English and Phonics for 3 to 6 Year Olds in Singapore: 9 Schools (2026)

8 October 2026 · 10 min read

TL;DR – The Quick Version

We checked every school Jungle lists for English and language classes against its own website, and 9 run an English, phonics or reading class for children aged 3 to 6. At 3 a class is letter sounds through songs and games. By K2 most schools switch to Primary 1 preparation: grammar, comprehension and writing. Only three publish fees, from about $21 a Kumon session to $105 a Berlitz lesson, and most offer a free assessment rather than a trial class. Browse language classes for kids on Jungle.

Most preschool English classes are sold as phonics. What a 4-year-old actually gets varies far more than that word suggests. At Kumon it is 30 to 45 minutes alone with a stack of worksheets, twice a week, plus worksheets at home on the other days. At United Language Centre it is 90 minutes in a group of no more than four, built on National Geographic readers. At Berlitz it is a 40-minute lesson of songs, actions and letter sounds.

This guide covers the 9 schools on Jungle that run an English, phonics or reading class for children aged 3 to 6, before Primary 1. We checked 24 schools whose Jungle listings point to English or language classes, each on its own website, fee page or terms, on 7 October 2026. Fourteen do not teach English to this age: most start at Primary 1, teach adults or teach only Chinese.

Every card says what a child of this age is taught, how long a class runs, how big it is, and what it costs where the school publishes it. Only three of the nine publish fees, and the cards say so.

Start with the summary of what changes between 3 and 6, then the three quick picks. After that every school is grouped by area, with the two chains at the end, and a short comparison of I Can Read and LCentral, which parents often weigh against each other.

English and phonics at 3, 4, 5 and 6, at a glance

At 3Letter sounds through songs, rhymes and games

At 4Hearing sounds in words and blending them

At 5Reading short words, sight words and sentences

At 6 (K2)Primary 1 preparation: grammar, comprehension, writing

Class length30 to 90 minutes, where published

PriceAbout $21 to $105 a session, at the three schools that publish fees

Trial or assessmentFree placement assessment at six schools, one free trial lesson

Schools on Jungle9

At 3, it is sounds before letters. My English School's Foundation class takes children from 3 and teaches the 26 letter sounds through games, songs and rhymes. I Can Read starts at two and a half, with stories, songs and the first sound in a word. LCentral's Foundations class is for N1 and N2, and Berlitz runs a play-based class for 3 and 4-year-olds with listening games, songs and actions. Kumon takes 3-year-olds too, on worksheets.

At 4, children start blending sounds into words. Learning Journey's Junior Phonics, for ages 4 to 5, covers consonant and vowel sounds and the first simple blending. LCentral's LaunchPad, for N2 to K2, moves on to first, middle and last sounds, the letter for each sound, and sight words such as "one", "the" and "was". United Language Centre's Little Huskies class also starts at 4, in groups of four.

At 5, the aim is reading. Berlitz says children of 5 and 6 blend and segment sounds, learn letter formation and start reading simple sentences on their own. Learning Journey's Intermediate Phonics, for 4 to 6, works on three-letter words, word families and short sentences. I Can Read's Champion Readers teaches decoding with its own marks over letters, then takes the marks away as children read on their own.

At 6, most classes turn into Primary 1 preparation. My English School, Learning Journey, I Can Read and LCentral all run a K2 or K1 and K2 class that adds grammar, comprehension and writing to reading. At My English School and Learning Journey it is 90 minutes a week. The British Council runs a K2 English class and Reading Booster, also for 6-year-olds. Megaphonics pairs its phonics class with Preparatory One English, built on grammar and vocabulary exercises.

Is your child ready for an English class?

They can sit at a table with a teacher for 40 minutes. If not yet, start with a shorter lesson: Berlitz runs 40 minutes, while LCentral, United Language Centre and the K2 classes at My English School and Learning Journey run 90.
They are happy to be left with a teacher. No school here whose pages we could read describes a parent-and-child class, and LCentral's terms ask parents to drop children off no more than ten minutes before class.
They can manage 15 minutes of practice at home. Kumon expects worksheets on every day without a class, My English School sets homework from its Reading Readiness level, and LCentral sends workbooks and an online reader.

If one of the three is not there yet, an assessment will tell you more than any checklist. Six schools here assess a child's level for free, and United Language Centre also offers a free trial lesson.

Quick picks

Best for a first-timer

United Language Centre

A young learner with a teacher at United Language Centre. Photo: Jungle

Little Huskies, for ages 4 to 6, caps each group at four children, the smallest published class size here. United Language Centre is also the only school here that advertises a free trial lesson as well as a free level check, so you can see a lesson before paying. Lessons are built on National Geographic books, games and short presentations. The catch is timing: slots are weekday afternoons at 4.30pm, and you pay for 20 lessons up front.

