Choose The Most Suitable Primary School
Hi parents, juz sharing my own experience since I've 'been there, done that." 
I totally agree with the Straits Times article on last Sat that mentioned parents should seek to choose a GOOD OR BEST primary school for your child and not the TOP school. That's what we did. We chose a good neighbourhood school a short distance from our home. It's slightly beyond 2 km so Daddy has to do PV which in this school, do PV - almost 100% can get in.
I remember some of our friends questioned why we didn't PV at a more reputable school then. But distance was a major concern for us - we wanted our young children to have more sleep to have a better quality of life - so that's the decision.
Anyway, we had no regrets - our children love their school a lot -- and they were blessed to be placed in the top class so they got all the BEST teachers in the school. Lots of opportunities for leadership roles, competitions, cca involvement which I think would be more competitive in a more reputable school.
A few of my friends too spent considerable time and effort (like PV, join clan, change church membership) to get their children into TOP primary schools.. thinking their children would benefit from being in that school.
Actually, the opposite happened. Their children were demoralised as some could not cope with the high standards in such schools. After PSLE, they were channelled into a normal neighbourhood secondary school .
If the pri school has affiliations, some might get into the affiliated sec school but the reality would surface again when they received their "O" level results - might end up in a lower-end JC again.
For us, we are more selective about secondary schools. The environment and peer group in a secondary school play a major role in shaping the identity and building confidence in our teenaged children. So we would rather spend more time preparing the children to get into reasonably reputable secondary schools.
However, we will still choose the reputable schools that are nearer to our home. Actually, it's better to stay in the West or Central cos there are more choices of reputable secondary schools/JCs/tertiary institutions to choose from. Just my opinion.
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HI,NICE IDEA. I am new here
HI,NICE IDEA.
I am new here in singapore.My daughter got admission in Pr 5 in neighbour hood primary school (not well known).No wondering how to prepare her for reputed secondary school.i am not familiar with singapore school system.need advise regarding preparation.thanks
NTIL - Non-Tamil Indian Languages
Just wanted to share following information which I received only recently from Tanjong Katong Primary School.
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The school currently holds 3 types of NTIL lessons during curriculum time. They are Punjabi (Singapore Sikh Education), Gujarati (Singapore Gujarati School) and Hindi (by Hindi Society). NO new vendors will be added to the current list.
As outlined in the PERI recommendations, all primary schools in Singapore will operate single session from 2016. As we prepare to move towards single session, the current practice of holding NTIL lessons during curriculum time will not be sustainable.
As of now, the school is able to confirm that NTIL lessons for the 2010 P1 cohort will be held during curriculum time. For future P1 cohorts from 2011 onwards, NTIL lessons could be conducted outside curriculum time.
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So those of you who are registering in 2011 onwards, need to arrange for transport from school back home yourselves because the NTIL sessions will be held after curriculum time. The school shall not arrange for the same. This information is as of 13 july 2009.
Will relocate to singapore
next year we will relocate to singapore and I never have knowledge about primary school in singapore. From your several articles told me about parent volunteer give them a high chance for their children accept in certain primary school. What about me as new comer in singapore? Is there anyone give me suggestions what can I do related to choosing school to my children ? At this moment we don't know yet where we will live in. Thanks before
Thank you
Dear csc,
"...Anyway, we had no regrets - our children love their school a lot -- and they were blessed to be placed in the top class so they got all the BEST teachers in the school. Lots of opportunities for leadership roles, competitions, cca involvement which I think would be more competitive in a more reputable school.
A few of my friends too spent considerable time and effort (like PV, join clan, change church membership) to get their children into TOP primary schools.. thinking their children would benefit from being in that school.
Actually, the opposite happened. Their children were demoralised as some could not cope with the high standards in such schools. After PSLE, they were channelled into a normal neighbourhood secondary school..."
Thank you for highlighting these points which had never crossed my mind before this. Now that I have more confidence to choose a school of which matches my dream school criteria, and also more reasons to convince my better-half in choosing a not-so-popular school.
Also find your sharings full of wisdom, very useful and practical. Wow this mother with 10+ yrs of experience trains yourself well and your sharings are so INSPIRATIONAL!
Thanks.
To the mummy who wrote the
To the mummy who wrote the article,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
My boy is going to P4 next year in a good school which is 10 min walk away from home. Next year, I will have to register my daughter for P1. As of now, hubby & I still cannot decide whether to register her in the same school as older sibling or my former school which has an affiliated secondary school. My former school will be temporaily relocated to Geylang Bahru which is far for us. It's really all about affiliation vs distance now.
My son's school is a reputable school in the neighbourhood estate. It is a SAP school, hence Higher Chinese and English are 1st languages. I have to observe my daughter and decide where to register her. However my former school uses Chinese as 2nd language.
I wanted to transfer my daughter to my former school after it has moved back to its present premises but the admin told me priority is given only at registration stage. My opinion is if she does well for her PSLE, she has the option of going to the affiliated secondary school or a better secondary school. If it's not that fantastic, she has an affiliated secondary school to 'fall-back' on.
Mummies here, do you have any advice ? Thanks
Many parents have the
Many parents have the misconception that if their children are placed in a top school, their children will perform well. There are many factors that affect a child's performance in school and the main and most important factor is your child's ability. There is no point in sending your child to a top school if he/she can't perform. Parents must learn to be realistic in their expectations or there will be lots of headaches and/or heartaches.
Dear Janet_lee88, Having an
Dear Janet_lee88,
Having an affiliated sec school definately helps, especially if kid is above average but not among the top to have free of choosing choice school, i.e 220 to 240. With your elder in P4, you should be able to understand how competitive primary schools are now and the stress from PSLE(look at the postings on this website). However, having two kids in the same school is more convenient. Personally, becuse of preference to put my kids in single gender secondary school, I would opt for your former primary school. And especially its affiliated secondary school (if i didn't guess wrongly, it's at Toa Payoh now) has a decent set of results.
Schools in Pasir Ris
Hi, does anyone have any advice/recommendations on the primary schools in Pasir Ris area particularly those in the Elias area? Thanks.
Raffles Girls' Primary
Hi all ,
I just got to know that there is no affliation between RGPS and RGS . Does anyone know what is RGPS strong in ? I was an old girl but during my time , things were so different . It seems to be a top school but I worry my girl cant cope as I am a first time mum , not sure what to look out for . I do not want to push my girl in simply cos she has priority and if its very stressful in there .
Need some guidance here .
RGPS
Hi LeeTaiTai
You can find the information you seek at
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/school/raffles-girls-primary-school
and please join our discussion on RGPS at KSP forum at the following threads
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4408&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=424
Good Luck!