ACS (International) to create a primary school in S’pore and 2 more schools in Indonesia including Bali

SINGAPORE – The local Anglo-Chinese (international) school, popular with Singaporeans and foreigners, is spreading its wings, with plans to establish a primary school in Singapore and open two more schools in Indonesia, including one in Bali by the end. of 2025.

The 10-storey primary school building, which is being built on the same site as its secondary school near Holland Village, can accommodate 450 pupils from Year 1 to Year 6 (aged seven to 12) by January 2026. Pupils will follow the Cambridge Primary curriculum offered by Cambridge International Education.

Part of the new building will be used to address growth in high school enrollment, from the current 1,100 students to 1,400. The secondary school, which opened in 2005, offers a six-year program leading to the International General Certificate of Secondary Education in Year 4 and the two-year International Baccalaureate diploma in Year 6.

Tan Wah Thong, board chairman of ACS (International), said that while half of the secondary school places are reserved for Singaporeans, the primary school will not be open to locals. Under the Compulsory Education Act, Singaporeans must receive primary education in government or government-aided schools.

Regarding the two new schools in Indonesia, Mr Tan said that the one located in North Jakarta is a considerable distance from the existing one created in 2000 in South Jakarta and will therefore have a catchment area different. He said the school in North Jakarta is still in its early planning stages.

The other new school, a full primary and secondary school in Bali, will be on Kura Kura, an island linked by a short causeway to mainland Bali and which has been designated as a special economic zone by the Indonesian government. It is a 15-minute drive from Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport.

Rob Burrough, former director of ACS (International) in Singapore, has been appointed director of ACS Bali and is already on the island working on setting up the school.

Zakki Hakim, spokesperson for the Kura Kura Bali Special Economic Zone, confirmed that ACS Bali has started construction in the Kura Kura knowledge district.

In an email response to The Straits Times, he said: “ACS Bali’s presence will help Kura Kura become a prototype in Bali’s transition from mass tourism to a quality tourism hub for education and eco-innovation.” .

He said that within the next five years, Kura Kura Bali is set to develop an international marina, a shopping complex, intercultural schools for primary and secondary school students, hotels and residential villas, and other opportunities within new tourism sectors covering The education. medicine, digital technologies and the creative industries.

On the new school being planned in North Jakarta, Mr Tan said that since the creation of the existing one in South Jakarta in 2000, the ACS type of education has become popular among locals and expatriates in Indonesia . In recent years, he said, it has become even more popular, as several of its students have gone on to top universities in the United States and Britain, including Oxford and Cambridge.

He added that ACS (International) in Singapore has about 500 foreigners, including a good number of Chinese, South Korean, Malaysian and Indonesian students.