Red: Balloting for those living <1km away
Yellow: Balloting for those living 1-2km away
Green: Balloting for those living >2km away
Other colors: For schools which would have required balloting but did not because the number of people in one of the categories were able to exactly meet the vacancies, or the balloting only involves PRs, etc.

It’s the time of the year again, for new P1 parents preparing their kids for Primary School!

Let’s review what happened in 2022.  There is a revelation which I only came across when I closely examined the data.

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The attached table is a listing comprising of the top schools (or schools which faced balloting since Phase 2A onwards, to be politically accurate 😆 ).  Nanyang Primary leads in this by far, but note that its cohort (Places column) is the highest at 390.  Although these top schools are very much in demand, and that by Phase 2A; the schools are already 67% to 85% full (look at the TUR column); most of the schools from Nanyang Primary to St Hilda’s Primary are only balloting at >2km.

Schools which ballot under 1km start with Oasis Primary and Punggol Green.  These are relatively new schools.

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So given this impact, most people trying to get into these hot schools will get in at Phase 2A!  Kudos to whoever is in charge of assigning the vacancies to schools.  It is a tough job, but it is well done.  If you are targeting these schools in Phase 2A, the trick is to stay within 2km of the school, and you should be safe.  Best if you stay within 1km of the schools.

However, if you are not fortunate to get into Phase 2A, things are tough in the later Phases.  Other than Springdale Primary, all the schools in this list require balloting <1km.  Springdale, of course, would require balloting <1km in Phase 2C(S).  The most competitive school in Phase 2C is Princess Elizabeth Primary at 505%!  You chance of getting in is 1 in 5 🙁