Forest City International School

About Forest City International School

Forest City International School opened in September 2018 on the reclaimed island of Forest City in Gelang Patah, roughly 40 minutes from the Johor Bahru city centre and close to the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link. In 2024, the school rebranded under CATS Global Schools, a network established in 1899 that operates educational institutions across the UK, US and Asia. The CATS affiliation gives FCIS access to university placement pathways and shared resources across the global network.

The school enrols approximately 200 students with 80 staff, producing a 4:1 student-to-staff ratio that is among the lowest in Malaysian international education. This small cohort size, combined with the island campus setting, creates an environment that feels more like a residential learning community than a conventional school. Over 20 nationalities are represented in the student body.

Curriculum at Forest City International School

FCIS follows the American curriculum aligned to Common Core State Standards. At the high school level, students access Advanced Placement (AP) courses for university-level credit. The school holds NEASC accreditation, one of six regional US accreditation bodies, which validates the quality of instruction and student outcomes.

The programme spans four divisions: Early Childhood, Lower School, Upper School and a College Counseling track that guides students through US, UK and regional university applications. Project-based learning is the primary instructional method, blending academic preparation with hands-on, experiential projects. EAL (English as Additional Language) support is offered at three proficiency levels for students whose first language is not English. School hours run from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM.

Fees at Forest City International School

FCIS sits at the premium end of Johor international schools. The school fees guide explains how to compare total cost of attendance.

Level	Annual Fees
Pre-K / Kindergarten	RM 65,500
Primary	RM 69,500
Middle School	RM 77,500
High School	RM 83,500

Additional Fees	Amount
Activities fee	RM 1,200/year
Boarding (4/room)	RM 30,000/year + RM 8,000 deposit
Boarding (2/room)	RM 43,000/year
Application fee	RM 1,000
Day student deposit	RM 5,200

Scholarships of up to 50% are available. A 6% SST applies where indicated. Total annual cost including activities, meals and insurance ranges from RM 65,500 to RM 83,500 for day students.

Facilities at Forest City International School

The island campus includes:

• STEM Innovation Center
• 850-seat theatre
• Olympic-sized swimming pool
• AI-powered indoor golf facility
• Professional fitness center
• Science laboratories
• Boarding residences (furnished apartments, 2 or 4 per room)

Admissions at Forest City International School

FCIS operates rolling admissions, meaning families can apply throughout the year without waiting for fixed intake windows. The application fee is RM 1,000 and the day student deposit is RM 5,200. Boarding is available from age 10. The school serves families in Johor Bahru and draws cross-border interest from Singapore-based families.

Forest City International School in Johor

FCIS is on Forest City island in Gelang Patah, within Johor. Johor has 32 registered international schools and 50 private schools total. The Johor international schools directory lists all options.

Contact: 019-819 2023, info@cats-fc.org, cats-fc.org.

Kindergarten / Early Years Fees at Forest City International School

Forest City International School charges RM 56,000 in tuition plus RM 9,500 in mandatory activity, learning resource, day catering, and insurance fees, for a total annual cost of RM 65,500 at Pre-K and Kindergarten (ages 3 to 5) for the 2025 to 2026 academic year. The Early Childhood programme blends American Common Core State Standards with three play-based traditions: Te Whāriki from New Zealand, Reggio Emilia from Italy, and Anji Play from China. The school is the only fully accredited international school on the Forest City island in Gelang Patah, Johor.

What’s Included and What’s Extra at FCIS Early Childhood

The RM 65,500 annual cost for Pre-K or Kindergarten breaks down into RM 56,000 tuition plus four mandatory line items: activities RM 1,200, learning resources RM 2,100, day catering RM 6,000, and personal accident insurance RM 200. Families pay a one-time application fee of RM 1,000 (subject to 6 percent SST) and a refundable day-student deposit of RM 5,200. Boarding is available from Grade 5 onwards, not at Pre-K or Kindergarten level. EAL support is charged separately at RM 4,000 to RM 10,000 depending on the level of language scaffolding required. Uniforms, school transport from the Singapore side via Second Link, and overseas trips are charged separately. The school offers scholarships of up to 50 percent on tuition for qualifying families.

Curriculum and Daily Structure at FCIS Early Childhood

Early Childhood at Forest City International School anchors academic foundations in the American Common Core State Standards used across the school’s K-12 ladder. Play-based pedagogy draws from three named traditions: Te Whāriki, New Zealand’s bicultural early childhood framework that organises learning around the principles of well-being, belonging, contribution, communication, and exploration; Reggio Emilia, the northern Italian project-based approach that treats children as protagonists of their learning; and Anji Play, a Chinese pedagogy centred on true play and child-initiated risk-taking outdoors. The Kindness curriculum runs alongside academics with six character outcomes: caring, inclusiveness, courage, responsibility, respect, and integrity. The school day runs 8:30 am to 5:30 pm with structured morning teaching and afternoon project work, sports, and arts. The student-staff ratio across the school is 4:1.

How FCIS Kindergarten Fees Compare to Other American Kindergartens in Johor

Forest City International School at RM 65,500 sits in the elite American-curriculum band in Johor, comparable to Raffles American School Pre-K 4 (around RM 66,500). Both schools target the cross-border Singapore-Johor catchment, with Raffles American in Iskandar Puteri and FCIS on Forest City island in Gelang Patah. The differentiators are network and brand: FCIS leans on CATS Global Schools (a 1899-founded UK-US-Asia network) and Shattuck-St. Mary’s (Minnesota, USA) for hockey, figure skating, and golf academy co-branding, while Raffles American School operates as a standalone American international school. Sunway International School Iskandar Puteri at RM 30,000 to RM 50,000 in Early Years is a clear tier below FCIS but still within the broader American-curriculum cohort.

Registration and Admissions for Early Childhood at FCIS

Applications are submitted online with a non-refundable RM 1,000 application fee (subject to 6 percent SST). Required documents include the child’s birth certificate, immunisation records, recent school reports where applicable, and two passport-size photographs. Pre-K candidates attend a settling-in playdate and Kindergarten entrants complete an age-appropriate assessment. Admissions operate on a rolling basis with intakes at three points in the American academic calendar that runs from late August through mid-June. International students follow the standard student-visa pathway through Malaysia’s Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS) where applicable. Once a place is offered, families pay the RM 5,200 refundable day-student deposit alongside the first-term tuition.

Is SST Charged on Forest City International School Kindergarten Fees?

Tuition at RM 56,000 sits below the RM 60,000 SST threshold introduced by the Malaysian Government in September 2025, so 6 percent Service Tax does not apply on the tuition line. SST does apply on the activities fee (RM 1,200), the learning resources fee (RM 2,100), and the application fee (RM 1,000), since these are categorised as service line items rather than tuition. Families pay the RM 65,500 headline total with SST baked into the relevant mandatory components. Compare FCIS against nine other named kindergartens on the international kindergarten fees hub.