Canadian International School
Singapore — At a Glance

School Overview: What Is CIS Singapore?

The Canadian International School Singapore, widely known as CIS, is a co-educational, all-through international school catering to students aged 18 months to 18 years (Nursery through Grade 12). Established in 1989 and now operating from its purpose-built Lakeside campus in Jurong West, CIS is one of Singapore’s largest international schools, with an enrolment of approximately 3,000 students from more than 70 nationalities. The school year runs from August to June, mirroring most international school calendars in Singapore.

CIS is owned by China Maple Leaf Educational Systems and is led by Head of School Dr Allan Weston. Despite its name, CIS is not a school that teaches the Canadian national curriculum. Instead, it is a fully authorised IB World School, delivering the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP), and Diploma Programme (DP) — one of very few schools in Singapore to offer all three IB programmes under one roof. The “Canadian” identity refers to a warm, inclusive cultural ethos rather than a specific national curriculum.

• Address: 7 Jurong West Street 41, Singapore 649414
• Phone: +65 6467 1732
• Website: cis.edu.sg
• Nearest MRT: Lakeside MRT Station (East-West Line)
• School Year: August to June
• Student Age Range: 18 months to 18 years
• Curriculum: IB PYP, IB MYP, IB DP
• Languages of Instruction: English, Mandarin Chinese, French
• Gender: Co-educational

The Lakeside campus is conveniently located near Lakeside MRT station on the East-West Line, making it accessible from many parts of Singapore. School bus routes also serve the wider Jurong and surrounding residential areas. If you are exploring schools by location, Skoolopedia’s MRT-based preschool finder is a useful tool for comparing early-childhood options near CIS.

Curriculum: The Full IB Pathway

CIS’s defining academic characteristic is its seamless, uninterrupted IB journey. While many international schools in Singapore switch curricula midway — moving from PYP to IGCSEs, for instance — CIS maintains the IB framework from the earliest years right through to graduation. This PYP-MYP-DP continuity means students build on the same inquiry-led, internationally-minded philosophy at every stage, which the school believes produces more consistent academic development and a more cohesive school community.

The IB framework at CIS emphasises student agency, inquiry-based learning, and real-world application. In Primary, students work through Units of Inquiry that connect core subjects like literacy, numeracy, and humanities. In Secondary, the MYP deepens critical thinking through interdisciplinary projects and independent research. For Grades 11 and 12, the full IB Diploma Programme challenges students across six subject groups, Theory of Knowledge (TOK), an Extended Essay, and Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS).

It is also worth noting that CIS does not run MYP e-assessments — a deliberate choice by school leadership, who want learning to remain at the centre rather than teaching to a standardised test. This philosophy runs through the school’s approach to education at every level.

Bilingual Programmes at CIS

One of CIS’s most distinctive offerings is its genuine, structured bilingual education — not a token language elective, but a full 50:50 immersion model delivered by two qualified native-speaking teachers per classroom. There are two bilingual pathways available at the primary level:

• Chinese-English Bilingual Programme (Nursery to Grade 6): Students spend alternating full days taught entirely in English and entirely in Mandarin Chinese. Core subjects including maths, science, and social studies are taught in both languages, ensuring deep conceptual understanding rather than surface-level vocabulary acquisition.
• French-English Bilingual Programme (Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6): Structured on a similar alternating model, this is widely regarded as the only place in Singapore where children can study the IB PYP in French. The programme attracts francophone families and those who value French as a global language.

Both bilingual streams are housed within a dedicated Bilingual Education Hub, where classes are grouped by grade level to preserve peer connections. Each bilingual classroom has two teachers working side by side — one native English speaker and one native speaker of the partner language. Families do not need to speak Chinese or French at home; the school makes clear that all instruction and homework support happens in the classroom, with teachers responding to parent queries in either English or Chinese/French as needed.

