Wharton Preschool @
East Coast
Serving Families in Bedok, Siglap, Bayshore, Tanah Merah, and the East Coast Area
At Wharton Preschool East Coast, we’ve reimagined the preschool experience by blending the warmth and comfort of a family home with the thoughtful structure of a Montessori learning environment.
Spanning 20,000 sq ft, our campus is designed to be open, airy, and welcoming — a place where children aged 18 months to 6 years can move freely, explore confidently, and settle in with ease.
Tucked away from the city’s bustle, our East Coast centre blends the charm of a boutique preschool with the rigour of child development science, creating one of the most thoughtfully designed early learning environments in the area.
Proudly SPARK-certified, our centre upholds the highest standards of care and early education, creating a place where every child can grow with confidence, curiosity, and a sense of belonging.
Where Little Minds Grow Amid Nature and Heritage
A Thoughtfully Designed Campus for the Early Years
Nestled amidst the lush greenery of the East Coast, our school is steeped in character and history. We’ve thoughtfully preserved many of the building’s original features — from charming tiled floors and vintage lighting to classic doors and window grilles — echoing the colonial elegance of pre-war sea-facing homes. It’s a space where nature, heritage, and learning come together beautifully.
Every detail — from soft, soothing lighting to acoustically considered spaces — has been carefully chosen to help your child focus, self-regulate, and engage with confidence.
Montessori Learning Spaces
Our classrooms reflect Montessori principles, with open shelving, purpose-driven materials, and a quiet rhythm that builds independence and joy in learning.
Over the course of your child’s five-year journey with us, we introduce more than 1,000 unique activities—ranging from core Montessori materials like the Pink Tower and Sandpaper Letters to extensions, cultural explorations, and real-life applications in art, music, and practical life.
This comprehensive approach ensures steady, meaningful progress throughout the early years.
Montessori Learning Spaces
Language Corners & Reading Nooks
Your child can retreat into our cosy reading nooks for moments of rest, reflection, or quiet story time—nurturing both emotional regulation and a genuine love for books. We also offer dedicated language corners for immersive Chinese learning and reading activities, creating a warm and engaging environment for bilingual development.
Sheltered Play and Movement Zones
Our spacious campus invites children to play, explore, and grow in harmony with their surroundings. In our sheltered play area, little ones can splash, create, and discover through water play, hands-on activities, and even gardening, no matter the weather.
Step outside, and our vibrant playground and wide-open field become a canvas for movement and imagination — a place for balancing, climbing, dancing, yoga, and nurturing plants. These experiences nurture gross motor skills while encouraging confidence, coordination, and a love for being active.
Answering Your Questions
1) What is the difference between Montessori and other curricula in Singapore?
Montessori education is child-centred, allowing children to learn at their own pace, make choices, and engage in hands-on activities. In a Montessori classroom, specially designed materials encourage active learning and problem-solving, with teachers acting as guides rather than directing every step.
In contrast, many other curricula in Singapore tend to be more structured and teacher-led. The learning approach is more guided, with teachers directing most activities and lessons.
At Wharton Preschool, we blend Montessori principles with inquiry-based and thematic learning. This combination offers a well-rounded educational experience that balances independence with guidance, helping children become confident, curious, and capable learners while achieving structured developmental milestones.
2) Are meals provided, and do they meet the preschool's nutritional standards?
At Wharton Preschool, we believe that building healthy eating habits begins in the early years. Our in-house menus are thoughtfully curated to introduce children to a wide variety of nutritious and delicious foods, prepared in ways that encourage exploration and enjoyment.
We also offer lactose-ovo vegetarian food for those requesting vegetarian meals.
We provide well-balanced meals that fully comply with the Health Promotion Board guidelines, ensuring every dish supports your child’s growth and development. From hearty main meals to wholesome snacks, we focus on fresh ingredients, reduced sugar and salt, and child-friendly flavours that make healthy eating a natural part of our every day.
3) What is the teacher-to-child ratio for each age group?
The teacher-student ratio as stipulated by ECDA is 1:8 for Playgroup, 1:12 for Nursery 1, 1:15 for Nursery 2, 1:20 for Kindergarten 1 and 1:25 for Kindergarten 2. Most centres assign an assistant teacher to support the main teacher in classroom activities.
