. “They are interesting young people and they are fascinating to talk to. We have Danish, Norwegian, Kenyan and Namibian scholars; we have young people who have lived enormously different lives from the lives our children have.

“We have a student from Timor-Leste who had to hide in the jungle from the invading army, and we have Cambodian scholars who prior to coming here were sorting through rubbish on a rubbish heap as a way of making a living. Bringing them here makes their lives better, but the benefit is to the wider community. When the rest of us are complacently saying that everyone should have Internet access, one of the scholars will say that it would be nice if everyone could have water or somewhere to live or be safe,” Mr Cairns said.

Round Square

The College’s commitment to a broader life education beyond the academic earned it international approval when it was invited to be a member of Round Square, a worldwide association of over a hundred schools which share a commitment beyond academic excellence to personal development and responsibility. UWCSEA Dover was the first UWC in the world to join Round Square.

“Round Square was started by the man who founded the UWC movement, Kurt Hahn. It has the same basic idea that students should get a rounded education with an outdoor element and challenge. The major benefit for us in having membership is that we get the opportunity to be part of and engage with a wider community of schools with similar values,” said Mr Cairns.

Another benefit for UWCSEA is the exchange programmes they can take part in with other Round Square schools. “A little while ago I went to South Africa with some middle school students, and it was a fantastic experience for them, because those were very different students with very different backgrounds. Being a member of Round Square provides a whole range of benefits, and I guess it provides a statement of what we think is important — a holistic education.

“We also do the National Youth Achievement Award (NYAA), which again was started by the same man. If you look at UWC, Round Square and the NYAA they’re pretty similar. All of them are ways to put forward the same message, which is that it’s important to be holistic and to think of people in a wider sense.”

The NYAA programme encourages young people between the ages of 14 and 25 to develop qualities of self-reliance and perseverance, and to forge a sense of responsibility to themselves, society and their nation. To receive an award, participants have to complete a set of required activities, and are judged on their personal achievement relative to their original circumstances and potential capabilities.

Empowering Students to Initiate Change

Nurturing students who can think of people in a wider sense and create change means that the College has to lead by example. The college culture is such that the students are significantly empowered and UWCSEA views them as adults of a similar standing with teachers and staff. Consequently, they have enormous amounts of influence in the College, and are entrusted with every sort of task, both big and small.

“The College tries very hard to do what it says it does, and what is interesting for me is that the College is brave enough to trust people and let them fail, because sometimes it doesn’t always go right,” Mr Cairns said.

One way in which students are empowered is via Global Concerns, an organisation within UWCSEA that seeks to integrate an awareness of global development and environmental issues into the College’s education programme. The Global Concerns leadership team is entirely made up of students, and a new concern can be added whenever a student feels there is a need to address a problem. Teachers are only involved as facilitators and advisors.

Students also organise the annual United Nations Evening for which they are single-handedly in charge of everything from the selection and planning of the various activities to the rehearsing and performing of the tens of dance and music items. Mr Cairns said, with a degree of pride, that what the students deliver is consistently of professional quality and he sees this as a real example of how trust can go a long way in giving young people confidence and in inculcating a sense of responsibility.

“You can trust but then check a great deal to make sure everything is going well, or you can trust and check just a bit. Certainly we monitor, but there’s actually a great deal of trust. And the students do brilliant things. What you get at UWCSEA is openness and a confidence that students can bring about change. I see in them a capacity to do something,” Mr Cairns said.

Dynamic Teachers in a Dynamic School

In order to nurture such students, teachers play a crucial role, and when UWCSEA recruits it looks for teachers who are trained in the IB, who are child-centred, who are aware of the cultural differences that students bring and who are themselves from diverse backgrounds.

But besides their eligibility, Mr Cairns emphasised the importance of teachers working in collaboration with students, as opposed to just teaching to them. “Something else that is very important for us is that their job doesn’t end in the classroom. We’re looking for someone who’s willing to go on expeditions and to take part in sports, among other things. One of the very first questions we ask is, ‘What else do you bring?’

