Choosing a School in Singapore as an Expat: Seven Steps
The short answer: start with your child, not the school list. Decide what the next few years need to do for them, choose between the local and international systems, pick a curriculum that suits your next move, then check where there is room before you fall for a school. Here is how expat families can work through it in order.
Singapore has one of the richest choices of international schools in the world, and that is exactly what makes the search hard. Dozens of schools, several curricula and two school calendars can turn a simple question into weeks of comparing websites.
The families who find it easiest tend to follow the same order. They settle the big decisions first, then narrow the field, and only then go and see schools. If you would like the wider picture before you begin, our overview of finding the right school in Singapore as an expat family covers the landscape in more depth.
1. Start with your child and your timeline
Before you look at a single school, write down what the next few years need to do for your child. How long is the assignment likely to last? Where might you go next, or will you return home? Does your child need to keep a home language going, or prepare for a particular university system? Is there any learning support they rely on today?
These answers decide more than any league table. A school that is right for a family staying ten years may not be right for one moving again in two, and the same goes for a child who needs continuity of support.
2. Decide between local and international schools
Singapore runs two systems side by side. International schools mostly follow the northern-hemisphere year, from August to June. Government schools run by the Ministry of Education (MOE) follow the calendar year, from January to November.
Most relocating families choose an international school. Government schools are open to international students, but places are limited and come after Singaporean citizens and permanent residents. Entry for most year groups is through the Admissions Exercise for International Students (AEIS), a centralized English and mathematics test taken in Singapore, with a supplementary round early in the year. The local system is academically strong and fast-paced, so it suits some children far better than others. Our guide to Singapore school admissions for 2027 explains both calendars in detail.
3. Choose a curriculum with your next move in mind
In the international sector you will find the International Baccalaureate, British schools leading to IGCSE and A levels, American schools, and schools that follow another country’s national system. Each one opens some doors more easily than others.
The best question is not which curriculum is best, but which one carries your child most smoothly into whatever comes after Singapore. We look at this in more detail in choosing a curriculum in Singapore’s international schools.
4. Set a realistic budget
Tuition is the largest cost, but it is rarely the only one. Application fees, enrollment or registration fees, building levies, school buses, uniforms and trips can all add up, and some of these are not refundable if your plans change.
If an employer is supporting the move, find out early what the education benefit covers and whether the company has any arrangements with particular schools. Some schools offer corporate places or priority for sponsoring employers, which can change where there is room.
5. Find out where there is room, and when
This is the step most families leave too late. Popular schools can have waiting lists in some year groups and space in others, and the picture changes through the year as families arrive and leave. A school that is full in August may have a place in January.
Ask each school how its waiting list works for your child’s year group and what it needs from you to be considered. If you are arriving outside the August intake, our piece on moving to Singapore mid-year explains how off-cycle admissions tend to work.
6. Shortlist three to five schools and visit
With the big decisions made and the room checked, a shortlist of three to five schools is usually enough. Visit in person if you can, or ask for a live virtual tour. Go with questions that matter to your child: how new students are settled in, class sizes, how learning support works in practice, how the school talks to parents, and what happens when a child moves on.
Notice how children and teachers speak to each other, and whether your child could see themselves there. A school’s reputation matters less than whether it fits the child in front of you.
7. Choose the school, then the home
Singapore is compact, but commutes still shape family life. Many families choose the school first and then look for a home within easy reach of it or on a good school bus route, rather than signing a lease and hoping the nearest school has space.
How a Bennett consultant helps
Our Singapore consultants work through these steps with families every week. We start by getting to know your child, then build a shortlist of schools where there is a realistic chance of a place, guide applications and visits, and stay with you until your child has started. If you are still weighing the bigger picture, our Singapore school search page sets out how we help families arriving in the city.
Bennett International Education Consultancy works directly with hundreds of families each year across the globe. We support families by helping them make informed decisions about the best-fit schools for their children; with our guidance, they secure placement in preschools, private day schools, public/state schools, boarding schools, colleges and universities, including schools with particular programs, such as special needs support.
