[Message from the Principal, Ms Fauziah Shah]

Petra Education Centre was established in 1997 and was also registered with the Ministry of Education in the same year. Our vision is to provide quality education for all children, teenagers and adults, both locals and foreigners.

My passion with education started long before I became a qualified teacher. I used to teach neighborhood children and even wrote stories to tell them. Once to the amazement of my primary school teacher who had left the classroom for a while, she found me in front of the classroom teaching my peers using the chalk board when she came back.

Then when I finally became trained to teach and was a mainstream school teacher, I realized then that teaching and learning was going to be my life-long passion. Then when I did my degree courses, I made sure I took the subjects that would enable me to excel in my area of expertise which is the teaching of all aspects of the English Language. When I realized my calling in life, I left teaching and set up my own private school so that I could put in place a system of education that would benefit a vast majority of students.

First I concentrated on providing quality English lessons to our local students. Then I ventured into providing Summer English courses to International Students. So far, such courses were well received by students from Korea, China, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Iran, Macau, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Having established a good system to help foreign students as well as local students, we worked hard to attain the prestigious Case Trust accreditation and have since been offering full-time English courses to foreign students who want to improve their command of English so that they could enroll in Singapore government schools or to foreign students who want to reach a level of proficiency in English to pursue tertiary education either in Singapore or overseas.

As head of school, I ensure that my passion for teaching and learning is emulated by Petra teachers so that they can lead by example. I take extra care to ensure that Petra teachers also share my commitment and dedication. They have regular in-house training for this purpose.

We adopt a student-centered approach, yet we teach our students the importance of showing respect to their elders, their peers and themselves by assuming responsibility for their actions and by learning to be independent, active learners.

As head of school, I set an example by being involved in the teaching and learning process. I regularly conduct training for Petra teachers to impart the knowledge I have gained from the numerous courses I have attended and from books I have read. Sometimes I also engage in classroom teaching apart from my private sessions with clients.

I want our students to emulate Petra teachers, who, despite their good academic standing and experience, are constantly looking for ways to improve themselves so as to update themselves on the latest teaching methods for the benefit of their students.

I also want my students to realize the importance of lifelong education and that learning is “from the cradle to the grave”.

We call ourselves the Petra family and our students’ welfare is always uppermost in our minds. We are continually looking for ways to improve our teaching strategies and ways to enhance the learning environment for the sake of our students. We urge the public to support us in our mission.

Thank you

Ms Fauziah Shah, M.A., C.I