EtonHouse: New Low-Cost International School

A new Middleton International School with annual tuition fees of less than $20,000 will open in western Singapore in February 2022. The Singapore-based education group EtonHouse is expanding its affordable education brand with the opening of a standalone pre-school primary school – MIS West Coast – in Queenstown.

Located next to Haw Par Villa MRT, MIS West Coast will be a mid-sized school for up to 500 students from Nursery 2 through to Grade 5 (four to 11 years). 

This marks EtonHouse's first move into western Singapore, where most international schools are centred around Clementi and Jurong; these include Dulwich College (Singapore), Integrated International School (IIS), International Community School, Japanese School Singapore, and Yuvabharathi International School. 

Read more: Guide: International Schools in West Singapore and Singapore Affordable International Schools 2021

Teaching at its three-storey campus in Harbour Drive will follow a Reggio Emilia approach in pre-school and the IPC (International Primary Curriculum). After completing Grade 5, students will be offered a place at Middleton's K-12 Tampines campus, which offers the IMYC (International Middle Years Curriculum), IGCSEs and A Levels. 

MIS (West Coast) is the fifth new international school opening in Singapore to be announced this year – all offering an education for less than $25,000 a year. Knightsbridge House International School (KBH)  opened with an annual fee of $12,000 for students aged six to 12 years old in August. 

The OWIS Suntec campus for Kindergarten through to Grade 8 and Leeds International Schoolfor Primary 1-3 both opened in August; OWIS Punggol will open in 2023.

Part of the EtonHouse International Education Group, Middleton opened its first Upper Bukit Timah campus in 2017 in response to a demand for affordable international schools from expat families. 

EtonHouse, which owns more than 120 international schools in 12 countries, then opened Middleton (Tampines) in 2018; currently a Nursery 2 to Grade 9 school, Middleton (Tampines) is expanding to become an all-through school for up to 1,000 students by 2024.

The Middleton brand has also moved into Vietnam, Indonesia and China. 

With fees of $15,300 for primary and $17,550 in Grades 6-9, Middleton is nearly 50% cheaper than many other international schools in Singapore. Fees at MIS (West Coast) range from $18,800 for pre-school to $19,300 in Grades 1-5, so still under $20,000. The fees are slightly higher here as lessons in Mandarin and French are included as part of the curriculum at no additional cost (additional languages are optional at other Middleton campuses). 

Ng Yi Xian, Executive Director of EtonHouse said:

"By keeping operating costs low, we are able to provide affordable international education without compromising quality. To meet the growing demand, especially from families living in the west of Singapore, we have decided to expand Middleton's footprint so that we can benefit more families."

Read our full preview of MIS West Coast here.