10 things to consider when choosing the right international school for your child

We all know how important it is to find the right international school for your child. Indeed, choosing a school might be one of the more difficult decisions you have to make as parents.

Most of us want somewhere where our kids will be happy, first and foremost, but also reach their academic potential. But there are also lots of other factors to consider (apart from whether or not the school uniform will suit them!), such as the cost of the school fees and whether the school offers particular subjects or sports that your child enjoys. Singapore has over 90 international schools across the kindergarten to secondary range, so the variety of schools to choose from is unlikely to be an issue. But how do you decide which one is going to be best fit for your child and for you as a family? To help you navigate this unfamiliar and perhaps daunting terrain, here are our top 10 things to consider when choosing the right international school for your child.

School fees

No one likes to talk about money, but the school fees are likely to be a major factor in which school you choose for your child. Fees at the better known international schools range from around $12,000 per year to nearly $50,000 per year. Cutting out a certain price range, whether it be top, mid or low, helps to narrow down your options, which can be helpful when the list of potential schools is so long. Bear in mind that the budget schools may not offer the same facilities as the more expensive ones.

Curriculum

The choice of curriculum is an important one as it can have a number of influencing factors, both philosophical and practical. The basic choice is between the IB (International Baccalaureate) or various national (eg British, American, French) curriculums. The IB curriculum focuses more on exploration and the application of knowledge whereas other curriculums, such as the British curriculum, tend to focus more on the acquisition of knowledge. However, the other consideration for expat parent is whether they wish to move countries in the near future. If, for example, you will be returning to the US, would it make the re-integration easier if your kids were studying a US curriculum while in Singapore?

Facilities and extracurricular activities

Exam results are important and for some parents they are a key factor in choosing a school for their child. But other parents may feel that a rounded education also requires emphasis on extracurricular activities such as after-school sports, clubs and activities. Closely linked to these activities are the facilities, because these extracurricular activities can’t happen without them. So consider if you want a school with a large swimming pool, football pitch, indoor gyms, climbing walls or other spaces for kids to do both curricular and extracurricular activities.

School culture and values

Many parents will want to seek out a school that in some way matches their own values. These might be cultural, if you want your child to go to a school that has your home country’s identity, or philosophical, with some schools championing values such as responsibility, respect, integrity, compassion, resilience, curiosity. School websites generally list their values but you can get an even better insight by visiting the schools to get a feel for their inherent cultures.

Admissions process

Most schools charge an application fee, which can range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars, if for no other reason than to stop parents applying to many schools at the same time. However, many have admission drives when they will temporarily waive fees. Importantly, some Singapore international schools have long waiting lists which means that some parents enrol their children into a ‘temporary’ school while waiting for the one they really want, although this can be very unsettling for the kids.

Subjects offered

Although most schools will offer the same core subjects, not all schools will be able to offer the language options that some parents will want for their kids, either because they want them to remain fluent in their native tongue or because they have an interest in a particular language. Additionally, some schools may place more emphasis on computing, and encourage more use of technology in the classroom, for example.

Exam results and success

Clearly every parent wants their child to leave school with the best possible education – that is the major point of schools after all! Some schools will advertise their academic success, relative to other schools, in order to emphasize that this is one of their distinguishing characteristics. Others may highlight their extracurricular activities or sporting achievements to clarify that they value a more rounded education.

Class sizes and teacher ratios

Other factors that are generally regarded as influential to academic success are the class size and the ratio of students to teachers. Class sizes can range from as low as 12 to a maximum of nearly 30, with the average size in Singapore international schools of approximately 25 students. Teacher to student ratios can also vary by school so it’s worth enquiring with your short-listed schools. If you think your child would do better with more individual attention, this might be an important consideration.

School terms

The school holidays might not seem like a key consideration when choosing a school but actually they can be very important. If you hope to return to a southern hemisphere country, for example, it will make it much easier for your child to re-enter that educational system (and indeed enter the system of your chosen Singapore school in the first place) if the terms are based on the same cycle.

Location

Although it might be lower down on the list of priorities, the school location will affect the commuting time and may possibly even prompt a move of family house, so it’s worth considering when looking at schools. Some families are happy to choose a school in the west when they live in the east, or vice versa, whereas some will want to keep the journey time to a minimum.

Singapore is home to a large and diverse range of international schools in which the general standard of education is high and the facilities are good. Although choosing a school can be a daunting prospect, we hope that these tips will help you create a checklist with which to compare and contrast schools. Good luck!