A broader look at life

“Kids need to be encouraged to be happy and healthy in body and mind, and to care for communities and Planet Earth,” says Julian Whiteley, chief executive of Phuket International Academy, glancing out at his young charges as they go about their non-academic chores.

Grade-6 students at this international school in Phuket learn to bake pizza. Grade-8 students are expected to develop their own signature dishes and manage a food chain while Grade-5 students publish their own weekly newspaper, on this occasion raising awareness about the need to keep the environment clean after returning from a trip to a beach covered with medical waste.

At the Phuket International Academy, learning is about far more than studying. The curriculum also involves practical life skills and education outside the classroom, thus allowing the young students to have fun while gaining an education.

Students aged from 18 months to 18 years are stimulated to stay curious, be kind and socially engaged, share ideas as communicators and try new things as risk-takers. 

In addition to gaining an intercultural learning experience, Vietnamese student Nhi Tran, 17, who is in Grade 11, happily spends her Saturdays as a volunteer at a local dog rescue centre. Her duty is to help 120 stray dogs find a better home. 

“I help promote the centre for dog adoption, raise awareness, and share information online. The more people know, the better,” she says.

This is Nhi Tran’s first time abroad and she’s on a two-year Kurt Hahn scholarship at the PIA. 

“When I searched for a school, I looked for more than academic ranking. This is definitely the right place for me,” says Tran, who hails from Hue. 

“It’s where I can be myself and do something for others. We try our best to give back.”

While still struggling a little to communicate in English, Tran says she’s making progress and is looking forward to joining the Thimun later this month. The Hague International Model United Nations, to give it its full name, is a not-for-profit educational foundation that has links with the United Nations. Its objectives are to advance the interests of international education across national boundaries, formulate peaceful solutions to the world’s problems and prepare today’s youth for tomorrow’s leadership positions. Tran plans to speak on the topic of terrorism and crime in the online domain.

“It is crucial for children to be kind to themselves, respect themselves and be considerate of themselves while offering the same to others and to the planet. That’s why we focus on services within the school, outside in the community and the planet,” Whitely explains.

“We would like our students to be proud of what they are good at, be genuinely happy and have a purpose in life. Students are also stimulated to take action for a sustainable future,” he adds.

The school also places emphasis on experiential learning. “It is only by being challenged that you grow,” says Whiteley, who has educational management experience in Singaporean schools and won the 2012 CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) Asia-Pacific chief executive leadership award.

“When students say ‘I can’t do that,’ we always add ‘yet’ at the end,” he says, adding that the small class size – approximately 25 students – makes it easier to give the youngsters the chance of seeing and experiencing real life including observing the police as they go about their daily work. 

But perhaps what sets PIA apart from other international schools is a curriculum that stresses social and emotional learning and mindfulness in its curriculum. 

“We want children to enjoy the moment, interacting with the people around them and not just typing on their smartphones,” the chief executive explains.

A “quiet” time is set aside daily to allow both students and teachers to engage in secularised mindfulness practices. 

It is an opportunity to calm body and mind, shifting from the ‘thinking/doing mode’ to the ‘sensing/being mode of mind’. This mode is believed to enhance ability to engage with a calmer, clearer perspective of what is happening within and around us.

Australian Zavier Gates, 13, a grade-8 student who’s been at PIA for a year, loves mindfulness and sports. 

“Before entering the school, I had no idea what mindfulness was all about,” says Gates. “I thought that doing nothing for 15 minutes was a stupid idea.” 

Now he finds that just 15-minutes of being mindful once a day calms him down and says he looks forward to it as much as he does to cycling. 

In conjunction with Thanyapura, a sports-health complex and hotel, the school offers a number of high-performance sports programmes, providing a combination of expert coaching and world-class facilities for aspiring young athletes.

Established since 2008, Phuket International Academy is Thailand’s only international school in the south that is fully authorised to offer all three International Baccalaureate programmes. It has attracted students from 39 different countries worldwide.

Located in tranquil foothills of the Khao Phra Thaeo Wildlife Sanctuary in the east of Phuket, the Academy is working towards becoming a UWC (United World College), whose mission it is “to make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.” United World College has 15 schools and colleges worldwide, including in China and Singapore.

Scholarships are available to both Thai and foreign students specialising in swimming, cycling or triathlons as well as to those with an excellent academic performance.