Name	Overseas Family School
Abbreviation	OFS
Location	Paterson Road
Country	Singapore
Founded	1991
Enrollment	3550
Type	Coeducational day college-preparatory school
Grades	Prekindergarten (Pre-K) Kindergarten (K1–K2) Elementary School (1–5) Middle School (6–8) High School junior college(9–12)
Master Policy	To inspire each student to his or her potential level of achievement in a school where happy self-discipline and self-respect are guidelines for behaviour.
Colours	Red, yellow and blue
Website	http://www.ofs.edu.sg/

Overseas Family School (OFS) is a privately owned Pre K-12 International school

International school

An International school is loosely defined as a school that promotes international education, in an international environment, either by adopting an international curriculum such as that of the International Baccalaureate or Cambridge International Examinations, or by following a national...

, providing education in the English language medium for overseas families living in Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

. It started in 1991 with roughly 50 students, today Overseas Family School has 3550 students from 74 nationalities. It is one of the largest international schools in Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

.

OFS is the first, and one of at least two schools in Singapore, that is authorised by International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) to offer a full International Baccalaureate education from age three to senior high school (Pre K-12).

OFS offers a Study Preparation Program (SPP) for students for whom English is a second or other language (ESOL). It helps students to quickly learn to read, write, listen to and speak English while also doing their usual school subjects. SPP has three levels and promotions are considered every quarter. About 400 students are in SPP classes.

OFS faculty is a team of international teachers. Students study languages chosen from French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

, Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

, Mandarin

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

, Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 or English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

.

OFS is accredited K-12 by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges

Western Association of Schools and Colleges

The Western Association of Schools and Colleges is one of six official academic bodies responsible for the accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in the United States and foreign institutions of American origin. The Western Association of...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, USA (WASC), authorised by IGCSE

IGCSE

The International General Certificate of Secondary Education is an internationally recognised qualification for school students, typically in the 14–16 age group. It is similar to the GCSE in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Standard Grade in Scotland or Junior Certificate in the Republic of...

 Cambridge

Cambridge

The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...

 as an Examination Centre and registered by the Ministry of Education (MOE), Singapore

Ministry of Education (Singapore)

The Ministry Of Education is a ministry of the Government of Singapore that directs the formulation and implementation of policies related to education in Singapore.-Statutory boards:...

Academic Program

Kindergarten : Students aged 3–5.

Elementary School : From age six in Grades 1-5. Curriculum is the enquiry based Primary Years Program of the International Baccalaureate, with language learning for all students.

Middle School : Students in Grades 6-8. Curriculum is the integrated Middle Years Program of the International Baccalaureate, with language learning for all students.

High School

• OFS High School Graduation Diploma - OFSD

  For the OFSD, students earn subject credits allocated by internal assessment for all work in four years of High School, backed by US Accreditation.

• Students may also sit external examinations:

  • Junior High (Grades 9-10) IB MYP and IGCSE : International Baccalaureate Middle Years Diploma and International General Certificate Secondary Education.

  • Senior High (Grades 11-12) IB Diploma : International Baccalaureate Diploma or Certificates.

    A rigorous, two year, integrated program of study.

    International Baccalaureate Diploma, a widely accepted qualification for entry to universities worldwide, with advanced placement for good subject scores.

Academic Facilities

The Overseas Family School campus is situated on 11 acres (44,515.5 m²), with ten buildings clustered around its sports facilities.

The school has 117 classrooms, eight science labs, nine computer labs, five art studios, six music rooms, four basketball courts, a drama theater, and an auditorium. The five School libraries have a collection of more than 35,000 volumes controlled by the Winnebago computer software system. The libraries have a collection of Proquest Periodical Database facilities. All classrooms are equipped with an Apple iMac with e-mail and Internet facilities. All rooms are air-conditioned, carpeted, linked by a campuswide computer network, and equipped with audiovisual equipment and learning resources.

Athletics

The Overseas Family School provides a sports program and participates in interschool competition in badminton, cricket, netball, rugby, soccer, softball, tennis, volleyball and golf. These events take place at the School, or students travel by bus to other venues. The school has four shaded outdoor basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 courts, two indoor multipurpose gym

Gym

The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...

nasiums, a playing field with soccer pitches

Association football pitch

An association football pitch is the playing surface for the game of association football made of turf. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play".All line markings on the pitch form part of the area which they define...

, and tennis court

Tennis court

A tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...

s. A baby pool is provided for kindergarten and a 25-meter pool for the elementary students, and middle school students and high school students.

Extracurricular activities

A large number of extracurricular activities are offered during the school day as well as after school and on weekends. Students must choose one activity and may change their selection each quarter. Each member of the faculty is involved in at least one sport, cultural, special interest, or academic activity. Extracurricular activities include soccer, rugby, table tennis, aerobics

Aerobics

Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness...

, tae kwon do

Taekwondo

Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...

, karate

Karate

is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...

, jewelry making, Ultimate Frisbee, cricket, Bishan Home, Chess Club, basketball, drama, choral music

Choir

A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

, calligraphy

Calligraphy

Calligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...

 and crafts, Scouts

The Singapore Scout Association

The Singapore Scout Association is one of the oldest youth movements in Singapore. Scouting encourages the holistic physical, mental, spiritual, emotional and social development of youth with a strong emphasis on duty to God, duty to country, help other people as stated in the Scout Promise and...

, Guides

Girl Guides Singapore

Girl Guides Singapore is the national Guiding organization of Singapore. It serves 12,340 members . Founded in 1917, the girls-only organization became a full member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 1966...

, Student Voice (student representation and leadership)Brownies

Brownies (Girl Guides)

A Brownie is a member of a section of some Guiding organisations for girls from their seventh birthday to their tenth birthday. Exact age limits are slightly different in each organisation.-History:...

 and community service

Community service

Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....

.

Criticism

The Overseas Family School has been criticized by parents and teachers for the use of funds in the school. It seems that the school's funds are being hoarded by the directors, resulting in poor facilities and over-crowdedness.

The school also seems to be used as a waiting place by students applying for other schools in Singapore.

MUNOFS

After participating in Model United Nations Conferences around the world, the school had its own MUN Conference in 2009. The conference was held February 13-15, 2009 at the school. The conference had delegate numbers in the hundreds. Guest speaker was Mr.Dumas of the Canadian High Commission Singapore who gave the delegates a speech entitled "We Are All Diplomats". The participating schools came from around Singapore.

Some of the schools represented were Overseas Family School Middle and High school, Singapore American School, Canadian International School Singapore, Evergreen Secondary School, Ang Mo Kio Secondary School, Global Indian International School Singapore and Anderson Junior College.