Since the Limitless Learning Plan was launched in end 2023, many developments have been made possible for GESS, with more in the pipeline over the next few years. The European Section is pleased to unveil enhancements to their programme, kicking off in AY2025/26. We take a look at the key highlights.
For families new to GESS, what exactly is this often-mentioned Limitless Learning Plan, or Strategic Implementation Plan? In Vice Principal Joram Hutchins’ words, it is “about identifying who we are and who we want to be, and the steps to achieve this and moving forward.”
The European Section gets a headstart in revealing some enhancements from the next school year, brought to fruition after substantial feedback from and conversations with the community. While the dialogues continue, three anchors underpin the initiatives.
① High quality teaching & learning, encompassing individualised education & support, tailored for each developmental phase
With academic excellence at the core of everything we do at GESS, this massive series of enhancements came about as we constantly review our programme. The review and series of enhancements are backed by data-driven assessments on evidence-based teaching practices and rigorous curriculum standards to ensure students achieve their full potential. The enhancements better support individual student talents – be it in STEM, languages or advanced subject areas, further dedicating resources into meaningfully challenging and supporting students on their path to success.
② Student wellbeing, social emotional wellbeing, balance
GESS believes that student wellbeing should not be compromised with the pursuit of academic rigour. By creating a safe, supportive and structured learning environment, students can better focus, engage and excel – an essential in sustaining high performance and personal growth. Committed to a strong safeguarding culture, we further emphasize the element of social-emotional learning (SEL) in our approach, helping students develop self-awareness, emotional regulation, resilience and healthy relationships.
③ Holistic growth through innovative learning beyond the classroom
Education at GESS transcends academics, ensuring students develop into well-rounded individuals with strong values and skills. The enhancements were implemented with much thought put into maintaining the well-rounded campus life and learning. Timetable and curriculum changes aside, we maintain emphasis on sports, arts, innovation and technology, with programmes designed to cultivate teamwork, discipline, creativity and resilience. Our students continue to enjoy ample opportunities to initiate and ideate projects of personal interest, optimising leadership opportunities, service learning and sustainability education to contribute to communities and think globally. Through our robust learning structure, students have the best avenues and resources to develop lifelong skillsets in research and critical thinking, communication, socialising and self-management. These set our students for success in their future possibilities in tertiary education and career choices.
While the anchors serve the benefits of all students across grades, there are group-specific features, tailored for the needs of each age range.
PRIMARY SCHOOL
📌 Strengthened language acquisition options
• Piloting in Grade 1, language acquisition options of Spanish, French and Mandarin are added to existing suite of mother tongue options German, Danish and Dutch
📌 Restructured timetable for an even more balanced and holistic learning journey
• Enhanced learning depth through 60-minute lessons to provide time for deeper learning and mastery
• Increased efficiency through longer lessons and fewer class-to-class transitions to maximise teaching time
• An increase in break time for students help improve attention and focus when they return to academic tasks
• Opportunity to engage in 3 hours of physical activity and 3 hours of creative arts each week
• Opportunities for students to shine in all areas of the curriculum
📌 Improved student wellbeing
• Homeroom and structured breaks support learning focus throughout the day
• A more balanced academic workload from fewer subjects per day reduces cognitive overload
• Homeroom teachers have strong bonds with their students, a supportive relationship that will be further reinforced with each day starting with 30 minutes of sustained homeroom time
MIDDLE SCHOOL
📌 Preparing middle school students for personal development and the next stage of their education
Through two main initiatives:
Flex
• This brings about timeslots for support and enrichment built into the day to meet the needs of our learners, allowing students to engage in extra-curricular activities of their choice after class.
• These timeslots potentially cover learning extension, subject support, participation in student councils, assemblies, dedicated clubs and self-directed learning opportunities.
Encore
• Classes for selected subjects are mindfully built into the timetable for specific learning intentions. This allows students a bigger voice and more choices in their learning, bringing about greater exposure to a variety of learning. We hope our learners can gain a better understanding of interests and cultivate their strengths before they enter High School.
• These include Additional Foreign Languages, Arts, Design, Design Technology related such as coding and robotics, Service Learning, support in Literacy and Math, and more.
📌 Improved student wellbeing
• Deeper learning and engagement, with more time for discussions, projects, and hands-on learning, as well as inquiry-based and interdisciplinary opportunities, aligned with our middle years programme’s Concept-Based Learning.
• Stronger student-teacher relationships are fostered with teachers seeing fewer students daily, allowing more personalised instruction.
• Restorative practices & Social-Emotional Learning are reinforced with Advisory (homeroom) time proven to contribute to student wellbeing.
• More unstructured time during the school day is essential at this developmental phase for cognitive, social, and emotional development, helping them reset their focus, build independence, develop problem-solving skills, and strengthen peer relationships. It also supports wellbeing by reducing stress, encouraging movement, and fostering creativity, ultimately making students more engaged and well-rounded learners.
📌 Optimal use of facilities, special programmes and age-appropriate environments
• Students get full use of labs, performance spaces, and creative studios without constant disruptions. For e.g., science labs become more effective because students have time to set up, conduct experiments, analyze results, and clean up properly in each lesson.
HIGH SCHOOL
📌 More DP subject study hours
• Going well beyond the IB requirements, more DP subject study hours have been planned, to better prepare our students.
• Additionally, students can expect even more one-on-one attention academically, with more time dedicated for Personal Project meetings. We believe these will be valuable for individualised learning, complementing classroom learning.
📌 More pathways and subject offerings
• Empowering our high school students with even more opportunities to consider all possible pathways are careers and university guidance units, as well as work experience preparation.
📌 Mentoring and coaching underpin student wellbeing
• Dedicated meetings at specific timeslots each day create a consistent and reliable one-on-one engagement between teachers and students
Stay tuned for more developments under the Limitless Learning Plan.
Related content:
Watch our Limitless Learning 2025 Updates video.
