Australian International School vs Tanglin Trust School
🇸🇬 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; Tanglin Trust School has a public inspection verdict (BSO "Outstanding") while the other sits in a market with no public inspectorate, judged on accreditation instead; 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.
Tanglin Trust School holds a public inspection verdict (BSO "Outstanding"), while Australian International School operates in a market with no public inspectorate — the former has a verifiable official quality anchor, the latter is judged on accreditation depth. 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 | Tanglin Trust School | |
|---|---|---|
| Curriculum | Australian / IB / British | British / IB |
| Ages | 2 months–18 | 3–18 |
| Languages of instruction | English | English |
| Annual fees | SGD 43,030–53,518 | SGD 34,770–55,734 |
| Enrollment | 2,300 | 2,824 |
| Boarding | Yes | Day only |
| Inspection rating | — | BSO: Outstanding |
| Accreditations | CIS, WASC, NSW Government Education | CIS, COBIS, HMC, IAPS, FOBISIA, Cambridge International, Edexcel, BSO |
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)
- ✓'Outstanding' rating in the 2025 BSO inspection — the only BSO-inspected school in Singapore, a verifiable third-party quality signal
- ✓Strong published 2025 results: provisional IB Diploma average 39.3, 100% IB pass rate, 63% A*/A at A-Level
- ✓Rare dual-pathway Sixth Form letting students choose A-Levels or the IB Diploma at 16
- ✓Century-long track record (founded 1925) and a large, diverse community (~2,824 students)
- ✓Broad accreditation and membership footprint (CIS, COBIS, HMC, IAPS, FOBISIA, Cambridge, Edexcel)
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
- !High fees: SGD 34,770–55,734 for 2025/26, plus a non-refundable SGD 1,000 application fee, SGD 4,500 enrolment fee, and SGD 4,500 capital levy
- !No EAL support — children not already fluent in English cannot be accommodated
- !Day school only; no boarding option
- !Exam fees (GCSE/IGCSE/A-Level/IB), personal-device costs, transport, meals and trips are extra
- !Established and oversubscribed — competitive admissions and waitlists are commonly reported (not quantified in public sources)
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
- • Fluent-English-speaking families wanting a British curriculum with an IB option at Sixth Form
- • Academically ambitious students aiming for strong A-Level or IB Diploma outcomes
- • Families seeking a long-established, large, multi-national community
- • Families who can comfortably absorb premium Singapore international-school fees
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: Tanglin publishes 2025 examination outcomes (provisional IB Diploma average 39.3, 100% IB pass rate, 63% A*/A at A-Level) but no specific university-destination list was found in public sources.
More Comparisons
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I choose Australian International School or Tanglin Trust School?
Australian International School is best for: Families relocating on the Australian/Southern Hemisphere school calendar who want continuity of term timing. Tanglin Trust School is best for: Fluent-English-speaking families wanting a British curriculum with an IB option at Sixth Form. 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 Tanglin Trust School?
Australian International School: SGD 43,030–53,518. Tanglin Trust School: SGD 34,770–55,734. Verify against each school's own published fees; some figures are sourced from third-party aggregators.
What curricula do Australian International School and Tanglin Trust School offer?
Australian International School: Australian, IB, British. Tanglin Trust School: British, IB. Tanglin Trust School inspection: BSO "Outstanding".
Do Australian International School or Tanglin Trust School offer boarding?
Australian International School: offers boarding. Tanglin Trust School: 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 →