Dulwich College Singapore Launches STEM A-Level Track Alongside IB Diploma

Dulwich College Singapore is adding a specialist STEM A-Level programme to its post-16 offering from August 2026, giving families a third academic pathway alongside the school's existing IB Diploma and its own Dulwich High School Diploma. According to Education Asia, the new track uses the Pearson Edexcel International Advanced Level qualification and is aimed at students heading towards science, engineering, or technology degrees.

Students on the pathway choose three subjects from Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics, with Further Mathematics available as a fourth option for those who want to go deeper. The school says the programme combines theoretical study with hands-on work in specialist laboratories and in its Greenhouse innovation hub, and students can supplement their studies with an Extended Project Qualification to develop independent research skills ahead of university applications.

A-Levels on the rise in Singapore

The launch reflects a wider shift in Singapore's international school sector. Until recently, the IB Diploma was the default post-16 choice at almost every major British curriculum school in the city. Multiple operators are now introducing A-Level options, responding to families who want narrower, deeper study rather than the breadth the IB requires. Brighton College Singapore is also opening its own A-Level Sixth Form this August, offering 20 subjects across sciences, humanities, languages, and the arts.

For Dulwich families, the STEM track is particularly targeted. Students who perform strongly in sciences during IGCSEs but find the IB too broad now have a dedicated route that plays to those strengths. Classes are expected to be small, consistent with the school's wider sixth-form model, though no specific enrolment cap has been published for the inaugural cohort.

Three pathways, one campus

Dulwich Singapore is among a small number of international schools in Asia to offer three distinct post-16 qualifications on a single campus. The IB Diploma remains the flagship; the Dulwich High School Diploma provides a more flexible, American-aligned option; and the Edexcel A-Levels complete what the school describes as a full spectrum of post-16 choice. The school has been promoting the new pathway through admissions events since early 2026.

The move is likely to appeal most to the local affluent segment of Singapore's international school market, where high-achieving families with clear ambitions for UK university admission increasingly favour A-Level depth over IB breadth as their children reach Year 12. How well the inaugural STEM cohort fills will serve as an early signal of whether that preference is strong enough to shift enrolment patterns at a school where the IB has long been dominant.