For Singapore families weighing whether their child is ready for life away from home, Epsom College Malaysia is offering a trial run. Twenty students, selected through an assessment process, will get complimentary places on the school’s Boarding Taster Programme, a week-long stay that runs across three sessions this November and December.
Epsom College Malaysia is the first sister school of Epsom College in the UK, which was founded in 1855. The Malaysian campus sits about 15 minutes from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, roughly an hour’s flight from Singapore, putting a British boarding education within reach without the long-haul move to the UK.
What the taster week looks like
Students on the programme stay in a boarding house, sit in on lessons, join co-curricular activities and go through the same daily routine as enrolled boarders. Applicants first submit an application covering their academic background and recent results, then sit a short assessment. Successful students are paired with a current Epsom boarder as a buddy and attend classes alongside them for the week.
Three sessions are on offer this year, each running Friday to Friday and capped at 20 students:
- Session 1: 20 – 27 November 2026
- Session 2: 27 November – 4 December 2026
- Session 3: 5 – 11 December 2026
“Boarding is not simply about where students live, but how they grow. It provides opportunities for young people to develop responsibility, confidence and resilience while learning to navigate new experiences,” said Mrs Avis Parker, Head of School at Epsom College Malaysia. For families not ready to commit to full-time boarding, the school also runs a Singapore Weekday Boarding option, where students board Monday to Friday and return home for weekends and holidays. Annual fees for that option run approximately S$42,000 to S$43,200, covering tuition, weekday boarding, meals and co-curricular activities.
The school backs this up with a fairly dense support network for boarders: Housemasters and Housemistresses, resident tutors, matrons, academic tutors and a school counsellor, plus close to 150 co-curricular activities on offer each term across a 50-acre campus. Epsom College Malaysia is also one of only six schools worldwide holding COBIS Double Beacon status, a recognition for student welfare and school leadership, and its 2026 A-Level cohort posted 72% A*-B grades, with offers going out to Oxford, Imperial College London and LSE.
For Singapore parents comparing overseas options against local pathways such as SPERS-JC/MI placements, a taster week is a relatively low-stakes way to find out whether boarding actually suits a child before signing up for years of it. Applications for Term 2 (January 2027) entry close in mid-December 2026, while the school’s main intake remains August 2027.
Quick facts:
Programme: Boarding Taster Programme, Epsom College Malaysia
Sessions: 20 Nov – 27 Nov, 27 Nov – 4 Dec, 5 Dec – 11 Dec 2026 (20 students per session)
Cost: Free for the top 20 selected applicants
More info: event.epsomcollege.edu.my/epsom_singapore2026