“That is important because we’re looking for people who are role models for the students. We want students to be interested in the world; we want them to be committed to peace and a sustainable future. So we have to have teachers who don’t just say it, but demonstrate that they too want these things.”

Mr Cairns, who joined UWCSEA in August 2011, is very impressed by this aspect of the College. “We have really excellent staff here. Being new, I see the quality of the teachers in terms of their student interactions; and there are clearly a large number of extremely committed and intelligent people here. I think that this is an important part of what makes the school special.”

Gelling everything together, he says, is the close interpersonal relationships that can be found within UWCSEA. “Sometimes the connection and the closeness in a big organisation can be lost. But the College seems to have maintained the connection, and there is a humanity about the place which is important. If it’s all about human relationships and our obligation towards other people, if we’re saying that we want young people to go out to make a difference in the world, then how we relate to them has to be in line with that.”
 

为了应付家长的需求，这所在新加坡炙手可热的国际学校两年前在东部淡滨尼增建了东区新校舍，加上现有的杜佛校园，两所校舍到了2015年的总收生人数将比之前多一倍，达5400人之多，成为联合世界学院在世界12个分校，学生人数最多的校园。尽管如此，该学院学额还是供不应求。

在新加坡已立足超过40年的东南亚联合世界学院的教育模式究竟有多特别，让来自海外的精英家长趋之若鹜？

《新学》新加坡教育双语双月刊专访东南亚联合世界学院杜佛校园校长弗雷泽·坎恩斯，深入了解他如何透过与众不同的教育方式，培育孩子的自主思考能力，激发孩子改变世界的雄心抱负，赋予孩子改变世界的学习机会。

坎恩斯校长说：“联合世界学院已经不只是一所国际学校，还是一个国际组织，它推动着全球性的教育运动。立志要把教育转化为一种动力，将不同地区的人民、国家和文化联合起来，以促进世界和平并实现可持续的未来。教育，不仅是教会孩子数学、科学，好的教育，是要让孩子相信，他们可以，而且应该改变世界。要想影响世界，就必须从教育着手，因为教育是‘改变’的根基。”

培养学生自主能力

在东南亚联合世界学院，要是学生觉得自己能提出比校长更好的建议，他们不会害怕表明想法，还会直接指正校长：“我觉得你应该照我的方法去做。”

换做在其他学校，这可能被视为在挑战校长的权威，但在这里，这样的做法绝对能够接受，而且校长弗雷泽·坎恩斯还会认真地回应说：“好的，我想我可以做出一些调整。”

走在校园里，你会发现，学生都不以“坎恩斯先生”称呼这位校长，而是直呼他的名字弗雷泽。

不明就理的人可能质疑院方是不是太放纵学生，但其实，坎恩斯只不过是以行动，传达该学院的教育理念：他把学生当做成年人看待，给予他们充分的信任，鼓励他们去自由表达、自在探索，要借此培养他们的自主能力。

坎恩斯本身也育有一对子女，九岁的儿子和六岁的女儿也是联合世界学院的学生。从家长的角度来看，他认为，东南亚联合世界学院所提倡的这种教育理念具有很大吸引力。

“家长都希望给孩子最好的教育。学好数理科目固然重要，但是我也要学生相信，他们有影响世界的能力……若你希望这些年轻人日后出去改变世界，那你当然必须把他当成年人看待。”

这也是为何在这所学院，无论是主办活动还是创办学会，院方都放心放手给学生全权去做。学生可以自组团队，把想法化为可实行的计划。

以该院每年主办的“联合国晚会”（United Nations Evening）为例，策划这个大型文娱活动的工作，院方全权交由学生负责，让他们尽情展现校园内各种不同的文化。当晚的演出，策划、舞台设计、彩排、脚本等都由学生全权负责，教师只负责把练习和表演场地准备好，充分让学生发挥独立自主能力。

