Australian International School vs Dulwich College
🇸🇬 Singapore · Side-by-side comparison on verifiable public data.
Reviewed by Priscilla Han
Which should you choose?
Both run IB, British, so the difference is inspection rating, boarding, and fees rather than the curriculum itself; Australian International School offers boarding while the other is day-only. The choice comes down to target curriculum, whether you need boarding, and budget — verify fees against each school's own figures.
Neither Australian International School nor Dulwich College sits in a market with a public inspectorate, so both are assessed on verifiable accreditation, curriculum authorisation, and published data rather than an official quality rating. One practical difference: Australian International School offers boarding while the other is day-only — decisive for families who need a residential option. Verify current fees against each school's own figures (see the table below).
Key Facts
| Australian International School | Dulwich College | |
|---|---|---|
| Curriculum | Australian / IB / British | British / IB |
| Ages | 2 months–18 | 2–18 |
| Languages of instruction | English | English |
| Annual fees | SGD 43,030–53,518 | SGD 37,520–59,220 |
| Enrollment | 2,300 | 2,930 |
| Boarding | Yes | Day only |
| Accreditations | CIS, WASC, NSW Government Education | CIS, WASC, COBIS, EduTrust |
Strengths
- ✓Genuinely distinctive Southern Hemisphere (January–December) academic calendar — ideal for families moving on the Australian school cycle
- ✓Broad multi-pathway curriculum: Australian Curriculum + IB PYP + Cambridge IGCSE + a choice of IB Diploma or NSW HSC at senior level
- ✓Very wide age span, from infant care (2 months) through Year 12, on one campus
- ✓Multiple recognized accreditations: CIS, WASC, IB World School, Cambridge International, NSW Government Education
- ✓Large, established community (opened 1993; ~2,300 students; 50+ nationalities)
- ✓Dual-pathway curriculum: British/IGCSE foundation feeding into the IB DP and CP, authorised by IB, CAIE and Edexcel
- ✓Triple international accreditation — CIS, WASC and COBIS — plus Singapore EduTrust (4-year, reaccredited 2024)
- ✓Strong published 2025 IB outcomes: 37.1 average points, 100% pass rate, 3 perfect scores of 45
- ✓Offers the IB bilingual diploma; 25 students earned it in 2025, reflecting genuine Mandarin/English capacity
- ✓Large, diverse community (~2,930 students, 50+ nationalities) backed by the Dulwich College London brand
Trade-offs
- !High fees: secondary tuition reaches SGD 53,518/year (2026), among the more expensive bands in Singapore
- !For-profit ownership under Cognita
- !Large size (~2,300 students) may not suit families seeking a small setting
- !No independent regulatory inspection report is publicly available (external references are editorial, e.g. Good Schools Guide)
- !The blended HSC/IB/IGCSE model, while broad, can be complex for families to navigate
- !Premium fees: SGD 37,520–59,220 for 2026/27 — among the higher tiers in Singapore
- !No boarding — day school only
- !EAL/English-language support is not documented on a public primary source — verify directly
- !No public independent inspection report (BSO/ISI rating band) was locatable
- !Large size (~2,930) may not suit families seeking a small, intimate environment
Best Fit For
- • Families relocating on the Australian/Southern Hemisphere school calendar who want continuity of term timing
- • Families wanting a single school covering infancy through to age 18
- • Students who may benefit from a choice between IB Diploma and the Australian HSC at senior level
- • Families seeking an established, well-accredited, large international school in central-north Singapore
- • Families wanting a British curriculum that culminates in the IB Diploma rather than A-Levels
- • Internationally mobile families valuing the Dulwich/EiM brand and broad nationality mix
- • Students targeting the IB bilingual (English/Mandarin) diploma
- • Early-years-through-18 families wanting single-provider continuity
University Placement
School-reported · not independently verified
School-reported, unverified: AIS states '100% university acceptance' with '99% securing a top-choice placement,' names destinations including Melbourne, Stanford, Cambridge and NUS, reports 15% of students achieving 40+ IB points, and over $2.67M in scholarships in 2024. These are not independently verified.
School-reported, unverified: Dulwich published 2025 IB Diploma results of 37.1 average points, a 100% pass rate, three perfect scores of 45, and 25 bilingual diplomas. No university-destination list was located on a public source.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Should I choose Australian International School or Dulwich College?
Australian International School is best for: Families relocating on the Australian/Southern Hemisphere school calendar who want continuity of term timing. Dulwich College is best for: Families wanting a British curriculum that culminates in the IB Diploma rather than A-Levels. The right choice depends on target curriculum, budget, and family priorities — the two are not linearly comparable.
How do fees compare between Australian International School and Dulwich College?
Australian International School: SGD 43,030–53,518. Dulwich College: SGD 37,520–59,220. Verify against each school's own published fees; some figures are sourced from third-party aggregators.
What curricula do Australian International School and Dulwich College offer?
Australian International School: Australian, IB, British. Dulwich College: British, IB.
Do Australian International School or Dulwich College offer boarding?
Australian International School: offers boarding. Dulwich College: day school only.
Questions parents ask
This comparison is BrightKey's independent assessment using verifiable public data only. University-placement figures are school-reported and not independently verified. BrightKey takes no payments from schools. Our method →