Welcome to the Overseas Family School official Q and A page. Here we ask the questions, and the school answers directly. It is its chance to have its say on specific areas you have told us you want to know about. If you think there are additional questions we should be asking you may contact us here.

If you have to highlight three strengths of your school, what would they be?

At OFS, academic programs are inclusive, rigorous and thoughtfully-designed, producing results that well surpass world averages year after year. The school's IB program consistently achieves high overall pass rates, and produces IB perfect scorers year after year. Catering to the unique concerns of expatriate families, OFS has also developed extraordinary language programs, thoughtfully integrated into the main curriculum at no additional cost for the best student experience. The School’s Study Preparation Program is best-in-industry for rapid English language acquisition, and its Mother Tongue Program is the most extensive and immersive amongst international schools in Singapore, with 14 different languages on offer ranging from Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, and German, to Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Norwegian, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.

Does your school have a waiting list? In which years?

OFS practices inclusive, open-entry admissions and exams policies. Because we believe that every student can succeed, OFS students are not preselected into the IB Diploma program. Any student who wishes to pursue the IB Diploma program is allowed and encouraged to do so. Students looking to enroll at OFS will be evaluated for suitability based on their past academic records.

What are qualities and characteristics that define your school and its students?

Overseas Family School (OFS) is differentiated by its extraordinary attention to care. Serving a multicultural community of approximately 70 nationalities, OFS has thoughtfully designed and included best-in-industry programs into its main curriculum at no additional cost. Apart from its world-leading International General Certificate of Education (IGCSE) and International Baccalaureate Diploma (IBDP) programs, the school has an extremely successful English language support program (Study Preparation Program) and an extensive 14-language Mother Tongue program to meet the unique needs of expatriate students. Well-developed extracurricular activity and optional enrichment programs are also available to support the holistic education and personal development of its students.

How many nationalities are represented in your school? How international would you say your school is?

Overseas Family School serves a multicultural community of approximately 70 nationalities.

Are there high proportions of a particular nationality?

The Overseas Family School community has no dominant nationality.

What is the teacher: student ratio in your school?

The teacher-student ratio for elementary to high school classes is 1:25.

If external examinations and assessments are part of your curriculum, which ones do you offer?

IGCSE, IB

Please provide details of how well your school did in its previous external exams for students at 16 and at 18 years of age? Please provide sufficient detail to allow parents to have a view on how academic your school is?

The School regularly produces Cambridge “Top-in-the-World” awardees, students who have achieved the highest standard mark in the world for a single subject in the IGCSE exams. In the demanding International Baccalaureate Diploma exams, OFS achieves extremely high overall pass rates every year. In the May 2022 IB exam session, OFS achieved a phenomenal 98% pass rate, despite being one of the few international schools in Singapore with a large cohort taking the IB Diploma due to the school's inclusive policies. An impressive 38% of successful candidates were awarded prestigious IB Bilingual Diplomas, and OFS also produced 6 of the approximately 650 students globally who were awarded a perfect 45 points, the maximum possible number of points achievable. This is the school’s 8th consecutive year of producing IB perfect scorers.

Describe your school's approach to education and teaching?

Rigorous academic programs offered within an inclusive and supportive learning environment.

Physical education and sport is an important aspect of a healthy lifestyle. How does your school ensure children engage in physical activity?

Reflecting our strong support for holistic education and personal development, our sports program and facilities cater to both elite athletes and recreational players alike. Through our competitive sports teams and after-school clubs and enrichment programs, students at every level of proficiency and interest have the opportunity to benefit from experienced coaches and structured programs, whether they are just learning a sport, playing recreationally, or hoping to compete internationally. Our policy of “Sport for All” means that interested student athletes at every level will have many opportunities to hone skills in competition at the intra-school and inter-school level through a rich calendar of sporting events. Students willing to commit to more intensive training in key sports will also have access to high performance, competitive coaching to fully develop their potential.

Does the school have cafeteria facilities for the students? How does it promote a balanced diet?

Yes

What is the starting and finishing time of your school day?

School hours are 9:00 am - 3:30 pm.

Is there a school uniform?

Yes

Which languages are taught at your school - please detail any as a first as well as second language?

Languages taught at OFS include: Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Norwegian, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.

Do you offer EAL or TEFL support for those students where English is not their first language?

As part of our incredible attention to care, we’ve developed an extraordinary Study Preparation Program that is best-in-industry for rapid English language acquisition. Grouped into smaller, dedicated classes according to language proficiency, our non-English speaking students are quickly immersed in the English language under the nurturing instruction of our highly experienced and qualified specialist educators. This thoughtful attention and dedicated support throughout their learning journey, provided at no additional cost, allows many students to quickly progress and join mainstream classes without losing an academic year.

Do you offer specific activities, events or information sessions for those parents new to the school and/or area?

Overseas Family School's Parent Association is very active, and organizes regular educational and cultural events for new and existing parents.