Aralia Empowers Students from the Singapore
We're proud to guide a thriving community of students from Singapore. Our award-winning teachers and college professors offer a wide range of competition prep and academic classes to jumpstart your learning journey.
1. What is UWC?
United World Colleges (UWC) is a network of 18 schools, offering primary to high school level education, located worldwide founded by influential educationalist, Kurt Hahn. UWC is a co-founder of the IB program, hence all their schools offer the IB curriculum. The UWC mission is to “unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future” (UWC). UWC schools aim to nurture students in the five elements of academics: activities, outdoor education, personal and social education, and service–in other words, creating well-rounded students who know more than just how to study, but also to become “engaged global citizens.”
2. What is UWCSEA?
United World Colleges Southeast Asia (UWCSEA) is a K-12, international, day, and boarding school located in Singapore. It was founded in 1971 as Singapore International School and later became UWCSEA in 1975. UWCSEA has two campuses: Dover and East, the latter of which was founded in 2011.
With around 40 years of history and educational experience serving 5,600 students across its two campuses, UWCSEA is nearly unrivaled in Singapore for cultivating academically successful, emotionally mature, and service-driven students. Along with Singapore American School (SAS) and Tanglin Trust, UWCSEA is a top choice for parents looking to enroll their children in an international school in Singapore. See a comparison between the three schools at the end of this blog.
3. Curriculum at UWCSEA
UWCSEA offers the IB Primary Years Program (PYP) and Middle Years Program (MYP) for K-8 students. For high school students, UWCSEA offers both the IB Diploma Program (DP) and British system IGCSE. Typically, students take the British IGCSE for grades 9-10 and IB DP for grades 11-12. However, starting in August 2025, the IGCSE system will no longer be offered at UWCSEA, and students will take a unique UWCSEA program for grades 9-10. With this interdisciplinary educational system in place at UWCSEA, students receive the best of both worlds–graduating high school with both A-level and DP certificates to showcase in their college applications.
IGCSE British Curriculum – Overview
The British education system is a popular curriculum commonly offered at international schools worldwide. Functioning similarly to the AP curriculum in the American system, students of the British system select subjects to study for the year and then take the corresponding exams to earn a General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). There are over 60 different GCSE subjects for students to choose from. After studying GCSE subjects for approximately five terms, students take the corresponding GCSE exams to earn certificates. Students can add 7-9 more subjects to their course load depending on their stage or year level. At UWCSEA, students in grade 9 to 10 take an international version of the British GCSE exams (IGCSE). This is Key Stage 4 of the British curriculum, and the grade levels are known as Year 10 and Year 11.
In Key Stage 4, students continue studying their core and foundation subjects and their modern foreign language. They also add on their chosen GCSE elective subjects. Core subjects include English, Math, and Science, while foundation subjects include Computing, Physical education, Swimming, and Citizenship. Additional subjects such as design and technology, history, geography, art and design, music, personal, social, and health education (PSHE), and citizenship, may also be offered in a school under the British IGCSE system. Typically, students take 9 GCSE subjects at this stage. Year 10 students may take their IGCSE exams early if they feel prepared, while Year 11 students must take the IGCSE exams.
More information on Key Stage 4 is available on gov.uk.
IB Curriculum – Overview
The International Baccalaureate curriculum is offered at all 18 UWC schools and nearly 6,000 schools worldwide. IB contains four main curricula: IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) for elementary school students, IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) for middle school, and IB Diploma Programme (DP) or IB Careers Programme (CP) for high school. In other schools, students choose either the IB DP or IB CP route for their high school education, but this blog will only focus on IB DP, as that’s what UWCSEA offers to its grade 11-12 students.
IB DP contains six subjects, as well as the DP Core. Subjects offered include language and literature, language acquisition, individuals and societies, sciences, mathematics, and arts. The DP Core consists of Theory of Knowledge (TOK), Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS), and The extended essay. IB DP Core is infamous for being very difficult. Read more on How Hard Are IB Subjects?
More information on IB is available in Complete Guide to IB Program.
