Creating a safe campus for play-based learning

How does a not-for-profit international school with a 55-year history, create an environment where young learners feel safe, seen and excited to learn? Read on for how The German European School Singapore (GESS) combines the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP) and play-based learning with plenty of activities and language options.

1. A campus built for curiosity and exploration at GESS

The GESS campus is surrounded by nature, with an award-winning playground and over 50 dedicated learning spaces that give children plenty of room to run, climb and explore.

The team says: “Our school is purpose-built for little bodies and big imaginations. For newly arrived families, it offers an immediate sense of space and welcome. For long-time families, it’s a campus their children have grown up on, sometimes alongside older siblings already thriving in Primary or Secondary.”

2. Play-based learning and IB PYP

The Preschool is guided by the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP). It’s a framework that trusts children to lead their own learning through play and inquiry, balancing structured guidance with genuine, hands-on exploration. As a result, they develop confidence for communicating, sharing and collaborating – skills that can carry them seamlessly into Primary school and beyond.

3. Certified Forest School Programme – bringing play-based learning outdoors

The certified Forest School Programme at GESS takes children into the nearby Dairy Farm Nature Park. Here, a “classroom without walls” replaces screens with sunlight and worksheets with wonder. Helping to build resilience and confidence and experiences such as observing insects, building dens and navigating uneven ground.

Nature is also part of daily campus life, according to the team. “We have developed a purpose-designed forest learning area right on campus, bringing that same spirit of outdoor discovery even closer to the classroom door. It’s a deliberate, joyful counterbalance to an increasingly digital world.”

4. An early start in Mandarin at GESS

Starting at just 18 months, children benefit from daily Mandarin learning. Lessons are differentiated so every child, whether entirely new to the language or already exposed to it at home, learns at the right level. “For some families, this is a first introduction; for others, it’s building on language already spoken around the dinner table. Either way, it’s a genuine head start.”

5. Reassuring student-to-teacher ratios

Another point of note is the school’s relatively low student-to-teacher ratio. “Your child isn’t one of many at GESS – they’re known; by name, by personality, by what makes them laugh.”

6. Splashing towards confidence

Weekly swim lessons are offered in a covered, heated indoor pool, and led by professional coaches. GESS says the sessions help children grow into confident swimmers, term after term: “This small, steady ritual becomes a highlight of the week for children and a proud milestone for parents.”

7. Two language pathways, one welcoming GESS community

Families can choose between an English or German pathway towards the IB PYP. Each pathway is supported by specialist teachers in music, sport, and art.

“Whichever pathway you choose, your child joins a genuinely diverse, open and respectful community,” says the team. “Whether you’re here for two years or 20, that sense of shared ownership and belonging is what makes GESS feel less like an institution, and more like a community your child can genuinely call home.

German European School Singapore (GESS) is at 2 Dairy Farm Lane.
6461 0801 | gess.edu.sg

This article on learning through play and the IB PYP at GESS first appeared in The September 2026 Expat Living magazine. You can buy the latest issue or an annual subscription or read the digital version free now.