坎恩斯说：“学生在学院里有很大的影响力，我们信任他们，同时有勇气，‘敢’让他们失败。”

服务他人，改变世界

联合世界学院以“公益服务”为教育中心思想，致力培养学生对不同种族文化、国家社会的认识及包容，并鼓励学生积极参与国际关怀活动，这是联合世界学院教育理念的一大特色。

坎恩斯说：“学院灌输学生知识，取得杰出的学术成绩，其实是为了更崇高的目的：就是要为世界作出大贡献。我相信不少家长是对这样的理念产生共鸣，才把孩子送到我们学校来。”

许多学府的社区服务活动都是自愿性质，但在世界联合学院，公益服务活动就如语文、数理等科目，是强制性的，是必修科。为什么学院要如此强调公益服务活动？坎恩斯说：“对我们来说，公益服务不只是‘动手’，更是‘动脑’。服务是一种思维，是我们的中心思想。能够做多少不是重点，我们重视学生从公益服务中学习。从服务中学习是我们的教学基础，所以学生一定要参加公益服务活动，就好像一定要学数理那样。我们希望每名学生以实际行动关怀社会，借由这样的经验去了解不同生活与文化，培养同理心。”

学生在18岁毕业之后，学院会鼓励他们休学一年，到全球服务计划下的伙伴机构服务。坎恩斯举例，有一组第6级学生，到刁曼岛参与户外活动，参观了那里的海龟保育中心。那次的参观引起了他们对海龟保育计划的兴趣，后来他们协助该中心筹款，还继续通过不同方式对这项计划做出贡献。

坎恩斯说：“要是学生的公益服务计划做得成功，我们会尽力跟他们所服务的机构保持联系，这样日后可以安排其他学生去服务。我们希望学生的公益服务计划具可持续性，因为要是学生服务了一年就不去了，那没有多大作用。要是可以连续15到20年，一批又一批的学生持续不断到那里服务，这样是可以为伙伴机构带来比较实质的影响。”

每年组织学习团游学海外

重视公益服务外，学院也注重课室以外的学习。学生从八岁开始，每年都会参加学院举办的海外学习团，到新加坡以外的国家参观、学习。从邻国开始，每年到不同的国家，一年比一年远。最后，在17岁（第11级，IB课程第一年）的时候，学生需要自己计划并执行一项名为 “专题周”的计划，作为海外学习团的延伸。学生必须组队，一同计划为期一周的低成本（一人850新元）旅行。旅行分为服务类型及运动类型。全程没有教职员陪伴。

院方不会给学生设限，学生可以按自己的兴趣展开各种计划。坎恩斯透露，最近有一组学生表示想到不丹一所学校教英文，院方支持学生这项计划，同时也做足防范措施，如为他们买好保险，确保他们学会急救，与当地学校沟通协调，甚至联系国际急救机构，预备在紧急时刻把学生接送出境，做好万全准备，保障学生的安全。

他说：“在万全的安全准备之上，是校方对学生的信任，愿意放手让学生全权负责。”

以去年的“专题周”为例，共有328名学生分78组，到世界15个不同的国家，为60个伙伴机构服务。参与的学生当中有些向不幸的街童、麻风病人和老人伸出援手，一些则到泰国学泰拳和建房子，有的还负责照料熊猫、猴子、大象等各种动物。这些行程花费不高，每人不能超出850新元，重点是如何让他们透过实地走访，扩大自己对课室和生活圈以外生活的认识。

“年轻人平常面对的抉择，不外乎跟学业有关。以选择大学主修为例，我认为这算不上真正的选择，因为无论选哪一科，你还是会上大学。但‘专题周’不同，很多学生毕业后都说‘专题周’真正让他们成长，是他们第一次独当一面，也是他们第一次做出重大决定的一周。”

