How Invictus Bukit Timah Prepares Students for an AI-Driven and Tech-Focused Future

Edarabia had the opportunity to interview Mr. Craig Cooper, the Principal of Invictus International School, Bukit Timah. In this interview, he shares his insights on the school’s plans for 2025, their approach to academic focus and professional development, the challenges facing education in the next five years, and how the school supports student learning, well-being, and success.

1. What are your plans for 2025?

As 2025 is Invictus’ 10th anniversary we have several events and initiatives planned for this calendar year. Additionally, we have many projects planned that are designed to further augment our facilities and academic program as all nine of our campuses continue to develop and expand.

2. How do you decide what to focus on academically each year, and which new ideas are you pursuing?

At Invictus Bukit Timah we have scheduled a series of refurbishment projects including our existing breakout spaces/play areas and an additional soft playroom for our younger students. Our academic provision will be driven forward this year with a targeted professional development plan that focuses on cognitive load, formative assessment, questioning for retrieval, and explicit instruction. This professional development is further underpinned by our recent association with ‘Evidence Based Education’ and our shared aim to improve learner outcomes.

3. What challenges do you anticipate in the field of education over the next 5 years?

Education is facing significant challenges with increasing frequency on a global scale, but the next 5 years are likely to change this landscape considerably. It has always been true that educational establishments attempt to prepare students for a rapidly changing world and for careers in fields that might not yet exist. However, AI has made this even more challenging but accepting this new landscape is the first step toward successfully navigating what lies ahead. At Invictus, we have chosen the path that most schools have taken; to embrace this new technology whilst acknowledging the pros and cons of its existence. We are confident that our students across the group understand and appreciate the importance of AI, whilst recognising the potential pitfalls.

4. How do you keep students interested in learning, especially those who struggle or seem unmotivated?

We have several mechanisms to support and scaffold learning. These range from enrichment pathways that are designed to support students at a one-to-one level in specific subject areas. Our EAL program is also well established, effectively and quickly raising students’ English levels when required so that students can access the full curriculum in their second language. Where there are no learning barriers we occasionally turn to play therapy with our younger students or our rewards program. Both are designed to unpack and motivate students to achieve the goals they identify for themselves within school.

5. How does the school ensure all students feel welcome and have the same chances to succeed?

We are a genuinely international school with more than 30 nationalities within the community. This rich multicultural environment makes for an extremely open and welcoming school for students and staff alike who all benefit immeasurably from the plethora of pedagogical knowledge and subject specialism available.

6. How proactive is the school in matters of student stress and bullying?

Our close personal tutoring and student well-being program negates much of the potential for stress, but students can still worry for a variety of reasons including their studies. Our rewards and conduct policy is deeply embedded in the school and is a restorative system, rather than a punitive one, which actively promotes understanding to avert conflict and disagreements as soon as they are detected.

7. How do you help students build the skills they need for life after graduation?

This is a continuous process through which we build confidence and self-esteem by providing our students with opportunities both inside and outside the classroom to explore the world in which we live. Schools must provide a safe space for students to become ‘risk-takers’ otherwise they will enter the workplace and their adult lives being risk-averse and less able to imagine new possibilities. It is our mission to prepare young, people, for the future not just academically through education and subsequent careers counselling but also to equip our students with the resilience and determination to continue to push forward and achieve their full potential.

8. How involved are parents and the community in making the school better?

Our parents and the wider community are very involved in the school. Our ‘Friends of Invictus’ are very active, raising funds for a variety of charities the students have chosen as well as supporting external performances within the community which not only celebrate cultural events but also provide the opportunity for us to showcase our students’ talents within the arts.

9. How do you develop a school culture that attracts and keeps great teachers?

Our culture supports and develops its practitioners. We like to promote from within and our professional development program provides our staff with the opportunity to advance their knowledge, understanding, and career as lifelong learners. This culture engenders loyalty and a sense of belonging to the community that benefits Invictus in the attraction and retention of dedicated and reflective practitioners.

10. Do teachers at your school have growth opportunities for leadership roles?

Yes, teachers with Invictus are provided with growth opportunities and progression to leadership roles. The Assistant Deputies across all three Singapore campuses were promoted from within the schools, as were many of our Key Stage Leads and Heads of Department.

11. Which after-school activity would you say has the biggest positive impact on a student’s future?

This question is very difficult to answer as our extracurricular program is extensive. We partner with our sister company Penn Junior to provide a wide variety of after-school activities including martial arts, touch rugby, pottery, dance, theatre studies, music, arts and crafts, and robotics. It is important that these activities are many and varied as one of the metrics in which a school can be measured is its extracurricular provision which, if done well, provides students with the opportunity to try new things and discover skills and intelligences they didn’t know they had.

12. As a Principal, what is your definition of success?

Regardless of how long a student stays within a school, if the student has progressed during their time with us and we have enabled them to take the next step in their educational career confidently and with ease, I conclude that we have fully delivered on our commitment to that individual.

13. If you had the opportunity to inspire the world in one sentence, what would that sentence be?

Do your best even if no one is watching.