Canadian International School Singapore: What Parents Should Know

The Canadian International School Singapore, provides the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, Middle Years Programme and Diploma Programme of Education

Canadian International School is one of the larger international schools in Singapore, with around 3,100 students from nursery to Grade 12 on a single campus in Jurong West. Two things about it have changed in ways that make a difference to families deciding now, and neither is obvious from the school’s name.

The two updates that catch people out.

There’s only one campus. The Tanjong Katong campus closed in June 2023 and those students moved to Lakeside in August 2023. Families in the east who assumed there was a campus on their side of the island are now looking at a cross-island commute.
Ownership changed in 2020. CIS was acquired by China Maple Leaf Educational Systems, a listed education group, for a reported S$680 million. The school continues to run the IB programmes; the ownership just isn’t what it was when many parents formed their impression of it.

The basics



Founded	1989, opening in November 1990 as Canadian Overseas College
Campus	Lakeside, Jurong West: opened March 2012, around 43,000 sq m. A kindergarten wing at Toh Tuck opened January 2023.
Size	Approximately 3,100 students
Ages	Nursery to Grade 12
Curriculum	Full IB continuum: Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma Programmes
Facilities	Include Olympic-sized pools, a 500-seat theatre and maker spaces

The bilingual programme is the real differentiator

Plenty of international schools in Singapore teach a second language. CIS runs something less common: 50/50 dual-language immersion, where roughly half the instruction happens in each language, instead of the second language being a subject on the timetable.

The Chinese-English track runs from nursery through primary and beyond; a French-English track runs from senior kindergarten to Grade 6. For a family that wants a bilingual child, not a child who studies a language, this is a materially different offer, and it’s the strongest reason to look at CIS in particular and not just at international schools generally.

Two caveats. Immersion works best when started early, so joining the bilingual track late is harder. And the bilingual programmes are priced differently from the English programme, so the comparison you make on fees needs to be against the track you’d enter.

What full IB means in practice

CIS runs the IB from the earliest years through to the Diploma. The advantage of a full continuum is coherence: the approach to inquiry and assessment your child meets at six is recognisably related to the one they meet at sixteen, without the disruption of switching philosophies mid-school.

The IB isn’t automatically the right fit. The Middle Years Programme in particular is less examination-driven than an IGCSE route, which some families value and others find leaves them without an external qualification at 16 if they might move countries. The Diploma is demanding and broad by design: six subjects plus the extended essay and theory of knowledge suits a strong all-rounder and can be punishing for a specialist.

CIS has responded to that with an Extended Pathway launched in 2025, mixing Advanced Placement courses with Diploma components. That’s a sensible answer to a real criticism of the DP, and one to raise directly if your child is strong in some areas and not others.

What it costs

CIS is towards the upper end of the Singapore international school market. Published annual tuition for the English programme runs from roughly S$20,000 for half-day nursery to around S$50,000 in Grades 11 and 12, with the middle grades in between and the bilingual tracks priced separately. There’s a non-refundable application fee of around S$1,000.

Treat those as indicative and check the current schedule directly. Fees are revised annually, and the published tuition figure isn’t the whole bill: registration and enrolment fees, uniforms, technology, school bus and trips all come on top. A realistic annual number is meaningfully above the headline.

Who this school suits

It suits families in the west or centre-west, families who want genuine bilingual immersion, not language lessons, and families committed to the IB for the long run and happy to have one school from nursery to Grade 12.

It suits less well families in the east, for whom the 2023 campus closure turned a local school into a daily cross-island journey; families who want a smaller school, since 3,100 students is a large community; and families who would prefer an IGCSE or A-level route.

What to ask on the tour

What does the bus route and journey time look like from our address, at peak hour?
For the bilingual track: what happens if my child struggles, and how easily can they move to the English programme?
What are the class sizes in the year group we’d enter, and is there a waiting list?
How does the Extended Pathway work in practice, and who’s it aimed at?
What’s the teacher turnover rate?
What’s the full first-year cost, including every fee that isn’t tuition?

Frequently asked questions

Does CIS still have a Tanjong Katong campus?

No. It closed in June 2023 and students transferred to the Lakeside campus in Jurong West from August 2023. Lakeside is now the school’s campus, with a kindergarten wing at Toh Tuck.

What curriculum does CIS follow?

The full International Baccalaureate continuum: the Primary Years Programme, the Middle Years Programme and the Diploma Programme, from nursery to Grade 12. An Extended Pathway combining Advanced Placement courses with Diploma components was introduced in 2025.

How much are fees at CIS?

Roughly S$20,000 a year for half-day nursery rising to around S$50,000 for Grades 11 and 12 in the English programme, with bilingual tracks priced differently. Fees change annually and exclude application, registration, uniform, technology and transport costs, so confirm the current schedule with the school.

What’s the bilingual programme?

A 50/50 dual-language immersion model in Chinese-English or French-English, where roughly half of teaching happens in each language rather than the second language being a timetabled subject. It’s one of the more distinctive offerings among Singapore international schools.

Who owns CIS?

China Maple Leaf Educational Systems, a listed education group, which acquired the school in June 2020 for a reported S$680 million.

How big is the school?

Around 3,100 students from nursery to Grade 12 on a campus of roughly 43,000 square metres. That’s a large school, which brings breadth of facilities and programmes and a less intimate community than a smaller one.

The main points

One campus, in Jurong West, since the Tanjong Katong closure in 2023. Check that against where you live before anything else.

Full IB from nursery to Grade 12, with a genuine 50/50 bilingual immersion track that’s the strongest reason to choose this school over the field.

Upper-end fees, a large community, and a 2025 Extended Pathway to ask about if the standard Diploma looks like a poor fit for your child.