The best international schools in Singapore

UWCSEA Dover Campus

Dover Road · UWCSEA curriculum, IGCSE, IB Diploma

Fees: USD 34,500–43,000 a year

The school teachers most often say they would choose for their own children. Parents describe happy children, a huge range of activities and a lot of service work alongside the IB. Admissions look for fit with the college's mission as much as for marks. Some parents used to more traditional schools feel the junior years don't drill the basics hard enough. Dover is the original campus, opened in 1971; it moves to a new campus in Tengah in 2032.

UWCSEA East Campus

Tampines · UWCSEA curriculum, IGCSE, IB Diploma

Fees: USD 34,500–43,000 a year

The same college, curriculum and fees on a newer campus in Tampines. Families choose by where they live: Dover for the west, East for the centre, east and north. You can't switch campus once you accept a place.

Singapore American School (SAS)

Woodlands · American curriculum, Advanced Placement (AP)

Fees: USD 34,700–43,500 a year

The usual choice for families heading back to US universities. The campus is huge, and parents and teachers call its facilities, music especially, unmatched. US citizens and green-card holders get first priority, then staff of American companies. Two things put people off: Woodlands is a long way north of where most expat families live, and some describe a stressful high school, with a lot of worry about university admissions.

SJI International, ACS (International) and Hwa Chong International

These are the international schools of three of Singapore's best-known local schools, and the only ones Singaporean children can join at secondary level without an exemption from the Ministry of Education (at SJI International, only the high school; its primary needs one like any other). That makes them the usual route for Singaporean families who want the IB, or a way off the local exam track after the PSLE, and the choice of foreign families who want their children to have Singaporean classmates.

Don't confuse them with their parent schools. ACS (Independent) and St Joseph's Institution are local schools that also teach the IB, and their results, ACS (Independent)'s especially, are among the best in the world. Those are the figures people quote.

St Joseph's Institution International (SJII)

Thomson Road · International Primary Curriculum, IGCSE, IB Diploma

Fees: USD 31,100–39,900 a year

The school teachers most often name after UWCSEA, Tanglin and SAS. About half the high school is Singaporean, the most even mix of local and foreign families of any international school here. It is Catholic, but parents and teachers say the religion is light-touch. It moves from Thomson Road to a new campus in Hougang in 2030.

Hwa Chong International School (HCIS)

Bukit Timah · IGCSE (optional), IB Diploma

Fees: USD 27,700–31,300 a year

The most academic of the three by local reputation: strict teachers, strong IGCSE and IB results, and graduates going on to NUS and leading universities abroad. Parents describe a student body that is mostly Singaporean, Chinese and Korean. It runs on Singapore's January to November school year.

ACS (International)

Holland Village · IGCSE, IB Diploma

Fees: USD 24,600–33,900 a year

Part of the Anglo-Chinese School family. Local parents see it as the least academically intense of the three, which suits families who want a gentler route to the IGCSE and the IB. It also runs January to November.

Dulwich and Stamford

Most of Singapore's other well-known international schools are owned by education companies, and parents are warier of them: the usual worry is high fees with less certainty about what they pay for. Two still get named alongside the non-profits.

Stamford American International School

Woodleigh · American curriculum, Advanced Placement (AP), IB Diploma

Fees: USD 24,000–43,700 a year

The large American alternative to SAS, in Woodleigh, much closer to the centre than Woodlands. It is one of the few schools here to offer both the IB Diploma and American AP courses. Some UWCSEA and SAS parents call it the "little sister", a place to wait for a spot at their school; families who stay describe a welcoming, inclusive community. It belongs to Cognita, a British schools group, and teachers' reviews of its pay and contracts are poor.

Learning support, lower fees and home curricula

Beyond these schools, most families choose by what their child needs, what they can pay and where they come from.

Dover Court International School

Dover Road · English National Curriculum, IGCSE, IB Diploma

Fees: USD 26,000–39,900 a year

The school parents name for learning support and inclusion, with a nurturing primary, and one they call cheaper than Tanglin, UWCSEA or Dulwich. The criticisms: some mention changes of principal, and some families find it less academic in the teenage years. It belongs to Nord Anglia, a schools group.