为全球各地学生提供奖学金

除了在新加坡设立东南亚联合世界学院，联合世界学院也在英国、意大利、美国、加拿大等11个国家设立分校，这些学校都以促进学生的国际认识为教育使命。

东南亚世界联合学院除了招收随父母旅居新加坡的外国学生，也接受获得世界联合学院奖学金，来自世界各地的学生。坎恩斯认为，透过奖学金计划引进来自不同国家和生活背景的学生，有助扩大学生的国际视野，以及刺激学生去了解他们生活圈以外的世界。

“我们有些获得奖学金的学生，他们的生活跟我们孩子的生活简直有天渊之别。像一位来自东帝汶的学生米奇，为了躲避来侵略家园的士兵，长期生活在森林里，在野外求存；我们的柬埔寨学生，在来这里求学之前，一直都是在垃圾堆中找生活。

“把他们带来这里，除了是为改善他们的生活，也有助于促进学生来源的多元化，开阔师生的视野。这样一来，当我们理所当然地认为‘所有人都应该有上网的机会’时，会有人适时地站出来提醒大家：要是能确保大家有干净的食水喝、安全的居住环境该有多好。”

遴选奖学金得主的工作，是由来自不同国家世界联合学院校友所组成的委员会负责。他们分布在世界各地，找寻有潜力的年轻人。多数的奖学金得主到新加坡来修读高中两年的IB课程。目前共有83名奖学金学生在新加坡求学。

坎恩斯说：“无论家境贫穷或富裕的学生，都可能具有超凡的潜力。而且潜力不一定指学业成绩杰出，凡拥有独特才华或有能力推动改变的人，我们都要致力栽培。”

设立世界联合学院奖学金的款项来自每名学生3%学费、学校基金会拨款以及一些教职员的捐赠。除了录取世界联合学院奖学金得主，东南亚世界联合学院本身也在柬埔寨发放奖学金，为当地学生提供到新加坡来接受优质教育的机会。他们赞助的学生主要来这里接受两年IB高中文凭课程，不过也有些在这里呆上长达五年的时间。

坎恩斯认为设立奖学金对学院的发展非常重要，因为它带来不同的学生、不同的文化，甚至不同的生命经历。他和大部分的教职员每个月固定把部分薪水捐入基金，参与这项有意义的计划。他说：“无论数目多寡，只要付出，而且意念正确，就是一份心意。”

多元、开放的校园文化

来新加坡之前，坎恩斯在日内瓦国际学校任职长达13年。那段在日内瓦管理国际学校的经验，让他深刻意识到维持开放、多元化校园的重要性。

他说：“在日内瓦国际学校，虽然我们的学生来自78个国家、母语多达54种，不过他们其实很相似。由于身处消费水平高的城市，加上那又是一所学费昂贵的学校，学生的生活背景几乎都一样。他们抵境时，在机场的行李传送带上领取的尽是名贵的路易斯威登行李箱。所以说他们虽然来自不同文化，但是生活背景却大同小异。这也是为何我重视联合世界学院的奖学金计划，因为我们可以借此带入一些来自不同生活背景的学生。我的孩子不曾为逃命而躲在森林，相信你也没有这样的经历，要是能够听身旁的同学谈起这段经历，相信这对学生来说会是一个很好的学习。”

东南亚世界联合学院杜佛校园和东区校园的学生来自超过80个不同国家，没有一个国籍占超过学生总数的20%。院方不以任何一个文化为主导，致力打造一个开放的校园文化。院方确保校园文化多元化的努力，可见一斑。

坎恩斯说：“不同国家在世界各地设立国际学校有其存在的意义。在异地采用祖国学制，可能是为了让自己的国民子弟往后回祖国上大学，或尽可能保持和培养国民子弟对祖国的文化认同。选择什么学校取决于家长要给孩子什么样的文化和教育，没有对错之分。相比之下，我们希望培养心胸开阔，信心十足的青年，在未来为世界带来改变。