The outcomes from CIS’s bilingual pathways speak for themselves: in the Class of 2025, 35 students were awarded the IB Bilingual Diploma — a prestigious recognition that is notably difficult to achieve and highly regarded by universities worldwide.

Early Years and Primary Education

CIS’s Early Years programme (18 months to Senior Kindergarten) is designed as a genuinely self-contained environment. The Junior Kindergarten Wing functions as a school within a school, complete with its own STEAM makerspace, a black box theatre, a junior library, a learning bakery, a gross-motor room, and a dedicated learner pool. Class sizes are intentionally small — up to 16 children in Nursery, 18 in Pre-Kindergarten, and 22 in Senior Kindergarten — so that teachers can support early language development and individual milestones.

The centrepiece of the Early Years experience is the 2,600 sqm Outdoor Discovery Centre, a natural play landscape featuring mud kitchens, turtle care stations, bike tracks, an eco pond, a sound garden, and an amphitheatre. Children spend around 90 minutes outdoors each day, rain or shine. This commitment to nature-based learning reflects the school’s belief that the outdoors is a genuine learning environment, not just a break between lessons.

Primary students (Grades 1 to 6) follow the IB PYP with specialist lessons in Chinese or French, PE, art, music, and drama. Every student has timetabled STEAM sessions with a specialist teacher in fully equipped makerspaces. A Digital Literacy Coach works alongside classroom teachers to ensure technology enhances rather than distracts from learning. Experiential learning is built into the academic calendar through Excursion Week and Open Minds experiences at places like Fort Canning and Sungei Buloh, giving classroom concepts real-world context from an early age.

For parents with young children exploring options in the Jurong area and beyond, Skoolopedia’s searchable preschool directory can help you compare early childhood programmes near your home MRT station.

Secondary School: MYP, IBDP and Extended Pathway

In Secondary (Grades 7 to 12), CIS continues its all-IB approach. The Middle Years Programme (MYP) covers Grades 7 to 10, asking students to apply their learning across subjects through interdisciplinary projects, service activities, and a culminating Grade 10 Personal Project. The emphasis is on building habits of inquiry, research, and reflection that prepare students well for the demands of the Diploma years.

For Grades 11 and 12, the standard pathway is the full IB Diploma Programme. Students study six subjects across different groups, complete an Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge component, and earn both the IB Diploma and the WASC-accredited CIS High School Diploma. Bilingual students can complete core DP elements such as TOK or the Extended Essay in Chinese, enabling them to maintain high-level language proficiency while satisfying IB requirements.

In 2025, CIS introduced an Extended Pathway — a blended track that combines IB subjects with Advanced Placement (AP) courses and accredited online electives. This is not a remedial route; it is designed for students whose career ambitions or learning styles are better served by specialisation, whether in marine biology, meteorology, computer science, or the performing arts. CIS currently offers AP classes and plans to expand the offering, giving families a genuine choice between the full DP and a hybrid graduation pathway.

English language support is available via the Foundation Programme, a one-year intensive course for students joining Grades 2 to 8 with limited English proficiency. Classes are small and grouped by language level rather than strictly by age, so a new student receives genuinely targeted instruction before transitioning into the mainstream IB programme with confidence.

If your child needs additional academic enrichment outside school hours, Skoolopedia’s enrichment centre directory lists options near MRT stations across Singapore, making it easy to find suitable programmes close to home or campus.

STEAM, Sport and the Arts

CIS integrates STEAM (Science, Technology, Entrepreneurship, Arts and Mathematics) across all year levels rather than treating it as an isolated subject. Makerspaces are stocked with both traditional tools — woodworking benches, sewing machines — and modern equipment like 3D printers and laser engravers. Primary students work in two dedicated STEM labs; Secondary students have access to a robotics lab; and even Nursery and Kindergarten children are introduced to age-appropriate technology and problem-solving through playful, hands-on challenges. The annual STEAM Fair draws around 3,000 attendees and showcases student projects in robotics, esports, and design.

