Singapore, being constantly identified as one of the business hubs in Asia, is a popular destination for lots of global talents. Foreigners are often attracted to this bustling city-state that offers developed infrastructure, political stability, open business policies and a very safe, cosmopolitan environment.

While it is not impossible to place their children in the local system, lots of parents choose to send them to international schools instead. The demand for some schools was so high that parents have to wait for years. The situation has definitely improved as a number of the existing international schools have been expanding or have set up a second campus to meet the demand. In addition, we saw several new players such as Stamford American, Dulwich College, GEMS World Academy, join the market.

The expansion was with the help of Singapore's Economic Development Board (EDB). EDB has been running Request-For-Interest (RFI) exercise for Foreign System Schools (FSS), to help these international schools obtain long-term land sites. The most recent RFI was done in April 2015.

The government knows it is important to meet the diverse educational needs of children of international executives, in order to attract them. This is why they are willing to invest land, which is a precious resource for a small country like Singapore. It is also important to know that adding more international schools do not mean more options for Singaporeans. Singapore citizens who wish to enrol in international schools (excluding pre-school) would require Ministry of Education (MOE)’s approval to do so and MOE will consider on a case-by-case basis.

This is therefore a clear indication of the government's commitment to continue to attract families to relocate to Singapore. This means, for UK institutions, coming to Singapore is not just about promoting to the locals but also to recruit from this growing pool of "international" students who are more likely to study abroad. They may have other considerations when choosing their course or university, such as family tradition, fee status, relatives living in a particular city, etc. It is also good to note when to start visiting the new international schools for recruitment purposes. For example, Dulwich will open its Senior School in August 2016.