With a global group of 68 schools across Asia, Europe and Latin America, Cognita knows that borders themselves are evolving, blurring and even disappearing – and Cognita schools are right at the forefront of equipping today’s children for the changes that have yet to come.

“We work hard at aligning expectations with parents because the school life they experienced themselves was very different from what children experience today,” Drake says. “We want to be able to look every parent in the eye and tell them we will do everything to prepare their child to be successful in the world, which means providing a great academic education, building character and instilling in them a global perspective.”

Cognita’s Early Learning Village in Singapore

To that end, Cognita achieves a significant milestone this month with the opening of a new purpose-built Early Learning campus in Singapore called The Early Learning Village. Conceptualised and developed for students aged 18 months to six years, the new campus is a joint project conceived by Cognita’s Australian International School (AIS) and Stamford American International School (SAIS).

“In this age where education is striving to keep up and adapt with all the changes in the world, the way children learn can be just as important as what they learn,” Drake says. “This is the inspiration behind the Early Learning Village. We have been inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy, which revolves around the students and their experiential learning through exploration and discovery.”

Bright open spaces combined with the warmth of the natural wood theme help stimulate sensory learning.

In addition to the distinct academic curricula offered by the two schools, the Village will allow children to choose activities ranging from ballet to soccer, language-learning and other co-curricular activities.

The Village houses one-of-a-kind multifunctional spaces, thoughtfully designed for young children including an early-years swimming pool and a fully equipped air-conditioned gymnasium.

The only facility of its kind in the country, the Early Learning Village will offer families a choice of education grounded by the International Baccalaureate (IB) with two pathways: the Australian or American curriculum. This unparalleled project reflects Cognita’s modern and innovative approach to learning. It also represents a world-first in early childhood education – one tailored to the distinct environment of Singapore, where space is at a premium.

The seven-storey building has a total capacity for 2,200 students – the largest ever for this age group – while the special design ensures a child-centred focus and scale to all spaces and facilities – from classrooms and play areas to the libraries and specialist programme areas.

Australian International School

“A strong sense of character and life skills that can be taken anywhere in the world – these are what we aim to instil in every AIS student,” says school principal Andre Casson. “We are equally resolute in teaching our students to have a moral commitment to making our world a better place as reflective, caring, knowledgeable and principled people.”

Established in 1993, AIS is the only southern-hemisphere school in Singapore that offers an Australian curriculum-based global education for students aged 18 months to 18 years. The school has 2,500 students who come from more than 50 different countries.

At the Early Learning Village, the school’s youngest students will learn naturally through play – within and across classrooms, outdoor spaces and other specialised facilities. The students will progress through the Village as learning spaces and facilities are differentiated according to the developmental age of each year level.

Stamford American International School

“Stamford American understands that every student is a unique individual,” says Dr Eric Sands,superintendent and head of school. “Beyond academics, we aspire to equip them with the knowledge and experiences in and out of the classroom needed to face the tests of adult life ahead.”

Through the Early Learning Village, Stamford American will create a new way of learning, especially in partnership with acclaimed industry leaders for programmes such as Suzuki violin music, bilingual and daily Putonghua and Spanish languages, physical education SMART steps, and stand-out after-school enrichment.

“At the Early Learning Village, our younger students will be able to explore their natural inclination to create, design, engineer and innovate,” Sands says. “Their newly built environment may be educational by design, but it is also developed to make children feel at home – with clever touches including child-sized doors, step-up work benches and child-height icon signage. And the environment is adaptive, so stimulation activities can change as the children grow and thrive.”

Opportunities and growth in Southeast Asia

Alongside its continued growth, expansions and improvements, Cognita also aims to create a more enviable teaching environment to attract the very best educators to deliver world-class education.

“At the end of the day, a marvellous facility can only be as good as the teaching and learning inside it,” Drake says.

With an ultimate mission of preparing students for future success in an uncertain world, Cognita knows that the path ahead will be challenging and constantly evolving, but it is confident that the three building blocks it focuses on – quality education, building character and instilling a global mindset – will be key in achieving its objectives.

“The know-how we seek to equip our students with will help them adapt and succeed in life – that is where the skills of being inquisitive, adaptable, curious and resilient will be extremely important,” Drake says. “If there is one accomplishment that Cognita aims to be known for, it is preparing the students in our care for lives that may be different, complex and challenging without forgetting they should be sustainable, rewarding and fulfilling.”

“Our model enables us to have schools around the world working together and collaborating on projects that bring students together to learn about different people and cultures first-hand,” Drake says. “This is the kind of enrichment and global perspective that the average classroom cannot provide.

“Ultimately, we see our role is to prepare our students to be successful despite the unknown challenges they will face in their future.”