Wednesday, July 30 2008 @ 10:54 AM SGT
Raffles Campus gets in-principle approval from Singapore's Ministry of Education to establish a Foreign System School to provide world-class education

• Emaar International School (EIS) to start term in January 2007
  
• Located in Singapore, the first school in the Raffles Campus global network to provide integrated pathway model of education
  
• Only international school in Singapore that will offer three streams of internationally recognised curricula - International Baccalaureate Diploma, American High School Diploma and the Cambridge University's International General Certificate of Education Advanced Level as well as the International General Certificate in Secondary Education

Singapore, October 18, 2006:

Raffles Campus Pte Ltd. ("Raffles Campus"), a premier education provider and wholly-owned subsidiary of Emaar Education, which is part of global real estate major Emaar Properties("Emaar") , has received in-principle approval from the Ministry of Education ("MOE") on October 16, 2006 to establish Emaar International School (EIS), its first international school in Singapore.

"Emaar's education initiatives are in line with the company's Vision 2010 of becoming one of the most valuable companies in the world," said Mr Mohamed Ali Alabbar, Chairman of Emaar Properties. "The opening of our first international school in Singapore also marks our expansion into the Asian market."

The 44,085 square metres campus is located at 201 Ulu Pandan Road, next to the Pandan Valley Condominium, and strategically located in close proximity to expatriate communities. Emaar International School (EIS) will, initially, cater to international students from grades 5 through to 9 and grade 11, and will also have a kindergarten, which is open to children of all nationalities, including Singaporeans. Grades 1 to 4 will be offered to students starting from September 2007, with registration commencing in March 2007.

The newly renovated campus will open its doors in January 2007, with school term starting on January 3, 2007. Registration for Emaar International School (EIS) will commence on November 10, 2006, during the open house, when visitors are welcome to tour the facilities. With a capacity for 1,500 students, the school will feature comprehensive facilities including over 50 completely air-conditioned classrooms and subject-specific laboratories, and a range of sporting and recreational facilities such as a swimming pool, a football field and a sports hall. The entire campus is fully equipped with wireless internet access.

Its kindergarten boasts 11 specially-adapted classrooms for pre-school students complemented by a special play-rig, an enclosed playground and a dedicated tuck-shop. Grade school students can look forward to state-of-the-art fully equipped teaching facilities with computers, LCD projectors and visualisers, a well-stocked library with multimedia resources, music and drama rooms and an art room.

Emaar International School (EIS), which is in strategic collaboration with Educare Co-operative Ltd, a co-operative of the Singapore Teachers' Union, will have an equal mix of local and international teachers. Mr. Donald Hooper, from the United Kingdom, is an educational veteran and will be the founding principal of the school. Mr. Hooper has fifteen years of experience teaching in the English system and embarked on his first headship in Rosario, Argentina. Since then he has headed several schools globally, in countries such as Pakistan, Honduras, Colombia, Ukraine and Nigeria. Mr. Hooper brings with him diverse experience of managing different international school systems. He has also been an examiner and an assessor for several examinations and councils respectively. Apart from having a UK qualification in both Primary and Secondary education, Mr Hooper has been accredited to run an American School.

Commenting on his first headship in Southeast Asia, Mr. Hooper said, "Having headed several schools around the world, I am delighted to head Emaar International School (EIS) in Singapore as I believe strongly in the school's interesting and exciting global concept, which is relevant and will be in demand as global citizenship grows. Emaar International School (EIS) is an approved Foreign System School by MOE, with the unique feature of offering both the IGCSE and the IGCE ?A' Levels. In addition, it is seeking further accreditation to offer the American High School Diploma. We believe that this will allow Emaar International School (EIS) to tailor to the needs of different pupils. In the future, we have plans to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program."

Mr Boon Yew Ng, Chief Executive Officer of Emaar Education commented, "We are proud to launch the first integrated school for Emaar Education in Singapore. The integrated school is a unique concept that offers not only programs for all levels, but also International Baccalaureate, American High School Diploma and the International General Certificate of Secondary Education and provides the opportunity for our students to progress to the tertiary level within our global network of campuses. Our principal, Mr. Hooper, is extremely experienced in managing international schools with several different systems and we are confident that with his principalship, Emaar International School (EIS) will be successful and will be continuously relevant."

Mr Ng added, "The concept of the integrated campus is aimed at providing students with all-rounded development from nursery to tertiary levels, with a balanced focus on academic courses, personality development, sports and cultural activities. Raffles Campus aims to allow students to achieve academic excellence in an environment that encourages creative learning. Our concept will also enable our students to be mobile and to adapt easily should they relocate to countries within our global campus network. The multicultural, multi-campus environment of the Raffles Campus network also offers students from anywhere in the world the option and flexibility of Raffles Campus 'Student Immersion Exchange' programs.

The world is becoming a smaller place, with global citizenship on the rise. The opportunity to live in a different country and culture will allow our students and teachers to develop a global outlook and be better equipped to meet the challenges of tomorrow's world. The bonds and network built through exchange programs will also help our students and teachers in every Raffles Campus school around the world to not only feel but be an integral part of one global education institution."

The opening of this campus is in line with Emaar's initiatives of providing world-class standards of education through a bouquet of need-based curricula that are internationally benchmarked. The acquisition of Raffles Campus underscores Emaar's commitment to delivering international teaching expertise across all its educational institutions, which is in line with the growing demand for world-class education in its key markets. Already on an international expansion path through the creation of master-planned communities in Saudi Arabia, Syria, Morocco, Turkey, Tunisia, Egypt, India and Pakistan, Emaar will build its educational institution portfolio by opening international schools that meet the strong demand of residents within its projects, as well as the general public in the region, for world-class education.