Because of the premium placed on education in Singapore, permanent residents and foreigners have the opportunity to attend the local schools in Singapore that are ranked among the best in Southeast Asia. Foreigners have the option of attending either the public or privately run schools that make up the Singaporean education system, or can elect to attend international schools offering education systems of their own or other countries of origin.

For those attending Singaporean schools, the first 10 years of schooling are categorized under two phases - six years of primary education and the next four or five years in secondary school. Primary school starts at age seven and it is compulsory. After completing primary school, the student moves on to secondary school based on their results in the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE); compulsory exams designed to determine the type of secondary-school courses most suited to the student's aptitude. At the end of the secondary school education, students sit for the UK based GCE 'O' Level examinations. Some secondary schools in Singapore (independent schools) have scrapped the GCE 'O' Levels and replaced it with the IB program, that results in a 6-year secondary school education that leads up to pre-college.

Beyond secondary school, there is a variety of post secondary choices. One option is to pursue a GCE 'A' Level certificate at a centralized institute (CI) or junior college (JC) for 2-3 years. Another option is to pursue a diploma at one of the five polytechnics for 3-4 years. Other pre-university options include specialist schools (School of the Arts and the Singapore Sports school), and other private institutions (La Salle College of the Arts and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts). There are also technical schools (Institutes of Technical Education) that offer vocational training.

There are three universities in Singapore (National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University) that offer undergraduate and post graduate degrees in many areas - from business management, to engineering, to science or the arts, medicine, law, mass communications, information technology and so on.

Most lessons in Singapore are taught in English, with the exception of second language classes. Singapore practices a bilingual policy – students as young as 7 years old learn a second language (also known as mother tongue) from the primary level up to GCE 'O' Levels and 'A' levels. The common second languages are one of the three official languages - Mandarin (Chinese), Malay or Tamil. In some cases, some students learn a third language (e.g. French, German, Japanese), and in other cases, some students are permitted to pursue a second language that is not one of Singapore's official languages. Foreign students whose native language is not English may be required to sit for a proficiency tests, and/or attend additional English language lessons.

The amount of school fees payable for education in public schools depends on your status as a foreigner in Singapore. As a general rule, permanent residents pay much less than foreign students. As of 2009, the school fees for foreign students and permanent residents have been revised. Primary school fees for a foreign student from a non-ASEAN country are SGD$1,260 per year, and pre-university school fees are SGD$3,720 per year. Primary school fees for a permanent resident are SGD$42 per year, and pre-university school fees are $84 per year. Click here to download a copy of the press release by the Ministry of Education regarding school fees.

For parents who prefer to send their children to international schools, please refer to the section on Education in Expat Focus City Guide on Singapore.