Price: $2,040 for 20 lessons ($102 a class), GST included. Free proficiency test and trial lesson.
Book on Jungle: United Language Centre, The Adelphi

Best value

Kumon

Worksheet time at Kumon. Photo: Jungle

Kumon has the lowest published price here by a wide margin: $170 a month for two centre sessions a week, about $21 a session, against $90 to $105 a lesson at Berlitz and United Language Centre. It is a different thing, though. Your child works through short worksheets alone, with an Instructor giving hints rather than answers, and does more worksheets at home on every day without a class. Eighteen branches are on Jungle.

Price: $170 a month per subject, for up to eight centre sessions (about $21 a session). $50 registration. Free diagnostic assessment.
Book on Jungle: Kumon, Balmoral Plaza or all 18 branches

Best route to Primary 1

LCentral

A class at LCentral. Photo: Jungle

LCentral publishes the clearest ladder from first sounds to Primary 1: Foundations for N1 and N2, LaunchPad for N2 to K2, LiftOff Learn-to-Read from K1, and LiftOff Primary Practice in K1 and K2. That last class works through the components of the MOE syllabus, including comprehension, composition and oral picture discussion. Every class is 90 minutes. Fees are not published, and term fees are not refunded once paid.

English and phonics schools for 3 to 6 year olds, by area

North North-east East West City and Orchard Bukit Timah, Novena and Thomson Schools with several branches

North

Every English school Jungle lists in the North is a branch of a chain: My English School at Northpoint City, Wisteria Mall and Woodlands Civic Centre. See schools with several branches.

North-east

Learning Journey Education Centre

Serangoon North · Fernvale LRT (SW5), 2.0 km

Ages 4 to 6Small groupsPhonics, then P1 prepTrial of 2 or 4 lessons

Super Readers Phonics runs in three levels: Junior Phonics (4 to 5) for letter sounds and first blending, Intermediate (4 to 6) for three-letter words and sight words, and Advanced (5 to 7) for blends and longer sentences, all with Montessori-style activities. In K2, a weekly 90-minute P1 Preparatory class for up to six adds grammar, comprehension and journal writing. No MRT station is within walking distance. Branches in Punggol, Marine Parade and Bukit Timah are not yet on Jungle.

Price: Learning Journey Education Centre does not publish its fees online. Contact them for current prices. The P1 Preparatory class has a $40 material fee and no registration fee.
Trial: A trial of two or four lessons. The price is not published.
Address: Blk 540 Serangoon North Ave 4, #B1-109, Singapore 550540. Google Maps
Book on Jungle: Learning Journey Education Centre

Also in the North-east: Kumon at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4. See schools with several branches.

East

Every English school Jungle lists in the East is a branch of a chain: Kumon in Bedok North, Bedok Reservoir, Heartbeat@Bedok and Simei, and My English School at Downtown East, Parkway Parade and Our Tampines Hub. See schools with several branches.

West

Megaphonics Enrichment Centre

Bukit Batok · Bukit Batok MRT (NS2), 290 m

PreschoolPhonics and readingMOE-registeredSince 2005

Phonics and Reading (Preschool) combines phonics with learning whole words by sight, following a set weekly lesson plan from letter sounds and blends to silent letters, spelling rules and syllables. Preparatory One English, taken alongside it, adds grammar and vocabulary exercises, sentence building and comprehension before Primary 1. The school says its classes are for preschoolers but gives no ages, class lengths or sizes. Parents' reviews on its site mention children joining in N2.

Price: Megaphonics Enrichment Centre does not publish its fees online. Contact them for current prices.
Trial: Not mentioned on the website.
Address: Blk 637 Bukit Batok Central, #01-12, Singapore 650637. Google Maps
Book on Jungle: Megaphonics Enrichment Centre

Also in the West: Kumon at Bukit Batok Central, Bukit Batok East, Hong Kah North, Bukit Panjang, Limbang and Sunshine Place in Choa Chu Kang, and Clementi, and My English School at Choa Chu Kang Centre, Jurong East and Jurong West. See schools with several branches.

City and Orchard

Berlitz Singapore

Orchard · Orchard MRT (NS22/TE14), 320 m

Ages 3 to 640 minSmall group or one-to-one$90 to $105 a class

The phonics class groups children by reading level. At 3 to 4 it is a play-based start: letter recognition, single letter sounds, listening games, songs and actions. At 5 to 6 children blend and segment sounds, learn letter formation and the first tricky words, and read simple sentences. Lessons are in English only and last 40 minutes plus a five-minute break. You buy a package of 20 or 40 lessons, and the site mentions no trial class.