The arts programme at CIS is substantial. The campus includes a 500-seat David Foster Theatre and a 200-seat black box theatre supporting a busy calendar of ensembles, bands, choirs, and full productions. The school’s Academy of Music has grown to approximately 300 to 350 students, including 18 rock bands and two jazz bands. Primary students have two timetabled music lessons per week covering both theory and instrumental performance, while Secondary students can join orchestras and work toward building a genuine performance portfolio.

Sport at CIS is high-participation and well-resourced. Facilities include a 50m Olympic competition pool, a 25m indoor training pool, a learn-to-swim pool, an elevated astro-turf pitch, natural-grass fields, rooftop courts for tennis, pickleball, basketball, volleyball, netball, and badminton, and a glasshouse-style fitness centre. With more than 1,200 student athletes competing across 80-plus teams in sports including swimming, rugby, football, athletics, netball, badminton, volleyball, and ultimate frisbee, the school fielded 45 medals in the most recent ACSIS season.

CIS also runs around 140 clubs across sport, arts, STEM, and languages, with a tone that encourages exploration over early specialisation. Overseas experiential trips begin from Grade 5, with destinations including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, Spain, and France — each linked directly to the IB curriculum and growing in complexity as students progress through the school.

IB Results and University Destinations

CIS’s IB Diploma results consistently outperform the global average. The Class of 2025 achieved an average score of 35 against a global benchmark of around 30.6, with 22 students scoring 40 points or above and 35 students earning the prestigious IB Bilingual Diploma. The school’s academically inclusive admissions policy means all enrolled students have the opportunity to pursue the IB Diploma — making a cohort average of 35 a particularly meaningful result, as it is not inflated by selective intake.

Historical consistency is also notable: CIS has maintained average IB scores in the mid-30s since at least 2019, reflecting stable, system-wide teaching quality rather than year-to-year variance. In 2026, the school reported that 88% of students scored 30 points or above, two students achieved 44 points, and 37 students earned the IB Bilingual Diploma. The top 40% of students averaged 38.9 points that year.

Graduates from CIS go on to universities across more than 20 countries, with the UK, the United States, and Canada being the most common destinations. Growing numbers are also choosing universities in Europe and Asia. University and career guidance at CIS begins from Grade 8, giving students early and structured support in identifying their goals and building the profiles needed to reach them.

Campus and Facilities

The Lakeside campus is thoughtfully structured as three schools within a school — Early Years, Primary, and Secondary each have their own dedicated entrance, leadership team, learning hubs, and age-appropriate play spaces. This means younger children enjoy the intimacy of a small-school environment while Secondary students benefit from the scale and subject breadth of a large campus, including access to the full suite of shared facilities.

Key shared facilities include:

• 50m Olympic competition pool, a 25m solar-heated indoor training pool, and a learn-to-swim pool
• 500-seat David Foster Theatre and a 200-seat black box theatre
• Elevated astro-turf competition pitch and natural-grass fields
• Rooftop courts for tennis, pickleball, basketball, volleyball, netball and badminton
• Glasshouse fitness centre
• Three age-specific libraries spanning two floors, with reading nooks and multilingual collections
• Well-equipped makerspaces and a dedicated Secondary robotics lab
• Cashless canteen for older students; classroom meal delivery for Early Years
• Red Dot café for parent meet-ups on site
• 2,600 sqm Outdoor Discovery Centre (opened 2023) with mud kitchen, eco pond, sound garden, play fort, yoga lawn, and amphitheatre

The campus is walkable to Lakeside MRT station and is served by school bus routes covering Jurong and surrounding neighbourhoods. For families seeking after-school care options in the area, Skoolopedia’s student care directory lists centres near MRT stations across Singapore.

CIS Singapore Fees and Additional Costs

CIS sits firmly at the ultra-premium end of Singapore’s international school market. Tuition fees reflect the school’s full IB continuum, extensive campus facilities, international faculty, and specialist bilingual teaching model. Below is a summary of fees for both the 2025/26 and 2026/27 academic years, drawn from the school’s official fee schedule.

