In 1919, Hwa Chong Institution (referred to as "Hwa Chong") was founded in Singapore by Mr. Tan Kah Kee, a renowned patriotic overseas Chinese leader and former Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). It was the first Chinese-language middle school for the Chinese community in Singapore. Over the century that followed, it has produced 56 President's Scholars and 60 world champions, earning it the title of "the Eton of the East." It is also the largest overseas source of students for Oxford and Cambridge.
As Hwa Chong continued to grow, the Hwa Chong Family of Schools came into being. In 2005, with the support of Singapore's Ministry of Education and the Economic Development Board, Hwa Chong International School was established.
In 2021, seizing the historic opportunity of China-Singapore national cooperation, the "Kah Kee spirit" crossed the ocean and sowed new seeds in the China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City. Joining hands with Nanyang Hwa Chong in Singapore, SCA Guangzhou has taken up the mantle of Mr. Tan Kah Kee. With youthful vitality, it embodies the vision: AN ASIAN INSTITUTION WITH GLOBAL IMPACT.
SCA is an Affiliate to Hwa Chong Family of Schools. Upholding Hwa Chong's century-old educational philosophy, SCA receives strong support from Hwa Chong in both academics and faculty, with a core teaching and management team seconded from Hwa Chong to lead the school's operations.
Based on Singapore's top educational resources, SCA focuses on bilingual and bicultural education, committed to "nurturing pillars of the world and pioneers of tomorrow." The school offers students a distinctive 12-year China-Singapore integrated international education spanning primary, junior secondary and senior secondary levels, and added a gaokao (China's national college entrance examination) pathway for domestic university admission in 2023.
As an extension of SCA's core educational programmes, Guangzhou SCA International School (ISCA) offers an international education with a distinctive Singaporean character, designed exclusively for expatriate students. The school is fully aligned with internationally recognised accreditation standards. Leveraging Singapore's top-tier educational resources, the school tailors for every student a bespoke bilingual and bicultural education that connects seamlessly with international curricula.
At the primary and junior secondary stages, the school adopts a China-Singapore integrated curriculum, and at the senior secondary stage, it offers A-Level, IBDP, HKDSE（ISCA）and Chinese National High‑School Curriculum.
With a total investment of more than 1 billion yuan, the school buildings cover a wide area of 70,000 square meters with a construction area of more than 100,000 square meters. Its buildings were designed by DP Architects, a well-known architect practice in Singapore, and its landscape by Guangzhou Design Institute, creating a world-class teaching environment for students.
Facilities on campus include: natural turfs, a national first-class standard football field, an athletics field, a heated indoor swimming pool, a music room, a theater, an art museum, a multi-purpose hall, a science laboratory, a learning centre, restaurants, gyms, cafes and other facilities that can be found in top international schools, to provide the students with a comfortable and enjoyable learning environment.
The mission of the school is to nurture pillars of the world and pioneers of tomorrow. To do that, educators in SCA are committed to the following belief statements:
We care for students by:
· Guiding them to find their own meaning and purpose in life;
· Encouraging them to persevere through setbacks;
· Educating them to make ethical decisions.
We enable students:
· To be self-directed and passionate life-long learners seeking personal excellence;
· To develop as entrepreneurial problem-solvers who connect with and contribute to the larger community.
SCA School's motto is 自强不息, which means"Continual Pursuit of Excellence".The school stakeholders understand that the motto encompasses two important core values of Innovation and Excellence. Together with three other core values, namely Integrity, Humility and Win-Win, the school is determined to develop its students into young men and ladies with the following IB Learner profiles:
