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About Us

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About Us

UWCSEA is a united, welcoming community, spread across two campuses that embrace students and their families.
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Guiding Statements

Our Guiding Statements help to ensure that our students are equipped to enact the mission throughout their lives. 
Learn more.

Learning

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Learning

A UWCSEA education is values-based and holistic, developing young people who will build a more peaceful and sustainable world. Learn more.

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K–12 Concept-Based Curriculum

Our curriculum is designed to help students develop knowledge, skills and understanding through five elements of our learning programme. Learn more.

Community

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Students

The passion and energy of our diverse community of students is what makes our campuses come to life. Learn more.

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Scholars

Our scholars come from a wide range of backgrounds and bring unique perspectives and experience to our community. Learn more.

Our Big Ideas

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Our Big Ideas

As a learning community, we engage with the world of ideas to connect concepts and put ideas into action. Learn more.

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Moving to an Inclusive and Diverse Society: The Role of Law

By Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law.
Mr Shanmugam's presentation will be followed by a moderated Q&A with our live audience. View here

Admissions

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Welcome

A welcome from our Director of Admissions and introduction to our process. Learn more.

UWCSEA runs an annual application cycle

Applications for 2024/2025

Applications for the 2024/2025 school year will open on 1 September 2023 Learn more.

Support Us

UWCSEA Foundation Donor Celebration event

Support us

The UWCSEA culture of giving and service is central to our identity as a mission-aligned community. Learn more.

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Impact of Giving

The generosity of our community has had a significant impact on individuals and groups in Singapore, the region and globally. Learn more.

Information for EAL applications

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This page provides a summary of the EAL programme available to English Language Learners (ELLs) (those with a home language other than English) at UWCSEA, and describes the expectations for all applicants.

UWCSEA’s EAL programme cannot support beginner-level English language learners. It is designed to develop academic English skills for students who can already communicate orally and in writing in English at a grade-appropriate level, possibly with some EAL support in their current school context. 

Do note that some students who have already exited an EAL programme at their current school may still need EAL support at UWCSEA to develop their academic English skills. 

We strongly encourage you to read our Guidelines for Applicants below, for the relevant school section that your child will be applying to. In brief:

  • Kindergarten 1 & 2: Students must be able to follow simple instructions and communicate some ideas in English without support

  • Grades 1-5: Students without 1-3 years of English Medium Instruction (EMI) schooling are unlikely to meet our entry requirements

  • Grades 6-8: Students without 2-3 years of English Medium Instruction (EMI) schooling are unlikely to meet our entry requirements

  • Grades 9-11: High School applicants need to demonstrate sufficient academic English proficiency to access our HS programme

Admissions Assessments for English Language Learners (ELLs): 

  • Most K1 - Grade 8 applicants who are ELLs will not be invited to take any English language assessment.  

  • Instead, our Admissions team and EAL Coordinators will determine whether the applicant meets our entry criteria based on the applicant’s previous English language exposure, including years of studying English and other subjects in an English Medium Institution (EMI), the ability to communicate using academic English, whether they are currently in an EAL programme, additional information we may seek from the applicant’s current English teacher and/or school, and other factors.

  • All High School (Grade 9, 10, 11) applicants who are ELLs will be required to take a proctored online English proficiency test.  The Admissions Officer will send the applicant the link for the online test with all the instructions after we have completed an initial review of the application. 

  • Decisions on whether an applicant meets our entry criteria and is eligible to join UWCSEA with or without any EAL support will be final.  Requests from applicants to be assessed (or re-assessed) cannot be accommodated.

  • Re-applicants who may have previously been invited for an English language assessment will not be asked to take an assessment, unless they are applying for High School and/or we determine that they need to be re-assessed. Re-applications will be reviewed as described above based on their grade of application.

Guidelines for Applicants

Bilingual Schooling: Applicants currently studying in bilingual programmes may or may not meet our entry criteria. We may reach out to the applicant’s current school to provide additional information about the child’s English language and literacy skills.