Best International Schools In Singapore, & Why
GESS
Highly Commended in the WhichSchoolAdvisor (Singapore) Best Schools Award 2022 for Best IB School. Click here to read why.
Type: All-through
Curriculum: German; IB (PYP), MYP and IBDP)
Student body: 2,000
Tuition fees (KG-Year 13): $27,350-36,050 (IB curriculum); $21,040-26,030 (German curriculum)
Key facilities: Creative spaces include a makerspace, design and technology centre and a cooking lab; there’s also an Olympic-sized swimming pool, recording studio/green room, and a spacious 400-seater auditorium
Latest exam results: In 2022, the average IB score was 35.3
Request information: Click here
Location: Central, Bukit Timah
GESS is a not-for-profit, international school that offers two curricula under one roof. The German stream follows the German school curriculum and offers all German school leaving certificates, while the English stream follows the senior International Baccalaureate programmes – the MYP and the IBDP.
GESS offers its Grade 8 and 9 students the opportunity to complete a two-year engineering programme, run in collaboration with the Junior Engineer Academy. GESS’s Centre for Excellence is a dedicated programme for high-achieving students, offering them opportunities to explore their talents and interests in the sciences, engineering, technology, mathematics, arts, sports, music and more.
It also has a strong language learning programme that includes mother tongue classes in English, German, Dutch and Danish. In August 2018, GESS moved to a new purpose-built campus in Bukit Timah with facilities for kindergarten through to Grade 12. Located on the doorstep of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, this attractive and environmentally friendly campus teaches students in a variety of learning pods and collaborative spaces.
We like how GESS makes a real effort to bring together what could be a school of two halves into one. Both the German and European streams follow the same academic year, wear the same uniform, and are encouraged to study and specialise together in after-school activities, break times, sports clubs, seasonal celebrations and assemblies.
The school may not have the highest (or the lowest) IB scores in Singapore, but GESS is known to be very inclusive, non-selective and has a very international focus, which is not something to be shown in any league tables. The school is commended for the many opportunities that stretch and challenge IB students. The general feedback from parents is that GESS’s strengths are its very international, European and close-knit community. Parents refer to happy children who are encouraged to think independently (which is what we’re looking for from an IB school).
Click here to read the review of GESS.
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