“而且我发现一个趋势：就是本地学校，也开始注意到多元文化的重要性，以及多元文化背后的意义。以历史为例，历史是文化的源头。尽管我们无法把所有国家或区域的历史纳入课程大纲，但我们会教导学生不同的历史观点。至少他们明白，客观的史实可以用各种不同的观点解读。”

东南亚世界联合学院是一所曾经有家长八年前就来为孩子预先报名的学院。为了公平起见，学院最终于2011年9月取消了预先报名制。坎恩斯虽然没有参与做出这项决定，但是他绝对认同这个做法。

他说：“预先报名制在一定程度上局限了学生的类别和背景，只会收到特定的学生群。八年前报名，表示学生已经在本地生活好一段时间，非常习惯本地文化。只有取消预先报名，才可以招收到不同生活背景的学生。我们收生，只要学生所属的国籍少于学生人口的3%，被录取的机会最大，因为我们对这类学生兴趣最大。

“这是教育发展的大趋势。人们对多元文化越来越敏感，也发现彼此了解的重要性。因为惟有彼此了解才能相互忍让。”

高素质老师引导学生全面发展

东南亚联合世界学院的办学方针和校园文化如此独特，它在招聘教师方面自然不能马虎。学院的招聘准则中，第一项是聘请最好的老师，其次，是尽可能让教职员的国籍也多元化，并确保他们认同和实践学院的教育理念。校方不希望任何国籍的教师成为多数，他们有一套非常独特且架构清晰的教学法，要求教师采用。

坎恩斯说：“我们要找的是以学生为本的教师，而不是只懂得‘教书’的老师。孩子才是教学的重点，老师不应该受教室局限。在这里，老师必须清楚了解学生之间的文化差异。英语虽然是所有学生共用的语言，但是学生来自不同文化背景、各自的成长经历迥异，表达的方式各有分别，我们的老师必须对学生的多元性有一定的了解。”

开辟东部校园成为世界最大的国际学校

目前，学院杜佛校园的部分建筑是战后英军的建筑，学院将其重新粉刷、整修，并保留原有外观。老建筑以外，学院兴建了有76间教室的新教学楼，两所宿舍，分别以学院创始人库尔特·哈恩，及反对种族隔离的南非前总统曼德拉命名，有120名第8至12级的学生寄宿。尽管学院的学额供不应求，学院近期不打算增加学生人数。

学院位于淡滨尼73街的东区校园于2011年8月正式启用。仅仅一年，到去年8月已有2000名第1至11级的学生，预计在2015年，东区校园将有超过2500名学生。杜佛和淡滨尼两个校园最高可容纳超过5400名学生。届时，东南亚世界联合学院将成为世界上学生人数最多的国际学校。

拥有两所校园，几千名师生，东南亚世界联合学院虽然大，但它不会有大机构尾大不掉的障碍。坎恩斯说：“学院的使命很清楚，能够领导这样的学校，令我非常兴奋，而且它乐于接受改变，整个校园群体都很有活力。在大组织里，这是很难得的。

“目前，我们正在对现有的教学框架进行检讨，计划改进全校每个年级、每个科目的课程水平和评分标准。这是一项大工程，需要很多时间，大多数学校都没有勇气做这么大型的改造。我们的组织虽然大，但我们非常灵活，追求精益求精，要做得更好。”

Frazer Cairns / 弗雷泽·坎恩斯
Mr Frazer Cairns started his career as a management consultant and journalist after graduating from the University of York in the United Kingdom (UK). He retrained as a science teacher and subsequently taught in the UK and Indonesia. He worked for the International School of Geneva for 13 years, most recently as the head of the Campus des Nations. Mr Cairns joined UWCSEA in August 2011.	英国约克大学毕业后，弗雷泽·坎恩斯开始从事管理顾问与记者的工作。之后，他受训成为科学教师，先后在英国和印尼的学校任教。坎恩斯在日内瓦国际学校工作13年，曾任校长。2011年8月，加入东南亚联合世界学院，出任杜佛校园校长。