This year marks a different summer holiday experience for celebrity couple Andie Chen and Kate Pang's kids Aden and Avery, who have been living in Taiwan since 2020.

They are studying in the same primary school Andie was in and only for a month.

Speaking to AsiaOne yesterday (July 16), Kate, 41, shared that she and Andie, 39, started planning for this about a year ago. They returned to Singapore on July 13 and the kids began classes two days later.

"We have already told them that they will be coming back to Singapore to experience primary school during their summer holidays, so they were prepared beforehand," the actress-host said.

Avery, eight, and Aden, 10, are currently attending Primary 2 and Primary 4 classes respectively in a school in Clementi.

Kate shared that while the school is far from their home in the eastern side of Singapore, they still prefer it because Andie is an alumni. In addition, the couple had enrolled Aden in the school prior to moving to Taiwan and have been paying the school fees every year.

In Taiwan, Avery and Aden go to an experimental school, where they learn through experiences such as weekly outdoor excursions to the beach or mountains.

Kate, who grew up in Taiwan, shared that they were worried about whether their children could fit in in a Singapore school at first.

She explained: "We are also not sure what education would be like in Singapore. I have never studied here and Andie said he can't remember much about his primary school. Our children know the laws are strict here and are scared that the teachers would be fierce and the curriculum and homework would be difficult and stressful."

But after the first two days of school, Avery and Aden found it to be enjoyable so far.

"Avery said that it was so fun. Because in Taiwan, they study in school for the whole day from 8am to 4pm, but school ends at 1.30pm here and they also have recess time in between. Their classmates are also very friendly and warm. Avery met a good friend on the first day of school and is very happy.

"For Aden, he was assigned a buddy. He said that his buddy was great because he helped him take notes during lessons so he could answer the questions. Everyone took care of them and they were very happy," Kate shared.

When asked if they would consider enrolling Aden and Avery to school here permanently if they like the experience, Kate replied in the negative.

"Actually, all along, the priority is on Andie's career. We really love Singapore and the education here, but his work now requires him to stay in Taiwan for long periods of time and we feel that it's better for all of us to stay together. So our children would have to study in Taiwan for now," she said.

Despite that, they prioritise learning English in school over there and coincidentally, the principal of the Taipei school is a Singaporean, who teaches English to the students.

"We are prepared to return whenever there is a need to," Kate added.

yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com

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