A preschool in Singapore that has a lower teacher-child ratio, such as Wharton Preschool, will mean that your child will enjoy more individualised care and attention.
4) Does Wharton preschool offer any trial classes or sessions for children and parents to assess if the preschool is a good fit?
We offer Community Play Dates, where you and your child can join us for a fun, themed playdate to experience life at Wharton Preschool. Additionally, we offer a Montessori trial class—please check with your preferred centre for more details.
Still wondering if Wharton is the right fit for your child?
Hear What It’s Really Like in Our Wharton Community
Our son, Zack, has been enrolled in Wharton East Coast since he was 18 months old. This was the first school near our house that we decided to do a school tour before enrolment, and we fell in love with it instantly!
The Montessori program has also developed Zack in significant ways– he is relatively independent for his age, as his teachers have taught them to do many tasks on their own, such as putting on shoes and self-feeding. He often rejects our assistance when he fumbles with such tasks, and perseveres to do it on his own (unless he is having a bad day)! Also, to our delight, he is responsible and frequently puts away his toys and books after he is done with them, a habit that I am sure the school played a big role in inculcating.
Lastly, the staff at Wharton preschool are fantastic as well. We met the Principal, Ms. Priscilla, the first time we visited the school. She left a very positive impression with her intelligence and eloquence, and she has clearly managed the school with utmost professionalism. Zack’s teachers, Teacher Thana and Li Laoshi, are nurturing and patient, such that he really enjoys going to school. Also, he used to reject almost all fruits and vegetables, or at best would only take little bites of them. However, through the school’s fun activities such as making fruit salad with Li Laoshi, he has become so much more open to eating fruits, and now loves broccoli as well, citing “Teacher Thana taught me” as the reason! The rest of the staff, such as Teacher Carol and Ms Yan, also exude the same level of kindness and patience that would make children feel secure and loved. It is really great that the school has a designated administrative personnel like Ms. Yan, who manages administrative matters efficiently, which in turn allows the teaching staff to focus on developing the curriculum and carrying out daily activities for the children.
This is how a well-runned school looks like, and we are very happy to have found this gem of a preschool for our son!
See Ching (Parent of Zack)
From our first visit, we knew Wharton Preschool was the right school for our children. The big and open compound—with a playground, sand play area, trampoline, field, and running track was very impressive.
The teachers at Wharton are caring and passionate. They always go the extra mile to make learning fun and meaningful. The school’s curriculum has a good mix of play and learning. We like how the Montessori method helps children become independent, curious, and excited to learn.
Chen Xi and Ruo Xuan have been with Wharton since playgroup. Now that Chen Xi is in K2, her teachers are helping her get ready for Primary 1 with phonics, reading, writing, Hanyu Pinyin, simple math, and useful life skills like taking care of her things, using money, and managing time.
It really takes a village to raise a child. Thank you, Wharton, for being such a big part of Chen Xi and Ruo Xuan’s growth and learning journey!
Go Puay Wee and Tan Yi Wen
Our younger son, Aaron, now in K2, has been at Wharton Preschool since 18 months old. He loves the school. The nurturing environment and Montessori-inspired curriculum have fostered his love of learning, particularly in areas like coding and robotics. We were pleasantly surprised when he was given the opportunity to participate in the national robotics competition with some of his classmates last year.
Our elder daughter, Emma, attended Wharton Preschool too; she remembers the school and teachers fondly! The teachers prepared her well and she has since adjusted seamlessly into primary school.
The school’s focus on character building and values have been instrumental in shaping their growth. We are grateful for the incredible experience Wharton Preschool has provided our family. The dedicated teachers, well-rounded curriculum, and supportive environment have set a strong foundation for both our children’s success and love of learning.
Adrienne (Parent of Aaron & Emma)
Wharton Preschool @
East Coast Location Map
791A Upper E Coast Rd,
Singapore 466601
Conveniently located for parents of young children in Bedok, Siglap, Bayshore, Tanah Merah, and the East Coast area.