Learn. Serve. Lead.

Est. April 2007

Our story

GTIS began as Hope International Primary School. On its first day in October 2007 it had three pupils and four teachers. It now teaches Grades 1 to 12.

The original two-storey school block, cream and brown with a red tile roof and an open ground floor
How It Began

A church in Singapore, a village in Kampong Speu

It started as Hope International Primary School, in a village in Kampong Speu.

1

Who started it

Glad Tidings International School was founded in April 2007 by Glad Tidings Church, Singapore, in partnership with ICM Singapore.

2

Why it was started

Our aim is to raise the educational standards of the children in this part of Cambodia, because education is one of the ways to improve standards of living and to raise the future generation.

3

The first day

The school opened in October 2007 with three pupils and four teachers. About thirty children had joined by the end of that month.

4

A full school

Primary teaching grew into secondary, and then into high school. Today a child can be taught here from Grade 1 all the way through to Grade 12.

Milestones

The years that shaped the school

Land was bought in 2006. The school opened in 2007. These are the moments that changed it most.

  1. Open ground at Kampong Speu, with school buildings in the distance
    2005

    A Plot of Land Behind a Church

    Pastor Richard Toh sees a plot of land behind a church then being built, and thinks of a school.

  2. The original two-storey school block, cream and brown with a red tile roof and an open ground floor
    2006

    The First Classrooms Are Built

    Building starts on the first block for Hope International Primary School: two storeys, four classrooms, a principal’s office and a staff room.

  3. A GTIS teacher with a class of pupils at their desks
    2007

    The School Opens

    Hope International Primary School officially opens in April, run by Glad Tidings Church in Singapore in partnership with ICM Singapore. The first intake arrives in October: three pupils and four teachers on day one, and around thirty pupils by the end of the month.

  4. Four pupils in yellow GTIS school shirts standing together on a stairway
    2008

    Enrolment Doubles

    In its second year the school takes in twice as many children. Enrolment doubles to 76 pupils.

  5. GTIS pupils lined up in the courtyard for assembly
    2009

    The Classrooms Fill Up

    Enrolment rises to 135 pupils. Space in the first block is getting tight.

  6. The two-storey dormitory building with its balcony and covered walkway below
    2010

    Land for a New School Site

    The school acquires 1.7 hectares of land nearby: enough room for a new school site and for dormitories.

  7. The low white and red school building at the first GTIS site
    2011

    Ground Is Broken on the New Building

    Ground is broken on the new site and the first phase of construction begins. At the old site there are now 350 pupils, and the school is bursting at its seams.

  8. Pupils standing beside the Glad Tidings International School sign
    2012

    Renamed Glad Tidings International School

    Hope International Primary School becomes GTIS. The first batch of Grade 9 pupils graduate with good results in the national examinations.

  9. The four-storey classroom block, with the round water tower rising beside its entrance
    2013

    High School Begins

    Classes move into the new four-storey building with 16 classrooms, and the teachers’ and staff dormitories are finished. Teaching begins from Grade 10 upwards. The school also lost Pastor Wendy Ng this year; she died while serving here, and is remembered for giving her life to this work.

  10. The covered linkway joining the canteen and hall to the main school block
    2014

    The Multipurpose Building Opens

    The school’s record also marks its renaming to Glad Tidings International School in May. In July the Multipurpose Building is finished, the second phase of the building work: a canteen with an auditorium above it seating six hundred, joined to the main school block by a covered linkway. Fourteen teachers and staff are baptised in its pool that same month, and the first Christmas service is held there in December.

  11. The chapel tower with the school gardens and grounds below it
    2015

    A Garden and Somewhere to Play

    The School Science Eco Garden is finished in January. In March a mini basketball court and badminton courts are completed. In August one of nine Grade 9 pupils achieves an A in the national examinations, and all twenty-one of the school’s Grade 9 pupils pass with good or above-average grades.

  12. GTIS pupils working at their desks in a classroom
    2016

    The First Grade 12 Class

    The first batch of GTIS pupils sit the National Grade 12 Examinations of Cambodia.

