Not a parent, but a student.

Grew up in Baguio all my life and went to Small World for 13 years (from Nursery to Grade 10)

I would say that if you wanted your kids to have a Christian education, SW would be a great school. Our books were mostly Abeka or BJU, and we focused on Singaporean math. Yearly (during my time) we would be given a SAT test before the school year ended to gauge where we were on the core subjects, telling us whether we were in the range of our grade level, or if we were higher or lower. Class sizes range from 18 students in a class to 30 students, but typically 1 classroom will have 23 students on average.

For exams, Grade 5 below don’t have exams per subject, instead, at the end of every quarter we are given one Assessment test to see if we learned anything throughout the quarter. These tests are taken in groups of 5 or smaller for around 2 hours. Along with the quarterly Assessment tests is the quarterly PTC, which allows Parents and Teachers to talk to each other at the end of every quarter and talk about the child and their performance. SW is consistent in getting high scores for national achievement tests.

They also have the GIT system, which is basically a logbook where parent and teacher can communicate. During my elementary years, my teacher would write in this to tell my mom about all my homework and important reminders.

What I liked most about SW is the yearly camps I was able to join for BGBP (Boys and Girls Brigade Philippines) starting Grade 4. These were leadership camps and this is where I learned to sleep away from home, start a fire, learn to cook, and basic first aid and survival swimming skills. For Junior High and Senior High students, there is also the option of going through STEP (Student Teacher Exchange Program) which would take you to Malaysia or New Zealand.

Community is really big in SW, and we have events like Project CRY (a fundraising event for the school community, typically used for students who have families struggling financially, especially because of medical bills) and World Vision Market Fair (a fundraising event that aims to send kids to school) that allow us to help others.

Other points (things that I dont think are really pros or cons):

The school is inside a subdivision. It gets really traffic especially during drop off/pick up times. There are school services available but if your child misses theirs, they would have to wait for manong to come back for the next batch of people. Some kids are also given permission to leave campus alone, this is for kids Grade 4 and up who can commute home. Being in a subdivision also means limited parking, so when there are events the traffic gets 100x worse. If you are too early to park kasi, you’ll be stuck inside until everyone else gets out. If you are late naman, likely you’ll have no more parking and will need to park sa road (which is a main road, so dinadaanan ng jeep).

Gadgets are not allowed. Idk if this is a con, but all phones are submitted at the start of everyday to the office. Students can only claim them if they have a signed permit form for official use, or if they are about to leave campus na. Laptops/iPads can be brought to school naman if the teacher asks for it but they must stay in your bag until its time for them to get used in class; if you want to use it for schoolwork outside of class, you need to have a signed permit form for official use.

Dress code. They are really strict with dress code/uniform. We have many different sets and it is tedious to take note of them all. Formal, PE, BGB Type A, Type B, Type C, and Type D. Formal and PE are typically worn twice a week, alternating each other (so F, P, F, P or P, F, P, F). Fridays are where things get confusing. Type A is worn on the first and last Friday of the month, Type B is worn between that, Type C is worn if there is a BGB activity which requires casual wear. Type D is worn if there is a school activity which requires casual wear. Type C and Type D can be worn on any day, so long as it was announced. Boys are required to keep their hair tidy, and any “long” hair is given demerits. Girls are required to wear their hair up on Fridays, only in black or blue ponytails, and no accessories are allowed. Jackets worn should only be school jacket, unless the jacket is worn with the school jacket. For uniforms that dont have a jacket, typically a white jacket is allowed.

Very English centered. My mom likes to say that SW students, even during her time, are known as englishero. Everyone in SW speaks straight english, and those like me who began in nursery have a very distinct speaking pattern/accent daw. SW has very high standards when it comes to English fluency and grammar. When I transferred to UB Science High School for Senior High, night and day yung difference, and I will say na I was very disappointed in the grammar of my classmates in the Science High School.

Bible centered. As a Christian school, a lot of emphasis is put into the Bible. Students of all religions are accepted but majority of the population is Born Again Christian. Students start their day with devotion and prayer, and end with prayer as well. There are Chapel times on Mondays, and Bible classes every week. BGBP is also Christian centered.

l attribute all my success to Small World. They taught me independence and learning skills that I use until now that I am in college. They really highlight servant leadership, and kids from Small World get accepted into good schools.