Sending your children to an international school costs a fair amount of money. That’s mainly down to the fact that international schools are not funded or subsidised by the Singapore Government, and tend to have differentiated pedagogy as well as certain prestige attached to them.
In Singapore, all international schools are “for-profit” organisations. As Singapore has one of the lowest Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in the world, the number local children will decrease. To retain Singapore’s competitive landscape, we have to rely on an increasing number of “Foreigners” to power the economy.
Their children, not being Singaporeans or Permanent Residents (PRs), may find it challenging getting a spot in local Singapore schools. Furthermore, they may prefer their children to attend an international school that offers a syllabus that is reflective of their home country or to steer away from the supposedly stressful local curriculum.
In short, the demand for international school education may increase. But, how much does it actually cost to send your child to an international school in Singapore?
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Fees Can Vary Widely By School
While the term “international school” is a catch-all term in Singapore, the pricing structure is far from being standardised. Pricing can vary widely depending on which international school parents decide to send their kids to.
Overall, you can expect to pay at least S$20,000 per academic year to send one child to an international school in Singapore. This amount can vary quite significantly, and is dependent on the school brand, type of facilities offered at the particular school and age of your child.
For example, United World College of Southeast Asia (UWC SEA) charges S$36,078 per year in tuition for K1 to Grade 1. However, parents will also have to fork out an extra S$9,537 (only for the first year your child attends the school) as a “development levy” – which the school says is charged for the “ongoing maintenance, renewal, and replacement of campus facilities”.
From the second and subsequent years, this annual development levy is charged at S$4,830. Therefore, the total cost of K1 to G1 is a maximum of S$45,615 and a minimum of S$40,908. By Grade 11 to Grade 12, the maximum annual cost is S$56,361 and the minimum is S$51,654.
Other schools, such as Dulwich College Singapore charge similar rates for its primary school and secondary school cohorts of students, with the annual cost for Reception to Year 2 students coming in at S$41,830 and the Year 12 to Year 13 annual cost amounting to S$54,060.
Another international school, One World International School (OWIS), which has two campuses in Singapore, charges a different rate at its “Nanyang Campus” and its “Digital Campus”. For instance, its Nanyang Campus charges between $21,000 and $24,000 for Early Childhood through Grade 12. Its Digital Campus, on the other hand, charges between $27,000 to $30,000 for Early Childhood to Grade 9. One part of its fee is a “Building Fee” – which it is charging as a relatively newly built campus compared to its sister “Nanyang Campus”.
Other Associated Costs To Consider
There are also various other additional costs that parents will want to consider before sending their children to international school.
One of them is the “capital levy” or “application fee” that international schools in Singapore like to charge. These are typically one-time fees – made when first applying – and can vary from school to school with amounting ranging from S$4,000 to S$5,500.
Indeed, some international schools can charge two or more of these fees at the application phase and the total – albeit one-off – costs can amount to close to S$10,000. That is a significant amount of money, even if annual international school fees range from S$20,000 to S$50,000.
One other cost that not many parents may think about is transport. While this isn’t necessarily an issue for older students (who can make use of Singapore’s affordable and efficient public transport), it may be an issue for parents of younger children. Especially since many international schools can be far away from where young families live.
Depending on how far the school is away from people’s residences, annual school bus fees – for transport to and from school – can cost between S$3,000 to S$6,000 per year, per child.
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Understanding The Full Costs Of Sending Your Child To An International School
While everyone is aware that international schools in Singapore are not cheap, there are also many ancillary costs that individuals may not think about. These can include one-off fees and transport costs for their children.
At a minimum, parents can expect to pay a minimum of S$20,000 per year per child for an international school. Of course, this can also go up towards S$55,000 annually for certain international schools for older children and could potentially be even more if transport is factored in as well.
By understanding the whole cost structure of international schools in Singapore, parents can make better-informed decisions before deciding to apply for their children.
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