Sabbaticals

A key feature of the Integrated Programme, the Hwa Chong Sabbatical Programme offers Secondary 1 to 4 students a week-long learning experience in Term 1 and Term 2. During sabbatical week, formal lessons are replaced with enrichment activities, providing meaningful experiences beyond the classroom while fostering independent learning and 21st-century skills. Students can choose from diverse courses, including Arts, Leadership, IT, Science, Sports, Languages, Environmental Education, Internships, Community Engagement, and Student Exchanges.

Testimonials

"Sabbatical programs are very useful in going into depth about a certain content. Be it sports, or even something new, they allow you to develop new skills or hone previous ones. One such sabbatical was the football sabbatical I did in secondary 1. It taught me how to dribble, pass and shoot well which made me better at playing the sport. I have also made new friends from other classes along the way due to this program. For the first 2 days of the week, we mainly did passing, shooting and defending drills. However, in the last 3 days, we played matches against each other and it taught us teamwork and trained our spatial awareness. Although it was incredibly physically demanding, it was incredibly rewarding to see my progress in real-time.

Besides helping to develop skills in multiple areas, sabbaticals also developed my communication, collaboration and critical thinking. An example that shows was the Secondary 2 School Exchange Programme, where we were brought to different schools to experience a change of environment. This required us to collaborate and communicate effectively with peers and also adapt to the change in environment.

Overall, sabbaticals have been an enjoyable learning experience which has not only allowed me to make friends, but also take away a plethora of useful skills."

— Louis Tang

"Over these past few years, the sabbatical programmes have really been part of the highlights of my school year. During the sabbaticals, I was able to pick up various new skills, as well as make new friends. Most recently, I took part in the tennis sabbatical. As someone who had little prior experience with tennis, I was initially unfamiliar with the rules and techniques of the game. However, throughout the 5 day sabbatical, I was able to learn the basic rules, scoring system, and essential skills such as serving, returning, and proper footwork. After learning these skills, I was able to put them to the test on the last day, where we had a mini competition. Beyond learning a new sport, the sabbatical also taught me valuable life skills. It strengthened my adaptive thinking, as I constantly had to think flexibly, adjust my playing style, and learn from my mistakes during our practice matches. I also developed perseverance and resilience, as learning this new skill required a lot of effort. In secondary 2, I also took part in the spatial computing sabbatical, where I was able to learn to use software to create an augmented reality experience. I was also able to explore virtual worlds using the provided VR headsets. Overall, I think the sabbaticals provide an enjoyable experience, and are a great way for students to not only destress, but also learn new skills and make new friends."

— Nathan Ng

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