UWC South East Asia (UWCSEA)

UWCSEA is a mission-driven international school in Singapore with a passionate belief in the importance of education as a force for good in the world.

Our K-12 international curriculum leads to the IB Diploma by integrating five elements - academics, activities, outdoor education, personal and social education, and service - into an holistic programme that supports each student's individual development.

Part of the global UWC movement, UWCSEA is one of 17 schools and colleges worldwide that bring together students from all over the world to foster peace, intercultural understanding and a sustainable future.

About UWCSEA

We have two campuses in Singapore. Both enrol day students aged 4-18 years and boarders aged 14-18 years. Our students come from over 90 countries and speak 58 languages between them.

Dover Campus opened in 1971, and is centrally located just west of the CBD in an educational hub, next to the National University of Singapore. The campus enrols 3,000 students aged 4 to 18 years, including 190 boarders.

East Campus opened in 2008 and was purpose built in Tampines, a fast-growing northeastern hub near Changi Airport. The campus has 2,500 students aged 4-18 years, including 180 boarders.

While our campuses enrol more than 5,500 students and can seem dauntingly large, each campus is organised into five separate schools. Each of these school sections has its own educational leadership, and in turn the teaching and support staff in each school also specialise in that discrete age-group. This structure, as well as the K-12 nature of our learning programme, helps to ensure UWCSEA can offer each student an individual education, despite the relatively large student populations on each campus.

Our curriculum

UWCSEA is an IB World School, offering the IB Diploma Programme in Grades 11 and 12. Our K–12 curriculum is shaped by our mission and educational goal and guided by the UWCSEA profile and learning principles. From Grade 3, all students sit an annual ISA benchmarking assessments, the results of which we provide to parents and we use to refine our academic programme. Students sit external examinations at the end of the two year (I)GCSE course (Grades 9 and 10) and then take the IB Diploma in Grades 11 and 12.

The K-12 learning programme at UWCSEA consists of five interlinking elements: academics, activities, outdoor education, personal and social education and service. While students spend much of their year focused on the academic element, the College places equal value on all elements and has learning goals attached to each element. The elements combine to provide our students with a holistic, values-based education that develops them as individuals and as members of a global society.

Our curriculum was developed following extensive research examining best educational practice across the world. Our educational leaders continue to refine our unique curriculum across all five elements based on research and feedback from external benchmarks such as the ISA results.

Which subjects do we teach?

Learning goals in the academic curriculum include the following subjects: languages (including English and other languages), mathematics, sciences, the arts, humanities, technology and physical education. The learning goals become increasingly more complex as the students progress through the school preparing each student for the next grade. Read more about our concept-based curriculum.

Transition to UWCSEA from other school systems

Our UWCSEA-devised curriculum is constructed so that students can join the College at any grade, and from any educational background. They are also equipped to transition from UWCSEA into other educational systems, should the family leave Singapore.

Languages

UWCSEA is an English medium school. Almost all students study an additional language as part of their learning programme. From K1 all students study Chinese, with Spanish and French being added in the older grades, and mother tongue support being offered in a number of languages from Middle and High School. These include Dutch (from Grade 7, Dover Campus), German (Grade 7, Dover Campus), Chinese (Grade 6, Dover Campus), Japanese and Korean (Grade 9, both campuses), Hindi (Grade 9, East Campus), Russian (Grade 9, East Campus) and a range of school-supported language programmes to support learners of other languages.

We are able to offer English language support for students of all ages. All students needing EAL support are tested as part of our application process.

Students with no prior learning in a second language are offered beginner language courses in every grade of entry from K1 to Grade 11. The language being offered depends on the campus and grade.

Our graduates

Dover Campus has offered the IB Diploma since 1981. East Campuses first IB Diploma students graduated in 2014. In May 2016, the combined cohort of 500 students achieved an average IB Diploma score of 36.4 - the worldwide average was 30.1.

All our students go on to university. The Class of 2016 submitted applications to 14 different countries, although the majority matriculate to the US and the UK. Each year a number of our students are admitted to highly selective universities in the US, the UK and many other countries.

Around 10% of our graduating class take a gap year, and another 10% go on to National Service before going to university. UWCSEA runs programmes to support both groups of students. We offer an extensive gap year programme, which is in part a very useful bridge for those students whose university course is offered on a different academic calendar.

Joining UWCSEA

UWCSEA’s school year runs from August to June. Most students start in August.

Students aged 4-13 (K1-Grade 8) can join the College up to the start of January (Term 2) if a place is available. In exceptional circumstances we can enrol a child up to the start of Term 3 (mid to end March) if a family is relocating from overseas at short notice.

Due to the nature of the course and the amount of content that needs to be covered, places for students aged 14-16 (Grades 9, 10 and 11 - our High School programmes) are not open after August.

How to enrol

UWCSEA has an annual application cycle and does not keep a rolling waitlist. This means that from each September, families can apply for entry the following August. Although it is not possible to apply any further in advance, we do have a Registration of Interest. Please contact Admissions if you are looking for earlier entry, or more information.

Each year the College has between 600-800 places available, because in most grades we add an additional 22 places in August each year, as well as offering ‘leavers places’ to replace students who relocate out of Singapore.

All applicants who meet our entrance criteria (which are based on factors such as approach to learning, academic profile, proficiency in English and individual learning needs) are considered for one of these places. If demand for places exceeds the number of students we can enrol, we determine how we allocate the available places based on criteria which support the commitment to diversity inherent in our mission. This means that anyone relocating to Singapore has as good a chance as current residents of gaining a place.

Find out more

To find out more visit www.uwcsea.edu.sg/relocate, email relocate@uwcsea.edu.sg or                         call Admissions: Dover Campus +65 6774 2653 or East Campus +65 6305 5353

Accreditations and memberships

• UWC
• IB World School
• Round Square
• Cambridge Examination Centre
• EdExcel Examination Centre
• ECIS member
• Boarding Schools Association
• Australian Boarding School Association
• UWCSEA Dover is CIS & WASC accredited
• UWCSEA East is a CIS member and a CIS/WASC accreditation candidate