Why we started Avocado Lab
Top: Our original Level 3 unit is packed with books, gadgets and all sorts of curious contraptions, helping even the most nervous student quickly feel at home.
Bottom: Our newer Level 2 unit has a cosy corner, plenty of interesting books, quiet comforts and the occasional prank device for curious hands to discover.
Avocado Lab started because we felt that too much education in Singapore had become about worksheets, drilling and producing the right answer. These things have their place, but children also need room to ask questions, make mistakes, argue over ideas and figure things out for themselves. We wanted to create a place where curious children could think deeply, explore ideas and enjoy learning with others like them. A place where being interested in something simply because it is interesting is still a good enough reason to learn it.
We began as a small Math Olympiad programme and grew mainly through word of mouth. Over the years, we expanded into Science Olympiad, School Mathematics and Science, alongside a smaller number of English and Chinese classes. But the underlying idea remained the same: we want students to understand rather than simply remember, and to become comfortable tackling problems they have never seen before. In 2026, we introduced our multidisciplinary programme, where students explore science, history, literature, the arts and the social sciences. The aim is not simply to teach more content, but to help students make connections, consider different perspectives and become more resourceful thinkers. Some of the best learning happens when a question refuses to stay neatly inside one subject.
Avocado is also meant to be a place where children can find their people. Some are naturally curious, some are intense about particular interests, some ask too many questions, and some simply do not fit neatly into the usual mould. We want them to feel that this is a place where those traits are welcomed rather than managed away. Over time, many of our classes become small communities of their own, where students learn from one another, challenge one another and often form friendships around the things they love learning about.
Avocado Lab is proudly Singaporean-owned. We understand the realities of growing up in Singapore and we are not pretending that examinations, grades and competition do not matter. They do. But we also believe there should be more to an education than preparing for the next test. We want our classes to be intellectually demanding without becoming joyless, ambitious without treating children as scores or statistics, and rigorous while leaving room for curiosity, humour and individuality. Ultimately, we hope students leave Avocado not only knowing more, but also wanting to know more.
Why are we called Avocado Lab
We wanted a name that was fun, memorable and a little unexpected. “Avocado” feels friendly, playful and slightly quirky, while “Lab” is a place for questions, experiments and new ideas.
Together, they reflect the kind of place we want to be: a community where children can be intellectually playful, think differently and belong without having to fit a single mould.
Our logo carries the same idea. Its blocks are inspired by the Fibonacci sequence, where a simple pattern grows into something increasingly rich and complex. To us, that reflects learning itself: small questions lead to bigger ideas, connections form across subjects, and curiosity can take children much further than expected.
Our Coaches
Our coaches are Singaporeans who understand the local school system, the pressures children face and the opportunities available to them here. They come from very different backgrounds, including science, research, engineering, technology and competition coaching, but share one important quality: they know how to run demanding classes that students genuinely enjoy.
We are very selective about who teaches at Avocado. Subject knowledge matters, but knowing a lot is not the same as knowing how to teach. A good coach must be able to explain difficult ideas simply, notice when a student is struggling, challenge a child who is capable of more, and create a class where students are comfortable asking questions, making mistakes and occasionally disagreeing with the coach. We want students to respect their coaches, but also to feel completely at ease talking to them.
Our classes are taught by our core coaches, NOT a rotating pool of freelance instructors. We do not think coaches are interchangeable. Over time, a good coach comes to understand how each student thinks, what motivates them, where their blind spots are and when they need a push. That continuity matters to us, and it is one reason many of our students stay with the same coaches for years.
We are also proud that every male member of our core coaching team has served National Service. To us, NS is more than a line in a biography. It is a shared Singaporean experience of discipline, responsibility, resilience, teamwork and looking out for the people beside you. These are qualities we value deeply in the adults we entrust with our students, and they are qualities we hope our students themselves will grow to possess.
Garry
Garry is the founder of Avocado Lab and the coach of our World Scholar’s Cup teams. He also works with some of Avocado Lab’s strongest Math Olympiad students. His classes often move beyond the question in front of them into discussions about mathematics, science, technology and the wider world. Students are expected not only to find an answer, but also to explain their thinking, challenge one another and debate which solution is more elegant.
Over the past 6 years, more than 95% of the Primary 6 students Garry taught achieved AL1 for Mathematics at the PSLE. While academic and competition results matter, Garry believes that students must also develop grit, humility, resourcefulness and the confidence to tackle unfamiliar problems.
Before founding Avocado Lab, Garry worked in technology management and completed his MBA at the National University of Singapore. He began teaching after struggling to find the kind of intellectually alive education he wanted for his own children. What began as a practical response eventually grew into Avocado Lab.
