The Open Primary offers an affordable education that follows Singapore’s primary school curriculum. It connects classes of just nine students from Primary 1 to Primary 6 with MOE-certified teachers at close-to-home campuses.

The Open Primary offers a far less traditional form of education. Within this private education network, there are currently 15 campuses across Singapore, each with a private teacher and classroom of just nine students; locations include Lakeside, Bukit Gombak, Woodlands, Braddell, Pasir Ris/Tampines, Kembangan, and Holland Village.

The school connects groups of parents living in the same area with children aged between 5 and 11 years to a campus. The school follows the Singaporean primary school curriculum, which includes English, maths, science, and social studies, as well as the arts, Mandarin, and PE. Campuses run from Primary 1 – 6, and there is a choice of an English or Mandarin-based programme. 

While The Open Primary is a very affordable schooling option, parents should consider that it doesn’t follow an international curriculum, offer external exams, or have the facilities for sport and co-curricular activities. (Parents can apply independently for their child to sit exams such as the PSLE.) The school does, however, offer parents an ‘easier’ route into local education, which is notoriously difficult for expats to get into.

It's important for parents to understand, though, that The Open Primary is an independent education provider and is not accredited by Singapore's Committee for Private Education (CPE) or affiliated with the Ministry of Education. 

In order to be registered, a Private Education Institution (PEI) must meet CPE’s requirements for school premises, quality of academic programmes, teaching staff, and a fee protection scheme. Also, as the school does not have the CPE’s Edutrust certification, it can only enrol students with a Dependent Pass, Long Term Visit Pass (LTVP), or PR; foreign students with a Student Pass cannot apply.

For some students, the opportunity to study the Singapore curriculum for a full academic year without the stress of external exams could be better than studying within a Ministry of Education school; for others, the lack of facilities, structure, and large school community will not work. In terms of assessment, though, teachers do provide termly reports per student, based on observational and written assessments over the course of the academic year.

Students typically have 22 hours a week of tuition, which is much shorter than at a mainstream Singapore primary school. The school has nine students compared to up to 35 in an MOE classroom, so has a smaller student-teacher ratio of 9:1 and more dedicated teaching time.

The Open Primary’s private teachers focus on academic subjects, and students are expected to pursue extra enrichment courses or clubs in the arts and sport in their own time and at their own cost.

The Open Primary follows Singapore's local school term dates, from January to December.

Admission and fees

Fees are much lower than most international schools in Singapore, and start from as low as $13,860 for the English programme with a class of nine students; costs increase with smaller groups of students.

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