Hwa Chong and EtonHouse to start new school

SINGAPORE - Hwa Chong, a name associated with academic excellence, will make its first foray into the pre-school and primary school sector with a new international school.

It will team up with the EtonHouse Group, a major operator of high-end pre-schools, to jointly run the school, called Hwa Chong EtonHouse Institution.

The school will be in Bukit Timah, at a yet-to-beconfirmed location near Hwa Chong's campus, and will sit on a 2ha plot the size of three to four football fields.

Unlike Hwa Chong International School, which is for secondary and pre-university students, the new school will offer a pre-school and primary school programme following the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum.

The new school will charge between $15,000 and $20,000, with the pre-school programme costing more, said EtonHouse Group managing director Ng Gim Choo at a press conference yesterday. EtonHouse's international pre-school in Thomson charges about $24,000 a year.

Mrs Ng said the new school will take in its first batch of about 300 pupils in August 2016. They will be a mix of pre-schoolers and Primary 1 pupils. The intake will increase later to about 800 pupils a year.

It will have a strong English and Chinese focus, Mrs Ng said, adding that subjects such as maths and science will be taught in both languages.

While the pre-school is open to Singaporean and foreign pupils, its primary school is for foreigners only as Singaporean children have to attend a national primary school unless they are exempted.

leepearl@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on October 31, 2014.
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