New campus offers moderately priced, high quality international curriculum
SINGAPORE — One World International School (OWIS) announced today it will invest more than S$10 million (US$7.4 million) in a first-of-its kind school in Singapore with up to 1,200 places for expatriate children aged three to 18 years, with tuition fees that will be about 60% less than that charged by major international schools in the country.
OWIS recently won a tender, hotly contested by 12 parties, that was awarded by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) to operate a moderate-fee international school based on price and quality of education.
School fees for kindergarten and primary students at the new OWIS Nanyang Campus will start from S$17,000 (US$12,500) per annum and not exceed S$20,000 (US$14,705) for higher grades. These rates are about 60% lower than that charged by other international schools in the country. Optional activities will be available on an additional fee basis.
Expatriates working in Singapore have cited the cost of education – with some parents paying about S$80,000 (US$58,823) per year for two school-going children – as a cause of concern, as many remuneration packages have been scaled back since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.
OWIS will convert an existing 3.2-hectare school premise at 21 Jurong West for the new Nanyang Campus. This will be the second OWIS school after the first campus in Upper East Coast Road opened in 2008. Both offer the International Baccalaureate programme at the primary level as well as Cambridge’s International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE).
OWIS Nanyang will be a multicultural school with no nationality comprising more than 30% of total student enrolment.
Mr. Gregor Polson, Principal of OWIS, said: “Expatriate education is ripe for disruption globally. The great challenge is how to ensure that we deliver a quality education programme even as we reduce the inefficiencies that have been built into the industry over the last few decades. We will deliver quality by focusing on the core curriculum while leveraging on technology and economies of scale. We are confident of delivering a product with real value at a moderate pricing.”
OWIS Nanyang will allow parents to view the campus starting 15 October 2017. Classes for the first academic session will commence on 8 January 2018. Expressions of interest for student admissions can now be filed at www.owis.org, with admissions to be confirmed on a first-come, first-served basis.