Perse School Singapore Gains Top EduTrust Status, Widening Its Admissions Pool

The Perse School Singapore has received the four-year EduTrust certification from the Committee for Private Education, unlocking for the first time the ability to enrol students who hold Singapore student passes. The award was granted on 4 August. According to Little Steps Asia, it is the scheme's highest tier and a prerequisite for any private school wishing to sponsor student-pass applications on behalf of incoming pupils.

Previously, the school could only admit children already present in Singapore as permanent residents or as dependants of employment-pass holders. That restriction effectively limited intake to families in the city through a corporate or government posting. The EduTrust award removes that ceiling. A family based overseas that wants to send a child to Singapore specifically for schooling can now apply, and if accepted, the school will sponsor the student pass.

What EduTrust actually signals

The four-year certification is held by a minority of Singapore's roughly 40 private international schools; the more common two-year tier reflects a lower bar across financial management, governance, and student welfare. Reaching the four-year level requires an institution to demonstrate consistent performance in all three domains and to have resolved any prior regulatory concerns. For The Perse School, which relaunched in its current form with Economic Development Board support in 2022 and opened a purpose-built campus in Upper Bukit Timah in early 2025, the award suggests its management structure has stabilised to the regulator's satisfaction.

The market position

Founded in Cambridge and offering the Cambridge International curriculum from early years through to Year 13, The Perse School occupies a mid-price tier in Singapore's international school market. Annual tuition for 2026-27 runs from around SGD 22,000 at early years to roughly SGD 35,000 at secondary, well below the rates at flagship operators such as Dulwich or Tanglin, which can exceed SGD 45,000 at the top year. That fee position has historically attracted both expatriate families on mid-range relocation packages and affluent local families for whom a Cambridge credential carries particular weight in university planning.

The student-pass change matters most for the second group. A local or regional family willing to pay for a Singapore education without a parent needing to relocate can now treat the school as a genuine option. Admissions teams at comparable-fee Singapore schools have reported growing interest from exactly this profile of family over the past two years, and The Perse School's new certification puts it in direct competition for that cohort for the first time.