Frequently Asked Questions

Our academic year runs from August to June. Click here to view our academic calendar and school holidays.

All classes are conducted from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm, Monday to Friday.

XAA offers high-quality, rigorous and accessible American education at exceptional value by focusing on what really matters to our students and parents.

Our school is designed to offer excellent all-round preparation for students planning to study, work and live in the United States, not just through the rigorous academics aligned with American curriculum standards but also through a holistic approach towards character development and real-world applications.

One of the standout features of our curriculum is our unique PioneerTown program, which focuses on entrepreneurship. Students will participate in a large-scale simulation of a town, engage in role-playing and taking on different responsibilities in a self-contained economy and learn important concepts such as economics, negotiation, innovation, leadership, sales, commerce and many others.

As a diverse international school, XAA welcomes students of all nationalities.

Our founding cohort comprises over 20 different nationalities with no one dominant culture or background.

Most of our homeroom teachers are from North America.

All our teachers have premium teaching qualifications, with over 60% holding a Master’s Degree. Click here to learn more about our teachers.

In the Early and Elementary Years, all classes are facilitated by a homeroom teacher and a teaching apprentice. This allows our teachers to differentiate and personalize their teaching instructions to individual child’s needs and encourage greater classroom participation.

Pre-K: 1:11 (22 students : 2 teachers)
KG1: 1:12 (24 students : 2 teachers)
KG2: 1:13 (26 students : 2 teachers)
Grades 1 – 5: 1:14 (28 students : 2 teachers)
Grades 6 – 8: 1:28 (28 students)

Our curriculum is a standards-based platform that allows students to demonstrate skills and knowledge obtained at each age and stage and provides the opportunity for each individual to experience authentic, practical, real-life lessons and tasks.

Starting from Grade 1, the school administers the Measures of Academic Progress test (MAP) twice a year to ensure that our students reach their academic goals.

XAA strives to inspire the next generation of global pioneers by instilling in children the confidence to be authentic, have the courage to dream, push boundaries and challenge themselves.

A typical day in our school is filled with unique opportunities and educational experiences.

All Grade 8 students graduating from XAA will have priority admission to pursue their high school studies at XCL World Academy (XWA).

We ensure a seamless transition to XWA without needing to go through the application process again. Our students will be provided with an opportunity to select from a range of pathways offered by XWA, including the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Program (MYP) for students in Grades 9 – 10 and the American Advanced Placement (AP) Program* starting from Grade 9.

When students progress to Grade 11, they can opt to continue their American curriculum studies (AP) or choose to pursue the demanding IB Diploma Program (IBDP) or the High School Diploma program, accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). The XWA High School Diploma provides graduates with qualifications recognized as being equivalent to a high school diploma issued by an American High School.

Regardless of chosen pathway, all XAA students will be given priority placement ahead of external applicants for entry into Grade 9, automatically securing their spot for high school studies at XWA.

*The American Advanced Placement (AP) will tentatively be offered from AY 2024 onwards, subject to approval by the relevant government authorities.

Yes, all students are expected to wear a school uniform. It is available for online purchase with the choice of collecting your order from our campus or having it delivered to your home. Click here to check our vendor’s website or place your order.

School and sports shoes can be made from any material and be of any color but must be without any prominent logo or branding.

No open-toe footwear, high-heeled shoes, flip-flops or sandals are allowed for safety reasons.

Yes! An island-wide door-to-door school bus service is available for students aged 3 years and above. An afternoon school bus service is also available for students participating in an extra-curricular activity program. Click here to find out more about our transportation services.

Yes! We are proud to be partners with a two-Michelin Star Chef, Emmanuel Stroobant.

Emmanuel and his team are passionate about curating healthy and delicious meals for our students, offering Western, Asian or Vegetarian options.

Our canteen is nut/pork/lard-free. All meals are prepared in our on-site kitchen and made from fresh, high-quality ingredients to ensure our students enjoy their meals. Click here to view the menu.

XAA is located in the North-Eastern part of Singapore (Seletar/Yishun area), approximately a 20-minute drive from the city center.

Located on the same site as XCL World Academy (XWA), XAA students will benefit from shared world-class facilities at XWA, such as a 50-meter Olympic-sized swimming pool, an indoor heated swimming pool for young learners’, a professional performing arts 750-seat auditorium and a FIFA-approved all-weather soccer field.

In its first year, the foundation campus will be located within the existing facilities of XWA. Concurrently, construction works of our new purpose-designed campus are underway and scheduled to be completed in 2023. Our campus facilities will have a three-story library core, multi-purpose sports hall and specialist classrooms equipped with the latest educational technology – everything our students will need to succeed in school and beyond.

Check out this video to find out more about our impressive facilities.

Feel free to reach out to our Admissions team! We will be delighted to answer all your questions about our school and help you to schedule a visit.

T: (65) 6230 4222
E: admissions@xaa.edu.sg
W: www.xaa.edu.sg

Our academic program has been carefully designed to deliver an authentic, rigorous and forward-thinking American international education.

It is built upon a rigorous set of standards to establish strong foundations in our students. We follow the American Education Reaches Out curriculum (AERO), which is aligned with the Common Core standards to provide a high-quality, standards-based curriculum. This will allow our students to make an easy transition to a similar American curriculum school globally.

In addition, we’ve adopted internationally recognized curriculum programs such as the Everyday Math (developed by the University of Chicago), Inspired Science and an award-winning Second Step Social Program.

The Second Step Social Program is a unique character development program directed at improving students’ cooperation, communication and decision-making, with a special focus on preventing bullying.

There is significant evidence that the program helps children to improve their social skills, learning attitude and behaviour and academic performance.

PioneerTown is a conceptual environment within the physical premises of the school, designed to encourage students to develop traits of a real pioneer.

Starting in Grade 1, our students will participate in this program, where they will be encouraged to explore, innovate and seek new challenges while designing and building their own PioneerTown. Our curriculum will incorporate important economics and civic lessons, as well as discussions on building and sustaining a successful community.

Students will be provided with a unique opportunity to collaborate with industry experts associated with Ivy League universities and our passionate and experienced educators.

Through our PioneerTown program, students will have the opportunity to develop essential life skills:

• Entrepreneurial
• Communication
• Respect
• Empathy
• Trust
• Critical thinking
• Creativity
• Collaboration and teamwork

The main goal of the program is to equip our students with the tools, mindset and experiences they will need to be at the forefront of this change and to be agents of their own success.

XAA offers a Daily Foreign Language Program for students from Pre-K through to Grade 8. Our students can choose to learn Mandarin or Spanish. The program is based on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language (ACTFL) standards. The ACTFL measures proficiency according to the five primary fluency levels to ensure students learn the language efficiently.

At XCL American Academy, English is the main language of instruction. Non-native English-speaking students joining the school in Grades 1 and above will be placed in our English as an Additional Language Support (EAL) Program, if needed.

During the Admissions process, our team will administer an assessment to determine students’ English language proficiency and the required level of support.

Our EAL program caters to students with zero and/or very minimum English language skills (Enhanced EAL) and students with basic English skills (Basic EAL).

Our main goal is to help our EAL students achieve full proficiency in the English language and fully access the curriculum prior to joining the Daily Foreign Language program.

Upon graduation from the EAL program, students will be provided with the opportunity to join our Daily Foreign Language program.

Yes! XAA offers rolling admissions throughout the school year. Should you join the school after the start of the Academic Year.

Yes! You can submit an application for the upcoming academic year now.

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