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Singapore International School popular among Asian celebs, Hong Kongers

The Singapore International School in Hong Kong is popular among the locals and Asian celebrities. (Yahoo photo)

In recent years, many Asian celebrities have relocated to Singapore, citing its lack of paparazzi culture and social stability.

For some of these stars who are also parents, Singapore’s world-class education system was also an important factor in making the move.

For example, Chinese action star Jet Li, who is also a Singapore citizen, has once said that he moved here for his children to get a good bilingual education with equal emphasis on English and Chinese.

While Hong Kong actress Cecilia Cheung, who relocated to Singapore last year, has sent her two sons to an international school in Singapore, she also sang praises of the country’s education system.

Rumour has it that Hong Kong actor Francis Ng, who has a Singaporean wife, also intends to send his son to a local school in Singapore.

But not all celebrities are able to relocate to Singapore for their children’s education.

So to get the best of both worlds, a number of Asian celebrities based in Hong Kong have opted to send their children to the Singapore International School (SIS) in Hong Kong.

The school is funded by the Singapore government and follows the Singapore curriculum. It was first established in 1991 and is currently located in Aberdeen.

The school provides education at the kindergarten, primary, secondary and International Bacculearate (IB) Diploma levels and currently has an enrolment of about 1280 pupils.

Some of the celebrity kids studying in SIS include Taiwanese singer Richie Jen’s children, celebrity couple Simon Yam and Qi Qi’s daughter as well as Hong Kong-based Singaporean actress Paulyn Sun’s children.

Even the former Secretary for Justice in Hong Kong has opted to enrol his child in SIS.

A parent who previously spoke to Jen when he was picking up his children told Yahoo Singapore that the Taiwanese singer chose to send his children to SIS as it has “a higher standard compared with most international schools [in Hong Kong]”.

The parent also revealed that Jen, who is rumoured to be a Singapore citizen, believes it’s good to send his children to SIS for its good English and Chinese standards.

‘High standards, less stressful’

Besides Asian celebrities, SIS is also highly sought after by many Hong Kong parents, despite its high school fees.

According to the school's website, for academic year 2014/15, the annual school fee is HK$108,000 (around S$17,600) for primary levels and HK$126,000 (around S$20,600) for secondary levels.

And surprise, surprise – some Hong Kong parents feel that Singapore's education system is actually less stressful and more well-rounded for their kids.

Yahoo Singapore spoke to a Hong Kong parent with children studying in SIS — David Fung, 44, has two children, Audrey, 9, and Brandon, 6, studying in the school currently.

Fung said he decided to send his children to SIS as he feels that it is a less stressful environment for his children to grow up, compared with Hong Kong local schools.

“Compared with local schools, the workload [at SIS] is not so heavy. In local schools, it’s all about academic results,” said the training consultant.

On the other hand, he added that unlike most international schools in Hong Kong, where most students are “more wild”, there is more of a focus on results in SIS.

“SIS is a more disciplined school. At this stage, I feel that my kids need to be in a disciplined environment. The school's English, Mandarin and educational standards as a whole are higher than most international schools [in Hong Kong],” said Fung.

He added that there is a better “balance” between study and play for his children at SIS.

The father of two also said he decided to send his two children to SIS because it has a more “down-to-earth” and “grounded” reputation.

Fung added that SIS has lower school fees compared with other international schools.

From what he heard from fellow parents, the parent revealed that there are around 2,500 to 3,000 applications from different nationalities for 100 kindergarten places at SIS every year.

He also estimated that around 65 per cent of the students at SIS are from Singapore while around 25 per cent are Hong Kongers.

Fung, who has relatives in Singapore and has visited the city several times, added that his children, who have visited Singapore once, like the country and won’t mind moving to Singapore in the future.

While Fung’s children had studied in local schools at the kindergarten level, the father said the two of them do not want to switch back to local schools.