Times: Teaching hours are Monday to Friday 8.30am to 9.15pm, Saturday 8.30am to 5.30pm and Sunday 8.30am to 1pm.
Price: $2,100 for 20 lessons ($105 a class) or $3,600 for 40 lessons ($90 a class), including the $200 registration fee and $140 of materials.
Trial: Not mentioned. A free placement chat instead.
Address: 391B Orchard Road, #16-01 Ngee Ann City Tower B, Singapore 238874. Google Maps
Book on Jungle: Berlitz Singapore

I Can Read

Tiong Bahru · Tiong Bahru MRT (EW17), 80 m

From 2.5Placed by assessmentOwn reading systemFree assessment

Reading Foundations, from age two and a half, moves in three levels from stories, songs and the first sound in words to blending three and four sounds. Champion Readers, a one-year programme of six levels, teaches decoding with I Can Read's own marks over letters, then removes them, with a spelling test each lesson. K2 children can take Headstart to Primary 1. I Can Read runs 23 centres, and this is the one on Jungle.

Price: I Can Read does not publish its fees online. Contact them for current prices.
Trial: Free literacy assessment. No trial class is mentioned.
Address: 298 Tiong Bahru Road, #06-03 Central Plaza, Singapore 168730. Google Maps
Book on Jungle: I Can Read

United Language Centre

City Hall · City Hall MRT (EW13/NS25), 250 m

Ages 4 to 690 minUp to 4 a class$102 a class

Little Huskies is a general English class rather than a phonics course: themed lessons from National Geographic books, with games, discussion and short presentations, reading for pronunciation and comprehension, and writing for sentences and spelling. The school says its kids' programme is aligned with the IB curriculum and prepares children for international school. Groups are capped at four. Slots are weekday afternoons only.

Times: Monday and Wednesday, or Tuesday and Thursday, 4.30pm to 6pm.
Price: $2,040 for 20 lessons ($102 a class), GST included. The registration fee is waived and books are included.
Trial: Free proficiency test and trial lesson.
Address: 1 Coleman Street, #10-11 The Adelphi, Singapore 179803. Google Maps
Book on Jungle: United Language Centre

Also in the city: Kumon at Bukit Merah Central and My English School at Jalan Membina in Tiong Bahru. See schools with several branches.

Bukit Timah, Novena and Thomson

British Council

Napier Road · Napier MRT (TE12), 340 m

Ages 3 to 6N1 to K2Fees not confirmed

The British Council's Early Years English courses run by school level: Learning Time with Timmy for N1 to K1 (ages 3 to 5), an English class for K2, and Reading Booster, also for 6-year-olds. Its website blocks automated checks, so we could confirm the course names and ages but not class lengths, sizes or fees. Ask for all three when you call. A second centre in Toa Payoh is not yet on Jungle.

Price: British Council's fees could not be confirmed online. Contact them directly.
Trial: Could not be confirmed online.
Address: 30 Napier Road, Singapore 258509. Google Maps
Book on Jungle: British Council

LCentral

Bukit Timah · King Albert Park MRT (DT6), 100 m

From N190 minDrop-offFree assessment

Four preschool programmes run by level: Foundations (N1 and N2) for first sounds and vocabulary, LaunchPad (N2 to K2) for letters, blending and sight words, LiftOff Learn-to-Read (K1 to P2) for reading fluency, and LiftOff Primary Practice (K1 and K2) for comprehension, grammar and composition. Every class is 90 minutes, with workbooks and an online reader for home. LCentral has moved within Dunearn Village to unit #03-31. Seventeen more centres are not yet on Jungle.

Price: LCentral does not publish its fees online. Contact them for current prices. Registration is $80 and the deposit $200, refundable if you give notice by the ninth lesson of a term. Term fees are not refunded.
Trial: Free English assessment. No trial class is mentioned.
Address: 896 Dunearn Road, #03-31 Dunearn Village, Singapore 589472. Google Maps
Book on Jungle: LCentral

Also in central Singapore: Kumon at Balmoral Plaza, Bishan, Bukit Timah Shopping Centre and Thomson V Two, and My English School at Goldhill Plaza in Novena and The Poiz Centre in Potong Pasir. See schools with several branches.

Schools with several branches

Kumon

18 branches on Jungle

From 330 to 45 min, twice a weekWorksheets, self-paced$170 a month

Kumon English is not a taught group class. After a free diagnostic test, each child works alone through short worksheets at their own level, twice a week at the centre and on the other days at home, typically 15 to 30 minutes a day for preschoolers. For K1 and K2 children, Kumon says it may start with letter sounds, phonics and simple reading. Kumon lists more than 70 centres in Singapore, and 18 are on Jungle.

