Our crack team of on-the-ground researchers are located all across the globe, and spend their days getting the full picture of schools everywhere from Singapore to Switzerland. On their travels, they have come across truly inspiring places that push the envelope with groundbreaking initiatives that go above and beyond for their pupils. Many have fully embraced a 21st-century style of pedagogy that puts children at the centre of their own learning, encouraging life skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity, and removing binary models of success or failure. Alternative academic pathways, outdoor learning, innovative use of tech and pioneering teaching models are just some of the things that set these schools apart from the rest, allowing their pupils the freedom to discover who they are and what makes them tick.
Whether you are contemplating a global move or looking for a new school for your child in an unfamiliar territory, we have carefully curated our lists of the top international schools in our
global guides – here we delve deeper into the global schools that stand out as truly revolutionary…
Not having a ‘fixed mindset of what a school should be’ is how all-boys
The Scots College in Sydney, Australia, describes its approach. Thinking outside of the box is integral to its DNA, and its ScotsX pilot programme launched in 2023 is its latest cutting-edge reinvention of education. Designed with a team of experts, from developmental psychologists to Harvard professors, it is delivering a pioneering ‘school within a school’ experience to a diverse group of Year 8 pupils. Recognising that boys at this age risk getting lost in the crowd and disengaging with their education, the programme ditches the traditional model of pupils moving between 10 subjects in six periods a day with very little time beyond the classroom, and replaces it with three modes of ‘active learning’ – Mastery Training, Quests and Coaching. These see boys acquiring the same knowledge and skills but with a personalised focus on their individual strengths and needs, which challenges them to grow and achieve. Already, students are acing their grades and soaring in confidence, with parents reporting better connections with teachers and a stronger work ethic.
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Giving pupils more agency in their learning is something we also saw in action at primary school age. Building on its successful early-years forest programme, the
International School of Zug and Luzern (ISZL) in Switzerland has now embedded a unique new initiative into the curriculum called ‘Inside, Outside and Beyond’, which sees pupils learning through connecting with nature even more impactfully. The walls of the traditional classroom have come down, with the forest and school grounds regularly replacing the whiteboard for everything from mathematical explorations to creative problem-solving. A recent trip to a nearby farm was an immersive lesson in learning about the systems and processes that create the food we consume, with pupils milking cows, picking apples and baking cakes with the produce. ‘The outdoor learning isn’t an add-on to what we do at ISZL,’ the school tells us. ‘It’s an enhancement to our curriculum and a way to deepen children’s learning by getting them to experience lessons in a new and exciting way.’
Flexing traditional curricula is a powerful way to engage pupils. At
Bangkok Patana School in Thailand, Year 7s take part in six Global Impact Projects centred on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Each project integrates two to three subjects and lasts about six weeks, during which time pupils explore the real-world impact of SDGs, deepening their knowledge and gaining the skills to address complex global challenges. It’s an empowering experience and one that fosters hope for a sustainable future in the next generation. The scheme has been such a success that the school plans to roll it out in Years 8 and 9.
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Sustainability is at the heart of everything Green School Bali does. Located in the jungle near Bali’s Ayung river in a bamboo campus with no walls, it has enshrined the future of the environment in its values. ‘We believe in three simple rules underlying every decision: be local, let your environment be your guide and envisage how your grandchildren will be affected by your actions.’ Its progressive model of education sees all pupils from kindergarten to Grade 12 follow a ‘living’ curriculum that educates for sustainability through community-integrated, entrepreneurial learning in a nature-immersed environment.
Harnessing the benefits of learning outside the traditional classroom is something Singapore’s
Tanglin Trust School is also keying into, with its immersive new scheme in which Year 9 pupils will be based in the school’s rural Gippsland campus in Australia for their five-week Highlands Programme. Being in the natural environment doing fieldwork studies, exploring local history and geography and taking part in outward bound activities and exercise will complement core academic subjects. ‘It’s a holistic way for Year 9 students to learn and grow while gaining an unforgettable experience that will leave a lasting impact,’ the school says. Head of campus Mark Cutchie adds: ‘I believe a challenge like this can help students develop resilience, grit, perseverance and expand their understanding of what they are capable of.’
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For many international schools, fostering global citizens of the future is a key part of the education they deliver.
Dulwich College Singapore has launched a new set of guiding statements to focus on helping students to become happy, academically successful, ambitious and, above all, globally minded people. Intercultural understanding, innovative learning, environmental sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion, wellbeing and social justice are the six values that will be woven into the curriculum. And they’re not just an educational framework, the school says: ‘They are a moral imperative, providing a roadmap for nurturing young minds into responsible and compassionate global citizens…so that they can play a critical role in contributing to a more inclusive, equitable and sustainable future for all.’
