Our Story
Wonder where the combination of creativity, community and character education began? Here’s our founding story.
At 14 years old, Tania went on a school trip to an orphanage in Cambodia. It was there that she first started to consider the true meaning of privilege, the importance of education, and the sense of duty to use what you’ve been given.
Over a decade later, her continued work with the children at the very same orphanage made her consider the potential that current students have in the social impact space. Bringing together her background in communications, experience in the charity sector and an interest in character education, Tania began creating a community-driven curriculum. Today, the programme exists to empower students on their own journey.
On a global scale, the access to quality education is on the rise. But despite that, depression, social anxiety and unhappiness amongst young people is at a recorded high.
The current education systems are built to teach students to be great, but in the process, we seem to be forgetting what it means to be good. I wanted to explore how education could be looked at more holistically. What would a generation of kind, brave, encouraging, value-driven students look like? How would cultivating qualities like confidence, teamwork and empathy impact exam results at the end of the day? Kids are often taught that there has to be a balance of work and play – I wanted to see how we could turn work into play, and then play with purpose. I wanted the classes to prepare them for the next steps in life in a way that made them grateful for the present and excited for the future.
Born and raised here, I’m as much a product of this cultural melting pot as any of the kids I grew up with. I owe this city so much.
Realising that 1 in 5 people live below the poverty line, in the place I call home, was a wakeup call. Children being raised a 10-minute MTR ride away from me were exposed to a completely different reality to the one I grew up with.
We can all agree that where a child is born should not determine where they end up.
Having seen first-hand how access to education can take students out of the poverty cycle, I wondered how a more holistic education could shift attitudes and enhance growth. I saw students view Maths, Science and English as pre-exam memory games, whilst qualities like confidence, teamwork and empathy were left behind. Experiencing how receptive students become when you invest a bit of time, energy and effort into their development is the quickest way to understand the true value of character education.
FairPlay is not here to just help students fill their CV, we’re here to help them ace the interview – and enjoy the process.
I believe there’s a way to use the opportunities we’ve been given as fuel: to learn more and give more. I feel that truth so deeply in my own life, it seems clear that we can ignite the same in current students.
As an ex-international school student myself (the current FairPlay students enjoy reminding me how long it’s been!), I feel incredibly privileged to have had an enabling education and supportive upbringing. Yet, so many friends and colleagues with similar backgrounds - now in their 20s and 30s - felt their life lacked meaning and contribution. Despite great jobs and salaries, they felt unfulfilled: disconnected from their emotions, their creativity, and their community.
FairPlay exists to prevent that feeling from hitting future generations.
This is a question I get a lot! Connecting local and international students was always the foundation for FairPlay.
It’s efficient: impacting students from all backgrounds whilst highlights the similarities of being human. We build genuine connections that have the potential to shift how students see their role in the world. A dual mentorship model makes it sustainable and scalable so that more students around the world can benefit.
FairPlay is not about levelling the playing field of education, it’s about raising the collective.