DSA Secondary Schools 2021: Talent Areas, e-Open House Dates
Submitted by KiasuEditor
It’s DSA (Direct School Admission) season in Singapore, for students in Primary 6!
If you need to better understand how the DSA-Sec (Direct School Admission for Secondary Schools) process works, the Ministry of Education’s official DSA page should be your go-to information source. You can also use our DSA guide to catch up on the basics.
For students with a passion or talent, the DSA is a chance to secure a spot in a school that can continue to support and nurture that gift in the secondary years. The DSA also provides an alternative entry route to popular schools, or even a stream — that takes into consideration more than just academic performance.
Curious about the success rate of DSA applicants? One of our members has kindly shared some statistics gleaned from the 2020 DSA exercise for secondary schools (read her post for the links to the source articles):
- 1 in 4 P6 students applied for the DSA in 2020
- 3,600 were successful in their DSA applications (30% of 11,900 applicants)
- About 33% were admitted to Integrated Programme schools
- About 67% were admitted to non-Integrated Programme schools
- 40% of admissions were via sports and games
- 20% of admissions were via performing arts
- 20% of admissions were via STEM
- Nearly 10% of admissions were via leadership skills and uniformed groups
- About 10% of admissions were across these talent areas:
- entrepreneurship and innovation
- languages and humanities
- visual arts, design, and media
It is likely that a school’s reputation will be the deciding factor in shortlisting schools for DSA applications, while school culture, values, and location may be secondary considerations. It never hurts to try, but here is some sound advice from a seasoned KSP member:
“[J]ust go for it as long as both you and your child manage your expectations… Try not to DSA with a ‘sure get in’ or ‘most likely will get’ mindset.”
To help you in your research, we’ve put together a list of DSA e-Open House dates for secondary schools, along with other useful links. If the school you’re interested in does not have an event listed below, please visit the school’s website for the latest information.
Once you have explored and shortlisted schools, you will need to submit your child’s application online through the DSA-Sec portal by 3pm on Tuesday, 1 June 2021. Here’s wishing you and your child a fruitful DSA journey!
