Singapore’s schools with the best swim teams

The benefits of encouraging sports participation by kids are well documented. Not only can sports help with fitness, and the development of gross and fine motor skills, they can also help improve students’ self-esteem, social skills, and the adoption of other healthy habits such as a balanced diet and a good sleep regime. Additionally, the hormones produced during physical activity, such as dopamine and serotonin, are believed to increase the brain’s ability to concentrate on tasks and reduce the impacts of stress. Participation in team sports is important because it helps kids learn relationship skills, develop teamwork, foster leadership skills, and enhance communication and problem-solving skills. At its most basic level, swimming is an individual sport. However, when children compete as part of a swim team or squad, they gain some of the benefits of participating in team sports. Additionally, swimming is an ideal sport for physical development because its is low-impact, builds strength and endurance, and is believed to improve memory function.

A number of Singapore’s international schools offer swim teams or academies where students can develop their swimming skills to an extremely high level. BusyKidd gathered seven schools in particular – Nexus, GESS, Stamford American, UWCSEA East, XL World Academy, Dulwich College Singapore, and Overseas Family School – that are worth considering in detail.

Dulwich College Singapore

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With its 6 full-time coaches, led by Director of Swimming Mick Massey, Dulwich College Singapore is recognized as one of the region’s top schools for swimming. Located close to Bukit Batok, the school offers three swimming pools across its Ducks, Junior, and Senior schools. High performing individuals are identified at an early stage, and the elite athletes of the Swim Team get the opportunity to compete in national and international festivals and competitions.

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GESS International School

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Led by its new Head of Swimming, Ivan Bunakov, who holds the highest international swimming coaching certification, GESS offers a world-class swim programme at its campus beside Bukit Timah. For both primary and secondary students, swimming is incorporated into the timetable but also available as an extracurricular activity. Based around its Olympic-standard 50 metre indoor pool, the school’s swim programme includes up to 24 hours of expert input each week within a holistic training regime that includes nutrition, fitness, and strength and conditioning. As well as winning gold medals at the European Junior championship, GESS swimmers have qualified for the World Swimming Championships.

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Nexus International School

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Since the opening of its new campus in 2020, Nexus boasts a world-class Olympic size outdoor pool with electronic touch timing, as well as a smaller training pool. Run by its Aquatic Director, Larisa Mogutova, the school has a wider Swim Squad as well as an Elite Swim Team. Swim Squad athletes train for approximately 7-10 hours per week whilst Swim Team members complete more comprehensive and intensive training. Swimming training includes land-based training such as weights, flexibility training such as yoga, and high intensity training. The school’s swim programme has produced National Age Groups Champions in numerous countries, National Record holders, and even athletes who have competed in The European Juniors Swimming Championship. Nexus offers Swimming scholarships for particularly talented swimmers.

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Overseas Family School

Overseas Family international school swim team

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Overseas Family School (OFS) offers students the opportunity to join its competitive swim teams, OFS Tigers, at Elementary, Middle School and High School levels. OFS has 2 swimming polls at its Pasir Ris campus: a 1-lane Olympic size pool and a training pool. Elementary students are offered up to 8 sessions a week, lasting from 60-120 minutes, whilst Middle and High School athletes can train for 120 minutes at 8 sessions each week. Led by head coach Gil Levy, OFS Tigers have seen success at Singapore National Age Group and Open National level, with the best students offered the potential for World Cup qualification.

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Stamford American international School

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Located at Stamford’s Woodleigh campus, its Lions Swim Academy has two 25-metre pools equipped with electronic timing, with swimming provision ranging from after-school activities through to a competitive swimming team. Athletes are offered between 1 and 9 sessions per week within a regime that focuses on their physical, cognitive and socio-emotional development. Run by its Aquatics Director, Paul Dowey, the Swim Academy has 7 full-time coaching staff as well as additional part-time coaches. Paul has taken athletes to international competitions in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The Academy also focuses on the contribution of swimming to transferrable life-long skills such as time management, self-challenging, goal achievement, and resilience.

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UWCSEA East

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At UWC’s East campus, situated in Tampines, the Dragons Swim Team boast over 400 swimmers who train in its Olympic-sized pool. Led by its Head of Aquatics, Andrew Nicholls, the Swim Team has 6 full-time coaches who run a progressive training programme that is designed to produce both future athletes as well as students with a life-long passion for swimming. The Dragons’ Performance Squads have achieved success at Junior Age Group and National Level, with UWC East becoming an increasing force at international level.

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XCL World Academy

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Situated close to Yishun, XCL World Academy is another international school that offers a comprehensive sports programme that includes swimming as a key component. With its 50-metre Olympic-sized swimming pool, the XCL World Academy offers swimming training to students up to 8 times a week. Its Competitive Swim Team offers its elite athletes the opportunity to enhance their performance and take part in competitions within Singapore and beyond.

With a selection of international schools offering world-class aquatic programmes, Singapore is a great place for kids to develop their passion for swimming. For some students this may be swimming mainly for enjoyment and health, whereas for others it may be a desire to compete at the highest level. Whatever the motivation, swimming is a great sport through which children can develop life-long skills and a potential passion for life.