Welsh language taught and sung in Singapore school

In 2019, Mr Jones then got a headteacher job in Singapore – landing on Christmas Day.

Three weeks later, Covid hit and the family had to cope in a new country with strict restrictions on daily life and travel.

More than four years later, the headteacher has settled in and put a Welsh stamp on the school.

“I’ve been fortunate to appoint a number of teachers from Wales,” he said.

“There were six or seven here, a couple went home last year for family reasons but, we’ve still got five from Wales – three of them are Welsh-speaking.”

They speak Welsh in the teachers’ room, while pupils sing happy birthday to the headmaster in the language, and even learnt Calon Lân for a service.

EtonHouse International School has 430 pupils between nursery age and 11, from 35 different countries.

Many of the teachers are also from abroad – including England, Ireland, Scotland, India and Japan – so celebrating different cultures comes naturally.

One of the highlights every June is the school Eisteddfod – with everyone having the opportunity to compete.

There’s even a chairing ceremony.