Advice on International Schools Offer Strong IB Program

[ConstantineX]

I need to move to Singapore with my daughter for new job offer with short notice. Would much appreciate your advice on which International Schools offer strong IB program for Grade 11 in Singapore.

[Nibbs]

If you go here www.ibo.org you can get a list of all the schools that offer IB in singapore, I've been going through the process myself and its not easy when you are doing it from overseas and can't visit the schools. The programme won't differ much between schools but the facilites, fees and school focus might, also some schools have waiting lists. Chosing a school is a personal decision and so you'll have to find the one that fits your needs best.

I'm looking for schools that offer PYP and IBDip, I wasn't too fussed about MYP but most schools that do PYP and IBdip offer MYP. I chose the schools from the IB website, read their websites extensively and then contacted those I was most interested in to ask more questions. Some of the schools' websites have the newsletters to parents online, I find these very informative in establishing the communication methods and the relationship between parents and school. From this information I now have a preference and surprisingly it wasn't the one with the best facilities and sharp marketing.

Good Luck.

[here_i_am]

I'm trying to decide whether to put in the sum for a waitlist in the UWCSEA (east) slot for my son in the infant school. I was wondering if someone could help me understand why UWCSEA is the most popular and waitlisted school in SG? I understand it has to do with their academics, but in the absence of some universal governing body that shares standardized metrics, its a bit hard for me to understand the context of their reputation. Would appreciate if i can get some comparisons against other schools in terms of academic performance and workload.

1) Versus Other IS - not offering IB (within singapore)
2) Versus Other IS - offering IB (within singapore)
3) Versus Traditional Singaporean / Chinese / Indian Schools

As what the previous poster has mentioned, these decisions are largely personal based, and for me academics and enjoyment in the latter is very important. I've already gone through old forum postings, their website and even a school visit (dover/amk) so this is largely a way for me to contextualize what I have already seen/heard.

[here_i_am]

As a followup to my previous post, I also am curious why UWCSEA is highly sought despite being PYP and DP only, not MYP (ages 11-16). My main concern is PYP, with possibility of reaching until middle years, hence slightly also concerned about MYP.

Reference:
http://www.ibo.org/school/search/index. ... hools=Find

[ConstantineX]

Hi Nibbs,

Thank you very much for the reply. I have searched the IB org website and found only ISS and OFS has complete courses offered for high school IB diploma. I also called both shcools. The admission staff in OFS said they don't have an opening for Grade 11 now and next semester, but she urged me to submit application form ASAP. ISS has opening now but requires test for English and Math as my daughter chooses higher math in IB. The admission staff in ISS sounds more willing to help than the OFS'. We have to focus on school's academic performance more in the last two years as it is critical to university application. Could you kindly share how people compare between ISS and OFS academically?

Your information is highly helpful and much appreciated.

Cheers...

[Nibbs]

I also found ISS very helpful, I think United World College is prefered by many because of the facilities and I feel it is very academic and elitist. I have three children to fit in at different grade levels, all have different strengths and I don't feel that United World will suit them all.

Two of my kids are middle school age, it is not uncommon for International Schools that offer pyp and IBdip not to offer MYP, I believe it is considered the weakest of the IB curriculums and it wasn't a pressing concern for me when chosing a school, that my youngest finishes the PYP curriculum is important. IB DIp doesn't suit every student and schools should offer an alternative for those that don't follow the IB route, some schools only offer IBDip and so have strict entry rules to ensure they only get students able to complete the programme.

OFS and ISS are next door to each other, OFS has more facilities but I'm told they are not adequate for the large number of students. ISS has very limited facilities and so I believe travels off site when it needs facilities.

Thats all I can say really, my opinion is based on research and communication with the schools and people previously connected with schools, I haven't visited any of them and so do not have all the information I'd like.

[ConstantineX]

Hi Nibbs,

Thank you very much for the information.

Cheers......Serena

[kaurikid]

UWCSEA
St Joseph Institution International
ACS(international)
OFS
All spring to mind
Ausralian School ?candidate school i believe

[barbaraus]

ISS is right next to OFS for the younger children, but the High School campus is a few miles/kilometers away. I visited both ISS campuses because I have children of each age when I was choosing schools, and ultimately ended up choosing SAS because I thought the transition to and fro would be easier on my girls because we are from US. But I have to say I liked ISS a lot from what I saw on the visit. For the younger children I liked that it was so small and so it was very organized and controlled. The students all seemed to know and love the admissions person who took us around. The high school campus was set on top of a hill.. from the outdoor cafeteria you could see the water and islands.. It was beautiful and the staff were very helpful and informative. The downside was lack of facilities that other schools have such as fields and pool. The best thing of course is if you can visit the schools and see how you feel about them.