Nurturing a global outlook is something the Round Square international network of schools has been doing since the late 1960s. There are more than 200, including one of the first international schools in the world,
Ermitage International School near Paris – a French and English bilingual powerhouse. Its students regularly take part in exchanges, trips and coordinated humanitarian missions that enrich their learning experiences and help them build connections around the globe. Another school in the Round Square group,
Regents International School Pattaya in Thailand, holds service trips every year, which can be anything from working alongside a local community in Koh Phi Phi to helping to create a mango orchard. Every year group is also linked with a community partner within Thailand, such as a hill tribe or local school for the deaf, and runs service-related experiences with them.
One school on our radar that takes the global classroom a step further is
King’s InterHigh, a 100 per cent online school with a student community that hails from 133 countries. It is a trailblazer in delivering a first-class British education wherever its pupils are in the world, and its innovative learning technologies, pioneering curricula and extracurricular opportunities are seriously impressive. Tools such as virtual reality and advanced simulations (which are usually only encountered in top universities) give students a superb immersive and experiential education, with AI tools tailoring bespoke learning pathways for each individual’s needs. It’s the first-ever school to offer the IB Diploma Programme online, as well as fully remote iGCSE exams. And it’s not just all about the academics – students also have a rich co-curricular offering with clubs including debating and drama, and international events from Model United Nations and art shows to inter-school sports tournaments.
Equipping young people with intercultural competencies is becoming increasingly relevant as the digital revolution continues apace. And there’s no longer a sense of one size fits all when it comes to educating them for a global marketplace. One impressive initiative we’ve come across that addresses this is
The International School of Kuala Lumpur’s innovative Pursuits Program. A two-year course designed for Grades 11 and 12, it sees students building their own study programme, customising their learning to suit their individual interests and help them achieve their beyond-school dreams. Mentor teachers help each student identify learning goals, select an area of distinction and curate a programme for themselves, picking and mixing from the International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, High School Diploma courses and the Global Online Academy. ‘It serves the needs and interests of all students,’ the school tells us, ‘empowering them to explore their passions, gain recognition for an area of study and sample a career-related field while developing university or employment-readiness skills and gaining real-world experience.’ It’s an alternative academic pathway that understands that learning looks different for every student.
Marlborough College Malaysia applies this to extracurricular too with its Activities Programme, which seeks to help every pupil find something they’re passionate about, whether that’s dragon-boat racing, batik painting, French boules or mahjong. One pupil’s passion for disc golf has seen the school collaborate with him to design a course in its 90-acre campus. ‘It’s a good sport for those who perhaps don’t enjoy the intensity of rugby or football, but still want to get involved in sport,’ says Jean, who has aspirations to become a professional player. Outdoor learning is another growth area at the school, with plans to create outdoor science labs, a hydroponics area and a bushcraft station, which will enhance the already impressive natural ‘classroom’ spaces that include an organic farm, forest school and nature walk around the school’s lake.
Teaching through real-life experience is foundational at the visionary Brightworks School in San Francisco, where children from kindergarten to Grade 12 are educated through project-based learning. All classes follow the Brightworks Arc of ‘Exploration, Expression and Exposition’, which the school believes creates pathways in the brain for longer-lasting learning as pupils contextualise their lessons in real-world scenarios, making connections between ideas.
Self-discovery is at the heart of
Kuala Lumpur Alice Smith School’s exciting Exploration Pathways enrichment programme. Split into four routes, it sees pupils exploring everything from their health and wellbeing, creativity and personal future to how to be a responsible global citizen and make the world a better place. It’s not just an extracurricular add-on – Kuala Lumpur Alice Smith has seen the transformative power of the programme as pupils move up the school, helping them to ‘unlock their full potential and become successful and fulfilled lifelong learners’, it says.
We’re impressed how parents are invited into their children’s educational journey at
Lennen Bilingual School in Paris. Its groundbreaking new LBSx initiative offers them the chance to hear industry leaders and professionals speak on a range of topics relevant to their children’s education, from AI to the Singapore Math Program, to help them better understand current thinking and the school’s shaping of the curriculum.
This kind of drive, motivation and curiosity to continually innovate is something the schools we’ve featured here share. All educational trailblazers in their own way, they’re showing the world how it’s done and inspiring many more to follow. It’s exciting stuff and we can’t wait to see what they do next.