Most school sports tours are built around one team. Bloom World Academy's trip to Singapore was built around everyone. Over six days in October, the Dubai school's boys and girls played four team sports against local and international opposition, tried their hand at Muay Thai, and found time to explore one of Asia's great cities along the way.
The Singapore Multisport Development Tour was organised and led by TWEDEX, and ran from 19 to 24 October.
Sport for Everyone
Rather than one sport and one first team, both squads had a full programme: basketball and volleyball for everyone, football for the boys and netball for the girls, and a Muay Thai class for the whole group.
For Rhys Gorman, Head of Sports at TWEDEX, that is exactly the point. Much of school sport in Dubai leans towards competitive, selective teams, and a multisport tour gives schools a way to run an inclusive programme instead: students of every ability travel, compete and represent their school, not just the strongest players in a single sport.
New Sports, New Opposition
The squads opened at the Asian Pacific Cup 2026, a 3v3 basketball competition with a strong mix of local and international teams. Fixtures followed against Go Ahead Eagles Academy, the Australian International School and St Hilda's Secondary School.
The boys' footballers edged a fiercely competitive game against Go Ahead Eagles 1-0, while the girls' volleyball match with the Australian International School finished level at two sets each. Whatever the scoreline, the students showed great effort, teamwork and sportsmanship in every game.
A Taste of Singapore
Between fixtures, the group saw the city: the street art of Haji Lane, the Merlion and Marina Bay skyline, Chinatown, the downhill luge on Sentosa and the Night Safari. Dinners at Newton Food Centre and Lau Pa Sat gave everyone a taste of Singapore's famous hawker food, and the Garden Rhapsody light show at Gardens by the Bay made for a spectacular final night.
Five sports, new opposition at every turn and a city to explore: a tour where every Bloom World Academy student had a part to play.
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