  13. The GTIS campus seen from the air, with the village and rice fields around it
    2017

    Ten Years, Grades 1 to 12

    The school marks its tenth anniversary. It teaches Grades 1 to 12, with 498 pupils, 25 full-time teachers and 5 support staff.

  14. A class of younger GTIS pupils standing together on the school lawn
    2018–2019

    Steady Years

    Two quiet years of steady growth, teaching every grade from 1 to 12.

  15. The covered gathering and play area at GTIS, standing empty
    2019–2022

    The Pandemic Years

    COVID-19 brings two problems at once. The school has no experience of teaching online, and parents refuse to pay school fees. The teachers themselves offer to take pay cuts of thirty to fifty per cent so that the school can carry on. Church members, mission supporters and well-wishers give generously. The school stays open.

  16. Two GTIS pupils in school uniform, smiling, with the school grounds behind them
    2022–2024

    Rising From the Ashes

    The school comes back. Classes fill again and the work of the previous years is picked up where it was left.

  17. A newly finished three-storey classroom block with open walkways, seen across the school field
    2025

    Eight Classrooms and Two Science Labs

    A three-storey block is added, with eight classrooms and two science laboratories.

Looking Ahead

The Turning Point Youth Centre

Preparing the next generation of leaders.

A white two-storey building with tall glass doors, uplit at dusk, with palm trees and planted beds along the front
Building began
September 2025
Completed
May 2026
Dedication
8 September 2026

GTIS is the foundation. The Youth Centre is the bridge.

Sixty per cent of Cambodia’s population is under thirty. Young people here meet real difficulty and real opportunity at once, and what they need is somewhere safe and welcoming to grow, to learn and to find one another. The Turning Point is meant to be that place: a hub for creativity, education and community, designed with young people in mind and for them.

Families and friends of the school are welcome at the dedication. Please get in touch if you would like to come, or to hear more about the centre.

Ask about the dedication

What the centre is for

Its vision and its mission, in the school’s own words.

Vision

Our vision for the centre

To create a vibrant, youth-focused space that fosters personal growth, skill development and community building, enabling young people to unlock their full potential while reaching out to them for Christ.

Mission

Our mission for the centre

To provide a safe, supportive and dynamic environment where young people can find resources, take part in enriching activities and build lasting friendships with their peers and with mentors. Through sport, education, enterprise and faith, we aim to change lives and communities.

What will be inside

Five parts, each of them something pupils and young people from the neighbourhood can walk into.

1

Alumni Club

Somewhere for former pupils to come back to, keep in touch and give something back. Alumni mentor pupils who are still here, talk to them about work and careers, and lend a hand with what the school is doing.

2

Football Club

A club open to the neighbourhood as well as the school, playing matches against other community and provincial sides. It gives young people somewhere to put their energy, and it is part of how the school works against drug use.

3

A Two-Storey Building

Upstairs, a hall seating a hundred and twenty for concerts, career talks, leadership courses and conferences — and, before anything else, a church for young people. Downstairs, a café run by the pupils themselves, where they learn to handle a business, customers and a kitchen.

4

Study and Skills

Online university courses, so that pupils from low-income families can work and study at the same time. Alongside them, workshops on finding work, on leading, and on growing up well.

5

Outreach and Faith

Fellowship, worship and Bible study, and outreach into the community around the school — including drug prevention and support for families.

Our Crest

What the school crest means

Every part of the crest stands for something we want our pupils to carry with them.

Two concentric circles

A complete and holistic education, transforming each student from the inside out.

The dove

The Holy Spirit nurturing and directing our students’ lives.

The open Bible

Constant enquiry and reading of His Word.

The cross at the centre

The redemptive work of Christ.

Stalks of rice grain

Abundant RICE: Resilience, Integrity, Compassion and Excellence.

The colours

Yellow and green are the colours of the rice fields of Cambodia. White stands for purity and truth. Red stands for the blood of Christ.

Grades 1 to 12

Thinking about GTIS for your child?

We teach Grades 1 to 12 in Kampong Speu, in a Christian school that works on character as well as marks — resilience, integrity, compassion and excellence. Call us, send a message, or come and meet the teachers. You are welcome to ask at any time of year.

Get in touch (+855) 070 531 861
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