UWCSEA Curriculum – Overview
Currently, students can choose either the UWCSEA program or the IGCSE curriculum for grades 9-10. Beginning in August 2025, the unique UWCSEA curriculum will replace the IGCSE option. The UWCSEA program culminates in a UWCSEA High School Diploma. It centers around the subject domains of Art and Design, Mathematics, Science and Technology, Humanities, English, and an additional foreign language. Additionally, there’s a compulsory core, much like the IB DP core, including 1 year of the course UWC Perspectives and 2 years of the course Wellbeing and Physical Education. Students are required to take 10 courses each year. See below for sample schedules following the UWCSEA Program–schedule differences are highlighted in gray.
STEM-focused sample student schedule
| Grade 9 | Grade 10 |
1 | Core: UWC Perspectives | Free choice 1: Computer Science |
2 | Core: Wellbeing and PE | Core: Wellbeing and PE |
3 | First Language English | First Language English |
4 | Language Acquisition: French | Language Acquisition: French |
5 | Humanities: Geography | Humanities: History |
6 | Coordinated Science (G9) | Coordinated Science (G10) |
7 | Mathematics (G9) | Mathematics (G10) |
8 | Art and Design: Music | Art and Design: Film |
9 | Free choice 1: Mathematics Plus+ (G9) | Free choice 2: Mathematics Plus+ (G10) |
10 | Free choice 2: Coordinated Science Plus+ (G9) | Free choice 3: Coordinated Science Plus+ (G10) |
Arts-focused sample student schedule
| Grade 9 | Grade 10 |
1 | Core: UWC Perspectives | Free choice 1: Psychology |
2 | Core: Wellbeing and PE | Core: Wellbeing and PE |
3 | First Language English | First Language English |
4 | Language Acquisition: Spanish | Language Acquisition: Spanish |
5 | Humanities: Economics | Humanities: Economics |
6 | Coordinated Science (G9) | Coordinated Science (G10) |
7 | Mathematics (G9) | Mathematics (G10) |
8 | Art and Design: Drama | Art and Design: Drama |
9 | Free choice 1: Dance | Free choice 2: Dance |
10 | Free choice 2: Visual Arts | Free choice 3: Visual Arts |
More information on UWCSEA High School Grade 9 and 10 Programme.
Foreign Language at UWCSEA
UWCSEA has a unique way of teaching foreign languages. Formal foreign language classes (known as School Supported Language SSL courses) include Chinese, French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Dutch, Hindi, and Korean. Informal, small group first language classes aimed at preserving a student’s native tongue (known as Home Languages Programme HLP) have been offered in Bahasa Indonesia, Bengali, Burmese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Dzongkha, Filipino, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Malay, Marathi, Mongolian, Sinhalese, Tajik, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Urdu, Vietnamese, Albanian, Belarusian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Ukrainian, Amharic, Bemba, Kinyarwanda, Shona, Siswati, Swahili, Zulu, Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian. HLP classes are taught in small groups of 3-6 students, filtered by age and fluency, and are held after school or during lunchtime. This can be very helpful for students who want to achieve the IB Bilingual Diploma.
4. What to Expect at UWCSEA
Holistic Development
The differentiating factor of a UWC school is its stronger focus on socio-emotional growth, outdoor education, and community service compared to other schools. These are best exemplified in the extracurriculars offered (see below). UWCSEA fully lives up to the UWC schools’ expectation to nurture students wholly in the five elements of academics, activities, outdoor education, personal and social education, and service. At UWCSEA, students have the option to become further immersed in the school culture and board at school beginning in grade 6.
Extracurricular activities
UWCSEA offers nearly 2,400-2,800 different activities, in which students spend an average of 3-4 hours per week. A highlight to remember UWCSEA is its spectacular outdoor activities facilities such as theaters, tennis courts, a climbing wall, floodlit swimming pools, Astroturf playing fields, camping and climbing gear, kayaks, and so much more. Additionally, UWCSEA houses 20 drama productions, 15 concerts, art exhibitions, and more each year.