Branches: North-east: Ang Mo Kio Ave 1, Teck Ghee, Ang Mo Kio Ave 4. East: Fengshan CC, Bedok North, Bedok Reservoir, Heartbeat@Bedok, Simei. West: Bukit Batok Central, Bukit Batok East, Hong Kah North CC, Bukit Panjang, Limbang, Choa Chu Kang, Sunshine Place, Choa Chu Kang, Clementi. City: Bukit Merah Central. Central: Balmoral Plaza, Bishan, Bukit Timah Shopping Centre, Thomson V Two.
Price: $170 a month per subject, for up to eight centre sessions (about $21 a session). $50 registration.
Trial: Free diagnostic assessment and parent orientation. No trial class.

My English School

12 branches on Jungle

From 3 (N1)Small groupsPlaced by abilityFree assessment

The Reading Programme has four courses. Children are placed by a free assessment and move up when they pass a level test, at any point in the year. Foundation, from 3, teaches all 26 letter sounds through games, songs and rhymes. Reading Readiness adds blending, with homework. My Reading Class teaches decoding. Primary Preparation, for K2, is 90 minutes a week with weekly spelling. Centres in Tengah, Eastpoint and Clementi are not yet on Jungle.

Branches: North: Northpoint City, Yishun, Wisteria Mall, Khatib, Woodlands Civic Centre. East: Downtown East, Parkway Parade, Our Tampines Hub. West: Choa Chu Kang Centre, Jurong East, Jurong West. City: Jalan Membina, Tiong Bahru. Central: Goldhill Plaza, Novena, The Poiz Centre, Potong Pasir.
Price: My English School does not publish its fees online. Contact them for current prices.
Trial: Free assessment. No trial class is mentioned.

I Can Read or LCentral?

Parents looking for preschool English often compare these two, and on paper they are close. Both take children from about 3 (I Can Read from two and a half, LCentral from N1), place them by a free assessment rather than by age, and run a pathway that ends in a K1 or K2 class for Primary 1. Neither publishes its fees.

The method is where they differ. I Can Read's Reading Foundations works on hearing sounds in words before formal reading, then Champion Readers teaches decoding with its own marks over letters, removed in the later levels, with a spelling test every lesson. LCentral moves from first sounds to letters, blending and sight words, then to reading fluency.

LCentral also publishes more of its terms: 90-minute classes, an $80 registration fee, a $200 deposit and term fees that are not refunded. I Can Read does not publish its class length.

I Can Read has 23 centres and LCentral 18. Each has one on Jungle: I Can Read at Tiong Bahru and LCentral in Bukit Timah. The simplest way to choose is to book the free assessment at both and compare the level each recommends for your child.

What changes at Primary 1

Most schools here carry on into a primary English programme at 7: My English School's Primary 1 class, I Can Read's Primary English, LCentral's primary programme, Berlitz's reading classes for lower primary and United Language Centre's Soaring Puffins, for 7 to 10. The emphasis moves from learning to read to comprehension, grammar and composition, which is why the K2 classes in this guide already practise them.

Primary programmes are usually a year long rather than levelled. My English School says promotion in its primary programme happens at the end of the year, while its reading courses promote a child whenever they pass. Kumon is the exception: children keep moving by level rather than by school year, and the school says many study ahead of their grade.

How we picked these

Every school here is listed on Jungle. We checked each school Jungle lists for English or language classes on its own website, fee page or terms, and kept the nine that run an English, phonics or reading class for children aged 3 to 6 before Primary 1, are still trading and can be booked on Jungle.

Where a class is worksheet-based or a general English course rather than phonics, the card says so. The quick picks are our judgement: the smallest published class with a free trial lesson, the lowest published price, and the clearest published route from first sounds to Primary 1. Fees, ages and class details were read on 7 October 2026.

At a glance

School	From age	Price and trial
Berlitz Singapore	3	$90 to $105 a class. Free placement chat
British Council	3 (N1)	Fees could not be confirmed
I Can Read	2.5	Fees not published. Free assessment
Kumon	3	$170 a month, about $21 a session. Free assessment
LCentral	3 (N1)	Fees not published. Free assessment
Learning Journey Education Centre	4	Fees not published. Trial of 2 or 4 lessons
Megaphonics Enrichment Centre	Preschool, ages not stated	Not published by provider
My English School	3 (N1)	Fees not published. Free assessment
United Language Centre	4	$102 a class. Free trial lesson