Our vision is to be A World Class Institution of Leaders. This is what we want to achieve. To arrive at that, we set a purpose for the institution, as spelt out in our mission statement: With our blend of tradition and innovation, we nurture leaders in research, industry and government, who have the integrity, wisdom, passion and vision to succeed in the global environment and serve our nation.
Our Founder Mr Tan Kah Kee once said. "The affluence and prosperity of a nation depends entirely on her people while the improvement of her people depends entirely on education". This emphasizes the importance of education to bring about any change in society.
A first step towards that is to instill a positive paradigm and mindset in our students. This mindset forms the foundation to the model, which encapsulates what the institution treasures. Our school motto of 'Zi Qiang Bu Xi' 
, our guiding principle of 'Yin Shui Si Yuan' 
and our 'Win-Win' Philosophy 
make up the foundation for our Student Development Model.
Underlining our school Mission to Nurture leaders in research, industry and government is our corporate resolve to achieve our goals in an environment of Joy, Teamwork, Integrity, excellence, resilience and respect, while keeping a global perspective. Together, these form our school values, which built on our strong foundation.
Arising from these paradigms, the various affective programmes are introduced, not in a one size fits all system but we believe in a customized student-centric approach to education.
At the High School section, there is the Structured Class for those students who needs more scaffolding and structures to guide in their learning. The Consortiums system guides students in their independent learning. The Centre for Scholastic Excellence (CSE) Mentorship programme and the Integrated Boarding Programme (IBP) cater to students who seek independence as a lifestyle, academic or otherwise.
Building on this our Total Development Programme, providing students with a holistic education: Moral, Intellectual, Physical, Social, Aesthetics 
, which centers around our institution's success model, emphasizing IQ, EQ and AQ. The driving force of the entire Student Development Programme is the heart, which symbolizes integrity, passion and compassion. It reinforces the centrality of Ethical Values in our affective education programme.
The Total Development Programme comprises 3 major components: Guidance Education, Character Education, and Leadership Education. The multiplicity of programmes and opportunities provided serve to nurture students to achieve what is spelt out in our mission statement: Leaders.
Students are nurtured in a systematic and evolutionary approach, beginning from Self Leadership to Servant Leadership and Entrepreneurial Leadership. We believe that true nobility starts from self. In Self Leadership, students are provided with awareness and experience through programmes such as Character and Moral Education; Outdoor Education; National Education; CCA; Education and Career Guidance; Arts Enrichment and Appreciation Programme; Internationalization Programme; and International Students Interaction Programmes, among others.
In Servant Leadership and Entrepreneurial Leadership, all students are equipped with the basic knowledge and experience of being an enabler of others, to be able to get out of their comfort zone and to be able to make a difference to the life of others.
With this holistic approach, we believe we will be able to instill in the students to live with passion and lead with compassion in whatever areas of leadership endeavor they may be engaged in, now or in the future.