Singapore
Singapore British Schools Add A Level Pathways, Expanding Post-16 Choice
Brighton College and Dulwich College have both launched new sixth form A Level programmes this term, with The Perse School to follow in 2027, adding British post-16 options to a market long defined by the IB Diploma.
Singapore's international sector added a cluster of new A Level pathways to its post-16 landscape in August 2026, as British schools moved to extend their academic offer beyond Year 11 and give families an alternative to the IB Diploma. According to Education Asia, the moves represent the most significant expansion of British curriculum sixth form provision in the city-state for several years.
Brighton College Singapore launched its full Sixth Form in August, offering 20 A Level subjects across sciences, mathematics, humanities, languages, and the arts. The opening completes an all-through British pathway at the school, from early childhood to Year 13. Classes are capped at 15 pupils, taught by teachers with backgrounds at leading UK independent schools, and the programme is open to both Brighton's own graduates and external applicants from other Singapore schools.
Dulwich takes a specialist route
Dulwich College Singapore took a different approach. Rather than launching a broad sixth form, it introduced a STEM-focused Pearson Edexcel International A Level pathway for senior students from August 2026. Students choose three subjects from biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics, with further mathematics available as an optional fourth. The programme is designed for those targeting competitive STEM university courses and uses the college's Greenhouse innovation hub and specialist laboratories. An Extended Project Qualification is available alongside the A Level subjects to strengthen independent research skills.
The Perse School Singapore has confirmed that it will introduce a broader A Level programme in 2027, making it the third British school in the city to do so within a two-year window.
What is driving the timing
Singapore's international school market already offers the IB Diploma at most established schools, and local students can access the Singapore-Cambridge A Level through the national system. What has changed is the composition of demand. British expatriate families are arriving in growing numbers and often prefer the A Level pathways their children would have followed in the United Kingdom. There is also consistent demand from affluent local families who see subject specialisation as an admissions advantage for competitive courses at UK universities.
The cumulative effect of these launches is to move Singapore closer to the model common elsewhere in Southeast Asia, where A Levels and the IB coexist across the same senior school. Whether that eventually creates a meaningful fee differential between the two pathways, or whether schools position them as equivalent options within a single pricing structure, will become clearer as the inaugural A Level cohorts progress and the sector watches which qualification families are selecting when given the choice.