Application Criteria

As an international school in Singapore, XCL American Academy (XAA) aims to ensure appropriate grade placement for every student based on their age and academic, social and emotional development. For this reason, new students may be required to complete an appropriate grade-level screener to determine placement.

Students applying to the school must be of an appropriate grade age by 1st September for admission consideration. Families are encouraged to refer to the below Grade Placement Guide for AY 2023-2024 to ensure that they are applying to the correct grade level, taking into account the differences in the naming of ‘grades’ around the world.

Click here to view the full Grade Placement PDF.

XAA’s English language proficiency requirements vary depending on a student’s grade level. The EAL program will become mandatory* for students in Grades 1 – 8 if, after conducting the English proficiency assessment, the school determines that the student requires this support program. Our EAL program caters to students with zero and/or very minimum English language skills. It develops both written and spoken English capabilities to help them make the most of their time here at XAA.

Children entering Pre-K through to KG2 are not formally assessed prior to enrolment. The students will join the English-speaking environment and have language opportunities integrated into all classroom activities.

Students entering Grade 1 and above whose first language is not English or who are coming from a school where the language of instruction is not English may be required to sit for an English language proficiency assessment (WIDA) to determine whether the candidate can access the English-based curriculum and if they require additional English language support.

WIDA assessment is a large-scale English language proficiency assessment designed by the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment Consortium to assess students’ English proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and oral language.

Students who require additional English language support to successfully access the curriculum will be placed in the EAL Programme. Participation in the EAL programme is mandatory.

Immunizations are one of the prerequisites for application and subsequent enrolment at XAA. All applicants are required to submit a copy of vaccination records via the online application form as part of the admissions process.

Foreign-born Children Aged 12 and Below

All foreign-born children aged 12 and below are also required to provide documentary proof of vaccination or evidence of immunity for diphtheria and measles to the Health Promotion Board (HPB) for verification before they can proceed with their applications to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) or Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) for their long-term stay in Singapore. This requirement applies only to first-time applicants. Immunization against measles and diphtheria is mandatory in Singapore under the Fourth Schedule of the Infectious Diseases Act (Cap 137). For more information, please refer to the HPB website https://www.nir.hpb.gov.sg/fcine/#/.

Parents are required to fully disclose the nationality/citizenship status of all applicants –including dual nationality. Specifically, any applicant who holds Singapore citizenship, either by birth or registration, must declare this information at the time of the application, as approval from the Ministry of Education (MOE) is required before the course commencement. Enrolled families must immediately notify the Registrar Department of any change in their nationality and residency status.

The school will provide personalized assistance for your application for exemption status to the MOE, and we will guide you through this process.

Application for an Exemption from the MOE

XAA will liaise directly with the MOE on the progress of the application and update the family accordingly once an outcome has been reached. The MOE will take approximately up to eight weeks to review the application and inform XAA thereafter.

You are encouraged to provide all the relevant documents in your application, as incomplete applications will delay the processing time. A completed application and the full set of required documents will be passed to the Admissions Committee for review. Once an application has been reviewed, parents will be advised of their child’s eligibility to be considered for admission. Successful applicants will be contacted by the school.

Admissions Department will send you a formal Offer Letter and instructions on how to complete the enrolment process.

If your child requires an exemption from the MOE, please contact our Admissions Team ahead of the admission date, and we will guide you through the application process.

XAA intends to apply for EduTrust Certification during the academic year 2022-2023 to enrol students on Student Passes in the future. At this point of time, the school does not facilitate Student Pass applications.

No Student Pass is required for students holding a Dependant’s Pass, Immigration Exemption Order (IEO) or Singapore Permanent Residency (PR).