What does it mean to truly believe in a child that the system has already given up on? In this fireside chat from the Better Future Forum 2026, Mrs. Chua Sock Kooi — veteran Singapore educator, founder of Northlight School, and one of the most compelling voices in global education — sits down with Wendy Kopp to reflect on four decades of working to redefine what success means for students, teachers, and systems.
Northlight School was founded in 2006 for students who could not pass Singapore's primary school leaving exam — students the system had effectively labeled as failures. Mrs. Chua shares what it took to build a school rooted in hope, character, and the belief that an exam result is a measure of one moment, not a measure of a life. The stories she tells — of a student who became a composer, of a teacher and former student who saved each other across fifteen years — are a powerful reminder of what education can be when we put the whole child at the center.
But this conversation goes beyond one school. Mrs. Chua reflects on what it took to shift the culture and practices of Singapore's broader education system toward holistic student development — removing mid-year exams, attaching teachers to companies outside education, and building sustained professional development across an entire career. Her insights on the challenges of that shift, and her advice for those working to do the same in their own contexts, are as practical as they are inspiring.
What you'll take away: Mrs. Chua's three attitudes for sustaining transformational work — fortitude, gratitude, and solitude — and a vivid reminder that shifting the culture of an education system is generational work, and among the most worthy things a person can do.