UWCSEA East campus categorizes activities into 4 seasons spread across the school year, and students choose activities from 6 different pathways: Arts and Performance, Mind Matters, Create and Innovate, Learn and Lead, Wellness for Life, and Sports.
UWCSEA Dover campus activities are categorized into Art Design & Technology, Drama & Dance, Global Affairs & College Affairs, Language & Culture, Music & Instrument Teaching Programme (ITP), and Sports Health & Fitness.
East: Arts and Performance Pathway
Activities include ballet, chamber string ensemble, dance, jazz band, culturama, DJ club, rock school, and more.
East: Mind Matters Pathway
Activities include investment society, cryptocurrency club, board games, politics podcast club, mythology club, philosophy club, and more.
East: Create and Innovate Pathway
Activities include drawing, aviation club, mural art, origami, web development studio, yearbook, research and development (R&D) club, storytelling, and woodwork club.
East: Learn and Lead
Activities include debate, global cooking, law society, student council, astronomy club, biotech society, diversity equity inclusion justice (DEIJ) club, sports leadership program for coaching, medical society, Model United Nations, TEDEd club, and more.
East: Wellness for Life
Activities include circuit training, bootcamp, climbing, circus, hiking, martial arts, mindful meditation, scuba diving, yoga, run club, and more.
Dover: Art Design & Technology
Activities include a visual arts magazine, video editing, 3D Lego animation, an AI society, coding, an ethical hacking society, girls in tech, digital illustration, a film society, robotics, and more.
Dover: Drama & Dance
Activities include slam poetry, short-form plays, rock show production, dance show, K-pop dance, and more.
Dover: Global Affairs & College Affairs
Activities include debate team, Model United Nations, behavior business and economics society and internship, biotech society, black student union, chemistry competition club, vet med society, student publications, engineering society, law society, marine conservation society, and more.
Dover: Language & Culture
Activities include Hindi club, Korean club, Swedish club, anime manga game discussion, Chinese dialect, Chinese mahjong, sign language club, and more.
Dover: Music & Instrument Teaching Programme (ITP)
Concerts include Cantabile, Chamber Players, Jazz band, and Opus Finale. Activities include Camerata, Javanese Gamelan Ensemble for UN Night, music composition society, traditional Chinese drum club, songwriting club, and more.
East and Dover: Sports
On both Dover and East campuses, the following sports are offered: badminton, basketball, climbing, cross country, cricket (boys), football, golf, gymnastics, netball (girls), rugby (boys), sailing, softball, swimming, tennis, touch (girls), and volleyball. Dover additionally offers hockey. UWCSEA competes in the Southeast Asia Activity Conference (SEASAC).
Outdoor Education
Each year, UWCSEA students take an exciting, fun grade-wide trip off campus. See below for details on each trip depending on grade level.
Grade | Trip |
Grade 2 | 2-day camp at Singapore Zoo |
Grade 3 | 3-day trip to Desaru, Malaysia |
Grade 4 | 4-day trip to Sibu Island, Malaysia |
Grade 5 | 5-day trip to Port Dickson, Malaysia |
Grade 6 | 5-day trip to Tioman Island, Malaysia |
Grade 7 | 5-day trip to Tioman Island, Malaysia (five-day sea kayaking trip) |
Grade 8 | 6-day trip to Thailand |
Grade 9 | 7 to 18-day outdoor expeditions |
Grade 10 (optional) | 7 to 18-day outdoor expeditions |
Grade 11 | Project Week (student-planned independent trip) |
International Faculty
Out of the 602 teachers at UWCSEA, 41.3% are from Singapore, 19% from the UK, and the remaining from the US, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, India, China, the Philippines, and 34 other nationalities. Many teachers have postgraduate qualifications, and all are involved in a process of ongoing professional learning and development.
Technologically Savvy
Students learn to use technology and computers effectively in all parts of the curriculum. UWCSEA adopts a Bring your own Apple Macbook policy beginning in 6th grade.
Tuition for 2024-2025
With all the incredible opportunities offered at UWCSEA, the tuition is sensibly high. See below for school fees for the current school year in Singaporean currency.
