Thinking about signing your child for Overseas Family School (OFS) International School? To help you finalise your decision, we've looked through various Overseas Family School review stories from real parents in Singapore.
Do take note that this is only to help you figure out what to consider before enrolling your child. An Overseas Family School review can give you a more personal take from parents themselves but you should still always prioritise the needs of your own child and whether this would be supported by the school.
Overseas Family School Positive Review Stories
Martin - I’ve had 2 kids attending OFS since Kindergarten, they are now in Middle School. The facilities are not to the standard set by UWC or SAS – you get what you pay for. But the grounds are sufficiently large enough for kids to run around, and the facilities are good enough to conduct training in key sports. As I see it, when you enrol a kid in a school there are 2 factors you get:
(a) the quality of the teaching staff – OFS is okay, but it is not great. Good teachers who stay in Singapore tend to go to UWC. I don’t know of any teachers moving from UWC to OFS. There is a “teacher tourist” element at OFS. I wish the management would be more judicious in their hiring.
(b) the student body. I prefer OFS to say TTS or AIS or SAS because there is no dominant nationality. And the kids tend to be a bit more down to earth than say SAS kids (too much money, too much parental outsourcing, too many kids who wannabe Americans who can’t fit in) or UWC (who have tickets on themselves, and again, too much money). The biggest problem is that too many kids move on to UWC or SAS thinking it they will do better there. Which means my daughter can spend 8 years in the place and still find she has few friends at lunchtime, having seen 4 or 5 good friends migrate from the school.
Matney - OFS is a very family oriented school. Great teachers, good children. The elementary section is very large and can be overwhelming for some children. The school is good, but can't say how it compares to the other IB schools in Singapore.
Mom - I have one child, age 6, who has been at OFS since age 4. She loves it and has been very happy. It's great to see the little ones so happy and excited about going to school--they really have fun. The curriculum is good and the multicultural environment is fantastic.
JWS - We have two kids at OFS. 6 and 9 yrs old. the 9 year old never had any problems adapting to any school. She has lived in 5 countries since birth. the 6 year old boy is a tricky one...however, since going to OFS in August, he has not complained once to me and is happy. Learns French, plays soccer and occasionally talks about having to learn how to count and write. There is a happy and friendly atmosphere. EVEN the car park attendants are friendly and caring. Amazing school.
Mixed Reviews About OFS
Clarison - We started our 9-yr-old at OFS 2 wks ago, and so far so good. A pre-K child's experience will be very different, obviously, but some things are worth noting. We like OFS's central location, and the friendliness and openness of its staff and teachers. All of the int'l schools are huge: SAS over 4000, OFS 3000 , etc., which was a shock. The school facilities are OK, esp. play areas, but stairs and passages are worrisomely crowded at class changes, at least in the elementary school area. OFS is apparently the backup or holding school of choice for families with kids waitlisted at other schools, but it also holds the loyalty of a number of parents I've met, esp. Scandinavians. No national group predominates; there are more Indians than anything else, but they are 15% of the total, which I'm told includes kids from 70 countries. For what it's worth, OFS's fees are much less than those of SAS or UWC.
All parent opinions are found on various websites in Singapore including and not limited to our own sites. Feel free to share your own Overseas Family School (OFS) International school review with us!
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