Singapore Sports School eyes satellite centre at Sports Hub

SINGAPORE — A satellite centre at the upcoming Singapore Sports Hub and more tie-ups with local tertiary institutions are some of the recommendations eyed by the Singapore Sports School after three years of internal discussions.

The school hopes the ideas will be considered during a strategic review that is set to be completed by the end of the year.

The review was announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during the school’s 10th anniversary celebrations on Wednesday (Jan 22), and the plan is for the school to help Singapore maintain its competitive edge in the region.

The Sports School said one priority is better infrastructure for emerging sports.

It currently has 10 fully-fledged, in-house sports academies that do not include sports like archery, diving, silat or rowing.

Having a facility at the Sports Hub would also help motivate its student-athletes, with exposure to world-class events slated to take place at the facility.

Singapore Sports School’s principal Tan Teck Hock said: “If we were to cater to a larger number of sports at the Singapore Sports School, then we may need to increase the facilities, enhance the facilities or look at other facilities that are currently being built like in the Sports Hub, and whether we can even operate off site from here.”

The school is also hoping to provide more choice in its through-train diploma programmes.

It currently has two such programmes with Republic Polytechnic and the International Baccalaureate.

The school is in talks with Singapore Polytechnic, and there are plans to approach other polytechnics in the future.

The aim is to maintain rigorous training, while also keeping an academic edge.

Mr Tan said: “We need to ensure that athletes do not have that additional burden ... of having to worry about examinations, especially when it’s very close to competition. I believe all Singaporeans share the dream of wanting to provide the best possible support for our athletes and in wanting them to be freed up from some of these worries.” CHANNEL NEWSASIA