9 January 2007, Straits Times

New school St Joseph’s Institution (SJI) International began classes yesterday with 112 students, and it wants to boost its catchment by starting a primary section.

It hopes to attract primary-level foreign students, and will seek Ministry of Education (MOE) approval to run primary-level classes.

None of the three MOE privately run international schools has primary pupils. They have secondary to pre-university students.

Like the other two – Anglo-Chinese School International and Hwa Chong International – SJI International is allowed to have foreign students comprise up to 50% of its student numbers.

But for now, 95 of SJI International’s 112 students are Singaporeans, with most of the rest coming from Malaysia and Indonesia.

Part of the reason for the small number of foreign students, explained principal Andrew Bennett, is that the school has not marketed itself aggressively to the expatriate community. It will do so in the coming months.

Having a primary section is one way to tap the expat catchment. Hopefully, these pupils will go on to its secondary and pre-university sections.

The co-educational Catholic school, which is in Thomson Road, offers a six-year secondary to pre-university programme. It is the privately run offshoot of the 155 year old secondary boys’ school SJI in Malcolm Road, off Whitley Road.

Mr Bennett said: “One of our selling points is that we are an international school, where students can benefit from the exchange of different cultures and ideas. And we want to fulfill that promise.”

About half of SJI International’s current students are Catholic and most are from Catholic schools. Those who have chosen the school want a more diverse and flexible education than what is offered in mainstream schools.

Privately run schools under the MOE have greater freedom in designing their curriculum and programmes, though they have to maintain key school policies like bilingual education and flag-raising ceremonies. They also charge much higher fees.

SJI International, for example, offers the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma. It charges between $15,000 and $18,000 per year, though scholarships are on offer.

Mrs Melissa Lee, 46, and her husband, Adrian, 48, who run their own book retail business, decided to send their daughter, Clare, 14, to SJI International because they like the school’s lighter emphasis on academic book learning.

Former SJI student Jeremiah James, 15, who got a scholarship to do Grade 9 (Secondary 3), also liked the IB diploma programme.

Said the oldest of three children of a businessman and a housewife: “My parents feel it also carries greater international mileage than the O or A levels.”

Home for SJI International is an 8ha compound, about the size of 20 football fields. But those premises will be ready only in October. For now, the school is operating next door on a holding site, previously occupied by schools like CHIJ Secondary (Toa Payoh) and Thomson Secondary and Primary.

The holding site will then be spruced up and expanded to accommodate SJI International’s primary section. The school is preparing to submit an application to MOE to start the primary school.

MOE regulations require Singaporeans to attend local mainstream primary schools to ensure a common shared experience.

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