(Garry served his NS in 1 COY, 95–97, 1 CDO BN. All FHAG members, please identify yourselves for discounted rates)
Crystal
Crystal leads many of our Science programmes at Avocado Lab. She teaches School Science and Science Olympiad, including our popular Dangerously Curious Science classes for Primary 1 to 3 students. These highly experiential classes get children investigating, experimenting, building and asking questions, rather than simply memorising facts from a worksheet. She also teaches our Upper Primary Science Olympiad classes, helping students tackle unfamiliar problems and connect ideas across different areas of science.
With more than 15 years of experience working with children and youth, Crystal understands that good teaching begins with the learner, not just the subject. Her background in teaching and counselling helps her adapt lessons to different children while building confidence, curiosity and resilience.
Crystal earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees on scholarships and is currently completing a PhD in Medicine at NTU. She has also written Science Olympiad questions and competition papers, and authored books including a comprehensive guide to Science Olympiad preparation.
Some recent books written by Crystal
Kwan
Kwan has a calm and patient way with younger children. He teaches our School Math and Creative Math classes, helping students build strong foundations while learning to approach unfamiliar problems with confidence. He also runs Rubik’s Cube, brainteaser and real-world reasoning workshops, where children explore patterns, test ideas and learn not to accept every claim at face value.
Kwan also owns and runs an electrical engineering company, where mathematics is used to deal with measurements, constraints and practical decisions every day. He brings this experience into his classes, using real situations to show children how to identify what matters, question assumptions and break difficult problems into manageable steps.
Rather than simply teaching students which formula to use, Kwan helps them develop the judgment to choose a sensible approach and recognise whether an answer actually makes sense.
Marcus
Marcus teaches both School Math and Math Olympiad at Avocado Lab and has more than 10 years of teaching experience. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree with double majors, including Psychology. His background helps him look beyond individual mistakes and carefully diagnose each student’s strengths, gaps and habits of thought. This allows him to address gaps precisely while building on what each student already does well.
In School Math, Marcus helps students strengthen their foundations, understand why methods work and explain their reasoning clearly. In Math Olympiad, he takes students beyond familiar formulas, teaching them to recognise patterns, test different approaches and break unfamiliar problems into manageable steps. His classes combine the discipline needed for school Mathematics with the creativity and persistence required for Olympiad problem-solving.
His careful and highly individualised approach has made him especially sought after by families looking for rigorous, thoughtful Mathematics coaching.
Dr Wu Yong Hui
Dr Wu teaches AI, robotics and, in a very Avocado combination, Chinese at Avocado Lab. She plays a central role in developing and teaching our AI programmes, helping students move beyond simply using AI tools to understand how they work. Students explore how data is analysed, how machines recognise patterns, how models learn and where their limitations lie.
She is a Principal Scientist at A*STAR’s Institute of High Performance Computing and has more than 20 years of experience in data mining, bioinformatics and artificial intelligence. Her work includes machine learning, deep learning, foundation models and the use of AI in genomic and medical research.
Dr Wu holds a PhD from Xi’an Jiaotong University, where her early research focused on mechanical engineering, rapid prototyping and bio-manufacturing. She has since published numerous scientific papers in genomics, epigenetics, bioinformatics, cancer research and developmental health.
Her remarkable range reflects the Avocado spirit: language, logic, engineering and scientific discovery do not have to belong in separate worlds.
The Avocado Family
Theodore Asher Kwan
Theodore is the son of our coaches Crystal and Kwan, and you may find him joining your class from time to time.
By the age of 7 years 9 months, Theodore had become the youngest person to attain four or more A or A* grades in IGCSE subjects, roughly equivalent to O-Level subjects. These included A* in Mathematics and Chemistry, and A in Physics and Biology.
He has also set several other competition records in Mathematics and Science, including perfect scores at unusually young ages.
But Theodore is included here for another reason. Around Avocado, he is still very much a kid. He plays, explores whatever catches his interest, joins classes from time to time and gets into conversations with students of all ages. He is a good example of something we believe strongly: children can be extraordinarily ambitious learners without having to stop being children.
Do You Want to Join Us?
We are always interested in meeting exceptional people who love learning, enjoy working with children and have something real to bring into the classroom.
You do not need to come from a conventional teaching background. In fact, we are especially interested in mid-career professionals who have built deep expertise in science, engineering, technology, business or other fields, and who now want to use that experience in a more personal and meaningful way.
We are selective because our coaches shape the culture of Avocado. Strong subject knowledge is only the starting point. We look for curiosity, judgment, character, intellectual range and the ability to make demanding learning genuinely enjoyable.
If this sounds like the kind of second chapter you have been looking for, come and have a conversation with us.