International schools in Singapore

Search for the best international schools in Singapore; you can find a list of selected schools at the bottom of this page. Use the search filters to select only girls' or boys' schools, prep schools, senior schools or sixth forms; or you can search for schools that offer a particular curriculum, such as the International Baccalaureate, the UK national curriculum, a US-style model or the International Primary Curriculum.

A leading centre for multinational corporations operating in Asia, Singapore has one the continent’s largest expatriate communities. In 2015, 38 per cent of the city’s 5.6 million residents were foreign nationals.

Education is at the heart of Singapore’s success as an Asian tiger economy and the country has won plaudits for its high educational standards. The city’s 15-year-olds swept the board in the OECD’s Pisa tests of performance in science, maths and reading across more than 70 countries in 2015, coming top in all categories.

There are more than 80 English-medium international schools in Singapore, including 40 IB World Schools, with 30 authorised to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma.

Tanglin Trust School Singapore combines the IB Diploma with the English national curriculum, while other schools offer it alongside Canadian, Australian, American or German programmes. There are two campuses of United World College of South East Asia, part of an educational movement to promote world peace.

Parents are advised to check schools’ accreditation arrangements with recognised bodies such as the Council of International Schools, which has eight accredited member schools in Singapore. 

International schools mainly admit the children of foreign nationals, as local students cannot attend without special permission. State schools teach in English and do admit expatriate children, who pay higher fees and get lower priority in admissions than local students. They must also pass a special admission test.

Education is compulsory from age six to 15. The state system involves six years of primary school, four years of secondary school and three years of pre-university study. Students are allocated places in the selective, four-tier secondary system based on their test results. 

The government has bold plans to attract more international students to Singapore under its Global Schoolhouse policy, which funds foreign universities to set up campuses in the city. Yale and Johns Hopkins are among those that have set up shop. 

If you are looking specifically for International Baccalaureate World Schools in Singapore, you can find selected schools on our sister website: www.ibyb.org.