ISS International School

ISS International School (usually referred to as ISS and formerly known as the International School of Singapore[2]) is a co-educational international school in Singapore. It is an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School founded in 1981 and offers IB curriculum from Kindergarten to Grade 12. and is located along Preston Road and Depot Road.

ISS International School (Singapore)
Location
Singapore
Coordinates1°16′50.2″N 103°48′19.65″E
Information
School typePrivate International School
Established1981
HeadmasterDr. Margaret Alvarez[1]
GradesKindergarten - High School
AffiliationBeijing International School of Singapore (BISS)
Websitewww.iss.edu.sg

History

The campus was a military outpost used by the British Army when Singapore was under British colonial rule, until the withdrawal of British forces in 1971. The school is on the site of the former Alexandra Grammar School which was attended mainly by the children of serving British military personnel serving in Singapore.[3]

ISS formerly had a second campus in Orchard catering to students from Kindergarten to Grade 8, which closed in 2020.[4]

Academics

ISS is authorised to offer the IB Primary Years Program, Middle Years Program, and Diploma Programme.[5]

Every year in the Middle School and High school there is an Activity week, and there are smaller scale field trips throughout the school year at all levels.

ISS is an Apple Macintosh platform school with computer labs and a laptop program. The school uses StudyWiz and ManageBac as its e-learning platforms.

ISS boasts an IB Diploma average score of 31 and a 93% pass rate[6], above the global average but below the Singapore average.[7]

Accreditation

ISS is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges since February 2005.[8] It is a member of the East Asia Regional Council of Overseas Schools since 1996 [9] and a member school of the Council of International Schools (CIS).[10] It is also recognized by the Ministry of Education (Singapore).

Controversy

In 2018, concerns were raised over BISS, a school affiliated with ISS in Beijing, where it was reported that faculty and staff at BISS took industrial action on the school over unpaid wages.[11] Over 30 parents reportedly turned up on the school campus demanding answers for the disruption and the management of the school.[12] Consequently, the Beijing government took action to bail out the troubled school[13] and controversy sparked within the Singapore ISS community.[14] ISS subsequently removed mentions of BISS on their website.[15]

Furthermore, various reports and reviews have been made in recent years regarding "a decline in education quality" and increasing school fees upwards of S$35,000 per year on higher grade levels.[16]

References
  1. "Head of School". ISS International School. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  2. "Our Story". ISS International School. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  3. Memories of Singapore and Malaya, Derek Tait, Driftwood Coast Publishing, 2007, page 161
  4. "Campus Unification at Preston Road". ISS International School. 2019-09-26. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  5. IB World Schools http://www.ibo.org/school/001223/
  6. "Well done and congratulations, Class of 2020!". ISS International School. 2020-07-21. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  7. "IB DP 2019: Singapore Well Above the Average". whichschooladvisor.com. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  8. WASC Directory of Schools http://www.acswasc.org/directory_searchdetail.cfm?O=17&Schl=&City=Singapore&Cat=2&Cnty=62&SchoolCat=Private%20School&Name=International%20School%20of%20Singapore&Page=1 Archived 2011-07-24 at the Wayback Machine
  9. List of Member Schools "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-04-06. Retrieved 2010-04-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. CIS Regular Member "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-12-02. Retrieved 2007-12-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. hermes (2018-09-23). "Teachers on strike at Singapore-run Beijing international school over unpaid wages". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  12. hermesauto (2018-09-25). "Singaporean owner of troubled Beijing school promises to pay wages owed to teachers". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  13. hermesauto (2018-09-29). "Beijing government steps in to bail out troubled Singaporean-run school in Beijing". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  14. "ISS International School (Preston) Review". whichschooladvisor.com. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  15. "BISS – ISS International School". web.archive.org. 2016-12-22. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  16. "ISS International School Singapore (Fees & Reviews) Singapore, Singapore City, 21 Preston Road". edarabia.com. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
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