One World International School (OWIS)

Jurong West · IB Primary Years Programme, Cambridge IGCSE, IB Diploma

Fees: USD 18,800–21,700 a year

The lowest-fee route to the IB Diploma here, at about USD 21,700 a year in the final years at its Nanyang campus. Families paying their own fees use it, and some start here while they wait for a place elsewhere. At this price parents also name Middleton and Invictus.

Australian International School (AIS)

Serangoon · IB Primary Years Programme, Australian curriculum, IGCSE, IB Diploma, HSC

Fees: USD 24,400–43,000 a year

The school for Australian and New Zealand families, on a January to December school year. It teaches the IB Primary Years, an Australian curriculum and IGCSE, then either the IB Diploma or the NSW HSC. Like Stamford, it belongs to Cognita.

Global Indian International School (GIIS)

Punggol · CBSE, IB Primary Years Programme, Cambridge IGCSE, IB Diploma

Fees: USD 12,000–31,700 a year

For families staying on an Indian curriculum. Its Punggol campus teaches CBSE alongside the IB and Cambridge.

DPS International School

Kovan · ICSE, ISC, Cambridge IGCSE, A-Levels

Fees: USD 4,330–22,900 a year

The other Indian-curriculum choice. It teaches the ICSE and ISC boards with Cambridge IGCSE and A-Levels, and has the lowest starting fees in this guide, from a half-day nursery place.

Other communities have their own schools, among them the Lycée Français, the German European School (GESS), the Japanese School and the Singapore Korean International School.

FAQ

What is the best international school in Singapore?

Most parents name the same three: UWCSEA (Dover or East), Tanglin Trust and SAS. For an IB school with a real mix of Singaporean and foreign students they name SJII, or Hwa Chong International for the most academic.

How hard is it to get into UWCSEA, Tanglin or SAS?

Hard, mainly because places are short rather than because of the fees. None of the three keeps a simple waiting list: each reviews its applicants once a year and offers places as they come up. SAS puts US citizens and green-card holders first, then staff of American companies; Tanglin offers a small number of guaranteed places in return for a large payment. Children of staff and alumni get priority at both.

What is the most expensive international school in Singapore?

Of the schools in this guide, Dulwich College (Singapore), at up to about USD 46,200 a year for the oldest pupils. Tanglin Trust and SAS come next, at up to about USD 45,300 and USD 43,500.

What is the cheapest international school in Singapore?

Of the schools in this guide, DPS International charges least overall, from about USD 4,330 for a half-day nursery place to USD 22,900 in the final year. OWIS is the lowest-fee route to the IB Diploma, at about USD 21,700 a year at its Nanyang campus.

How much do international schools in Singapore cost?

The schools in this guide charge from about USD 4,330 a year for the youngest children to about USD 46,200 for the oldest. Fees for every school we list are on our Singapore page.

What do the fee figures include?

Tuition plus compulsory yearly charges, such as building or development levies, for a pupil already at the school. One-off costs on joining, such as application and enrolment fees, are extra and can be large.

Can Singaporean children go to international schools in Singapore?

Only with an exemption from the Ministry of Education, decided case by case. The usual grounds are years of schooling abroad, a diagnosed learning need or a foreign parent, and the school applies once it has offered a place. UWCSEA and Tanglin only apply for a few groups, mainly children of staff and alumni and siblings of pupils. ACS International, Hwa Chong International and SJII's high school are the exceptions: they can take Singaporeans at secondary level without it.

What is the difference between UWCSEA Dover and East?

They are one college, with the same curriculum and fees, on two campuses: Dover in the west, the original, and East in Tampines. Most families choose by where they live, and you can't switch campus once you accept a place. Dover moves to a new campus in Tengah in 2032; East is unaffected.

Which international schools in Singapore teach A-Levels?

In this guide, Tanglin Trust, where sixth-formers choose A-Levels or the IB Diploma, and DPS International.

Which international schools in Singapore teach an Indian curriculum?

GIIS teaches CBSE, and DPS International teaches the ICSE and ISC boards; both also teach Cambridge.

Compare international schools in Singapore

Fees, ages and admissions for every Singapore school we list.

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