The Singapore Institute of Management opened a new international school in September 2017, called the SIM International Academy.

It offered secondary school classes from Secondary 1 to 4 for an International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), considered the equivalent of the O-level.

Admissions permanently closed

However, after just about over a year since it opened, the academy appears to have shuttered its doors.

According to the admissions page on its website, admissions are "permanently closed".

It also mentioned that Cambridge programmes will be discontinued "by June 2020", although it is unclear what that entails.

Plans for the academy seemed to be well in hand when it first started out, according to a Straits Times report from December 2016.

Balamurugan Krishnasamy, the former Principal of Pasir Ris Crest Primary School, was tapped to head the new academy.

He described how the curriculum would prepare students for the IGSCE while also providing electives that enable an understanding of regional issues and enterprise.

Plans to drive up recruitment

SIM Holdings Chief Executive Officer Lee Kwok Cheong said then that he was relying on SIM's good reputation in the region, built up over decades, to drive recruitment.

Lee said:

"Parents want the best parts of a Western education combined with Asian values and ethos."

In another ST report published in October 2017, the academy hired two "industry experts" to help teach students science and mathematics through coding and design.

It noted that about 60 students had enrolled at the Secondary 1, 2 and 3 levels.

It also stated that the academy expected to recruit another 90 to 100 students, including some at the JC 1 level.

SIM International Academy yet to comment

The report said that the academy had been given approval to offer Cambridge International A-level education in addition to the IGCSE.

If so, that makes the discontinuation of the Cambridge programmes and the permanent closure of admissions unaccounted for at the moment.

When contacted, a Ministry of Education spokesperson said that the SIM International Academy does not fall under the purview of the MOE.

Mothership has contacted SIM Global Education and the SIM International Academy for comment.

Top image adapted from SIM International Academy's website and Facebook page

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