UWCSEA is different from many of its sister colleges in the UWC movement, most of which are wholly boarding institutions that offer only a two-year International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme for mainly scholarship students of around 16–19 years of age.

Singapore government policy prevents most citizens from attending international schools within the country, and therefore UWCSEA has the smallest percentage of local students of any UWC.

Originally a secondary-only school, UWCSEA Dover today has a primary section that takes students as young as 4 (starting 1998).

The East Infant School moved to its permanent home at the Tampines campus in 2010, and the rest of the grades followed.

This was confirmed by a student in 2013 during the demolition of the old “English” block, where hundreds of bricks stamped with “Alexandra” were found.

In Primary School, iPad, and MacBook sets are provisioned in classrooms, and in grades 6–12 laptops are individually owned.

Sports available include athletics, badminton, basketball, climbing, cricket, cross country, football, gymnastics, hockey, netball, rugby, sailing, softball, swimming, tennis, touch and ultimate frisbee.

The funds have supported initiatives including scholarships, teacher professional development and curriculum innovation, and environmental & sustainability programs.

[6] Notable alumni include: The mascots for the United World College of South East Asia are the Dragon and the Phoenix.