St Joseph's Institution International (SJII), a private school marking its 10th anniversary this year, is seeking to raise funds that will go towards $200 million for a new campus to house its elementary and high school divisions.
The "multi-year" fund-raising campaign was announced last night at a dinner graced by President Tony Tan Keng Yam, an SJII patron and an old Josephian, at The Ritz-Carlton Millenia hotel.
The Roman Catholic institution is one of three privately funded schools. The others are Anglo-Chinese School (International) and Hwa Chong International School.
In 2015, SJII totted up an annual surplus of about $4.8 million. The not-for-profit institution, which does not receive government funds, derives its income mainly from school fees - which can be around $30,000 a year - and also draws on private donations.
The lease for its Thomson Road premises will expire in 2022 and SJII anticipates having to move. It is in negotiations for an undisclosed site in the Toa Payoh area.
At the dinner, alumnus Ian Ernst Chai, 26, urged the audience to support the school. It has a building fund as well as a scholarship fund, of which he was a beneficiary.
"What I am today and will be tomorrow, I owe in no small measure to my SJII scholarship," said Mr Chai, now a deputy public prosecutor.
Students also presented Dr Tan with a $43,888 cheque for the President's Challenge charity drive. They raised the money through activities such as washing cars and a carnival.