School fees | K1–G1 | G2–G5 | G6–G10 | G11–G12 |
School fees – first year | $45,615 | $47,145 | $53,913 | $56,361 |
School fees – second and subsequent years | $40,908 | $42,438 | $49,206 | $51,654 |
5. Dover vs. East Campus
UWCSEA Dover
Dover campus has 3,000 students and is a larger campus with older buildings. The main highlights and differences include an excellent, acclaimed gymnastics team, a film festival in grade 8, and more activities, such as a ropes course (a rope climbing outdoor activity) for grades 5-8. Dover also filters students into different math level classes in elementary school, which is earlier than East campus. Among students, Dover’s faculty is known to be more experienced and attentive to students.
UWCSEA East
Also known as the Tampines campus, East campus has 2,400 students and is a newer, more environmentally friendly and sustainable campus. Main highlights and differences include a well-known, accomplished swim team, a mandatory Global Perspectives IGCSE subject, among other minor differences. East campus filters students into different math level classes in middle school, which is later than Dover.
6. Stats and College Counseling at UWCSEA
2024 IB DP Stats
For the most recent graduating class of 2024 at UWCSEA, students achieved extraordinary scores for IB DP. While the global average in May 2024 sat at 30.32 points, students from the Dover campus averaged 36.1 points, and students from the East campus averaged 36.6 points. Across the two UWCSEA campuses, students accomplished an exceptional 98% pass rate.
College Counseling at UWCSEA Dover
The UWCSEA Dover college counseling center offers an expansive variety of events with world-famous universities across all continents, thus boosting college admissions chances and each individual student’s visibility against other high school applicants. Check out a sample of Fall 2024 events exclusively for UWCSEA students below.
US and Canadian Universities:
- Northwestern University Student Panel of UWC Graduates
- US Universities Fair with 50+ US university booths in attendance
- UCLA Info Session
- Princeton University Info Session
- Brown University Admissions Info Session
- University of Pennsylvania Admissions Info Session
- Columbia University Admissions Info Sessions
- Santa Clara University Virtual Visit
- Emory University Virtual Visit
- Guidance counseling session on applying to Canadian universities
European Universities:
- Oxford University Admissions Q&A
- Sciences Po University (France) info session
- Copenhagen Business School Info Session on bachelor’s programs
- University Colleges in the Netherlands/Dutch University Colleges Webinar
Find more events in UWC Dover’s weekly news on college admission events.
In addition to college admissions events, UWCSEA also offers UWC alumni company visits to companies like Google and SAA Architects, where decorated UWC alumni work.
7. UWCSEA vs. SAS vs. Tanglin Trust
UWCSEA’s top competitors among international schools in Singapore are Singapore American School (SAS) and Tanglin Trust. SAS is US-focused, and Tanglin Trust is UK-focused, whereas UWCSEA provides a goldilocks-perfect suitable middle option that brings both systems into focus.
SAS has 4,000 students who placed in the 97th percentile or higher in all MAP testing subjects worldwide. SAS offers the Advanced Placement (AP) curriculum, which is better suited for students who are certain they want to attend university in the US.
While UWCSEA doesn’t offer AP classes, students at UWCSEA have the freedom to keep their university admissions options open since IGCSE and IB DP are widely accepted and deemed impressive by all universities worldwide. Students can also take the AP exams in subject areas corresponding to their classes at UWCSEA. With UWCSEA’s rigorous academics and dedicated teachers, students can expect to feel well prepared for subject matter tested in AP exams. Read more about the differences between AP and IB.
Tanglin has 2,800 students and won the prestigious, well-recognized International School of the Year 2023 award by ISC Research. “In 2023, the school achieved a 100% pass rate for A Levels and 100% successful achievement of the IB Diploma” (Study International). Tanglin is for students more interested in moving to the UK for university. Tanglin is also more suitable for students looking solely for competitive academic intensity, whereas UWCSEA students learn to balance academics with socioemotional development, particularly in younger years.
Among Singaporean schools, UWCSEA Dover ranks #7 in Best Schools, #5 in Best British Schools, and #4 in Best IB Schools.