English Programme Annual Tuition Fees

Chinese-English Bilingual Programme Annual Fees

French-English Bilingual Programme Annual Fees

CIS Foundation Programme Annual Fees

Additional Fees to Budget For

Tuition is only one part of the total cost. Parents should also factor in the following charges when planning their budget:

• Application Fee: S$1,000 (non-refundable), payable with all applications
• Confirmation Fee: S$5,500 for first child, S$4,500 for second child (2026/27 schedule); waived for third and subsequent children
• Facilities Fee: S$4,500 one-time payment, covering the upkeep of school buildings and shared facilities
• English Language Learners (ELL) Support: Approximately S$9,500 per year (Grades 1 to 3 bilingual programme)
• Learning Support (Tier-2): Approximately S$4,140 per year
• Learning Support (Tier-3): Approximately S$8,500 per year
• IB Exam Fees: Not included in tuition; charged separately in Grade 11/12
• School Bus / Transport: Varies by route
• Uniforms, Textbooks and Technology: Additional annual costs

All fees are quoted in Singapore Dollars (SGD) and are inclusive of 9% GST where applicable. Fees are billed per semester, with payment deadlines set before the commencement of each term. CIS also offers a small number of merit scholarships covering academics, music, performing arts, and sport, which can provide fee reductions for qualifying students.

For families managing the cost of international schooling alongside other educational needs, Skoolopedia membership gives you access to comprehensive fee listings, school reviews, and expert guidance to help plan every stage of your child’s learning journey.

Admissions: How to Apply to CIS Singapore

CIS accepts applications year-round for most year levels, subject to availability. The admissions process begins with the submission of a completed application form along with the non-refundable S$1,000 application fee. The school may invite prospective students for an assessment, particularly for entry into the bilingual or Foundation programmes. Once a place is offered and the confirmation fee is paid, families receive their enrolment details ahead of the new school year.

The school year begins in August, with the main admissions intake concentrated between February and May for a September start. Mid-year entry is possible where spaces allow. CIS holds regular open house events on campus and virtually throughout the year, giving families the opportunity to tour the school, meet the admissions team, and attend programme information sessions before applying.

Parents considering the bilingual programmes should note that entry points for Chinese-English immersion run from Nursery through to Grade 6, while French-English immersion is available from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6. Students joining from Grade 7 onwards follow the mainstream English MYP programme, with optional language acquisition in French or Spanish. Enquiries can be directed to [email protected] or by calling +65 6467 1732.

Is CIS Singapore Right for Your Child?

CIS is a strong choice for families who want a complete, uninterrupted IB education from early childhood through to university-ready graduation. The school’s warm, inclusive culture means it works well for both newly arrived expat families and families planning a longer-term stay in Singapore. With students from over 70 nationalities and around 3,000 enrolments, it is large enough to offer wide subject choice, extensive co-curriculars, and top-tier facilities, yet structured so that each age group maintains a genuine sense of community and personal attention.

The bilingual programmes are a real differentiator. If raising a Mandarin- or French-proficient child is a priority, CIS’s 50:50 immersion model is among the most rigorous available at any international school in Singapore. The STEAM culture, Academy of Music, and broad sport programme mean that students with a wide range of interests and strengths will find their place here.

The main considerations are cost and campus scale. Fees are firmly in the ultra-premium tier, and families should budget carefully for confirmation fees, facilities charges, and additional support programmes on top of base tuition. On a campus of 3,000 students, it is worth asking specific questions on open day about class sizes, how often your child’s year group accesses the larger shared facilities, and how pastoral care is managed across the different school phases.

Overall, CIS Singapore earns its reputation as one of the island’s most comprehensive international schools. The full IB pathway, genuine bilingual options, strong IB results, and extensive co-curricular life make it a school well worth putting on your shortlist.