Education and Schooling in Singapore

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Education and Schooling in Singapore

Inoculations are required to enter Singapore schools. Keep records of childhood inoculations, as schools may ask for up to date inoculation documentation.

• Children born in Singapore will have a health booklet where vaccinations are recorded
• Children born outside Singapore can get a record of vaccination from their doctor

Children of Singaporeans must attend a Singaporean State school. A Singaporean child may apply to one of the foreign international schools only if he or she has been in education abroad or if one parent is of another nationality.

Children of English-speaking expatriates usually go to a foreign international school where they will be educated in English, and may follow a UK curriculum or study for the International Baccalaureate.

Children of expatriates in Singapore on employment/professional visit passes may apply for admission to the government or government-aided schools. Details of how this should be done are available through the Ministry of Education (MOE) website.

If there are vacancies, the student will need to obtain a student pass from the Immigration Department. School fees in such schools are much lower than in private schools.

• School Information Service from the Ministry of Education (MOE): Click here (choose search option, then select relevant criteria and click "submit")

The School Year

All Singaporean State schools (including kindergartens) follow the same school year.

• For details of the school year, term and holiday dates: Click here

The school year starts on 2 January and consists of four 10-week terms. There is a one-week holiday after the first and third terms, a four-week holiday after the second term, and a six-week break at the end of the year.

Foreign International schools operate to different timetables and should be consulted directly for their term dates.

Pre-School

Even though children are not required to start school before the age of six, there are many pre-school centres for children from six months old. Some will take children as young as three months. These are mainly used by working parents who do not have live-in help.

• For a list of child care centres from the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS): Click here

Between the ages of three and six years children will often be enrolled in a kindergarten. There is a varied choice of these in different areas of the island, including foreign/international kindergartens for the children of expatriates. Kindergartens are run by the private sector and must be registered with the Ministry of Education (MOE).

• Further information from the MOE: Click here

Child care centres may also offer a kindergarten programme. These are licensed by The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS).

• Further information from the MCYS: Click here

Primary Education

In Singapore children start studying at Primary One at the age of six and study for six years.

Singaporean schools will only take children from a certain catchment area, which is determined by a set radius around the school campus. Some schools are more popular than others mainly because of their exam results and it is not uncommon for parents to buy or rent a home within that school's catchment area just to get a place for their children.

At the end of the six years the child takes the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) before moving on to secondary school for another four or five years.

• Further information from the MOE: Click here

Secondary Education

Secondary schools in Singapore can be government funded, government aided or independent.

Depending on the results of their Primary School Leaving Examinations the child is placed on different levels (Special, Express or Normal) of course in secondary school.

Students attend four or five years of secondary education.

The Special and Express Courses prepare students for the Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary (GCE O) Level examination in four years.

Students in the Normal Course can opt for the Academic or Technical stream, both of which prepare students for the Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Normal (GCE N) Level examination after four years of study. Upon satisfactory completion of the Normal level examination, students may enter for the GCE O Level examination in the fifth year.

Pre-University

After the secondary level, the student can choose to continue education through a number of institutions:

Technical (ITE) or Commercial Institutes

• MDIS – Management Development Institution of Singapore
• MIS – Marketing Institute of Singapore
• TMC – Technology Management Corporation
• SIM - Singapore Institute of Management

Polytechnic Education

• Nanyang Polytechnic
• Temasek Polytechnic
• Ngee Ann Polytechnic
• Singapore Polytechnic
• Republic Polytechnic

Polytechnics provide diploma courses in a wide range of subjects.

• Further information from the MOE: Click here

From here the student can follow on with tertiary education. If they choose to study abroad, some universities in the UK, the USA and Australia allow polytechnic graduates to enter the second year of the degree course.

Centralised Institutions

These are pre-university centres or junior colleges to prepare for the Senior Cambridge General Certificate of Education Advanced (GCE A) level examinations and later on tertiary education.

A School graduation certificate is awarded to students who complete their pre-university education.

• Further information from the MOE: Click here 

University

The MOE website has information on the options available for further education:

In Singapore

For tertiary education Singapore has a number of universities, all of which provide a wide choice of subjects:

• National University of Singapore (NUS)
• Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
• Singapore Management University (SMU)
• Information on post secondary education from the MOE: Click here 

Overseas

Many students choose to go to university overseas, especially in the UK, the USA or Australia. Some universities in these countries allow Singaporean polytechnic graduates to enter directly in to the second year of the degree courses.

Special Needs Education

Special Education encompasses a range of specialised teaching programmes in special education (SPED) schools which cater for children with autism, or intellectual, sensory, physical or multiple disabilities. Depending on the degree of their disability, some of these children may still be able to cope with parts of the mainstream school curriculum with some support, while others may benefit more from special curricula taught by suitably qualified teachers.

SPED schools are operated by voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs), with the support of the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the National Council of Social Service (NCSS).

• For more information see NCSS website: Click here
• or the MOE website: Click here

Specialist centres are available to test children with potential special needs such as dyslexia and report on the support required. The school will then decide whether special concessions can/should be made. These might involve extra time for exams or use of a laptop.

Some schools will allow special needs lessons to take place in school in place of the usual compulsory second language lesson. Dover Court is one international school with a more extensive special needs programme with many special needs trained teachers. Parents often choose to set up separate sessions for their children outside the school curriculum.

International Schooling

There is a choice of international schools in Singapore and most expatriates' children will attend one of these. Many start at kindergarten age and will go on through primary to secondary. There are schools where children can take GCSE and A levels as well as schools that focus completely on the International Baccalaureate which is accepted by many universities around the world. 

Most of Singapore's international schools follow the schedule of the "home country" school. For example those following a British or American curriculum start the school year in August/September and finish in June/July while those following the Australian curriculum start in January and run the course of a calendar year. 

Contact the individual schools for details of how to apply.

It is compulsory for unaccompanied foreign students studying in Singapore to apply for an annual student pass from the Immigration Department.

Note: school fees paid directly by the expatriate's company are taxable under Singapore law.

Bullying & Violence in the Classroom & School

Bullying is unfortunately still going on in many schools. Schools do take a serious view on this and if it is reported and persistent the bully can expect to be suspended and/or expelled from school. Some schools run programmes by experts who come to speak to children on bullying, how to recognise it and how to deal with it.

Student and Scholar Help Lines

Most international schools have in-house counsellors with an open door policy for children who seek support. These are confidential unless there is perceived danger to the child.

There are two help lines for students who want to talk to someone:

• Student Care Service for primary to pre-university/junior college students
  Tel: 6778 6867
• Tinkle Friend Helpline for children from 7 to 12 years of age
  Tel: 1800 274 4788