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It&rsquo;s Open House season once again for many primary schools in Singapore, all the way till late July. Visit Schoolbag.sg for an <a href="https://www.schoolbag.sg/story/open-house-dates-of-primary-schools-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener">updated list</a> of primary schools holding open house events.
Still undecided about what school to choose for your child, even after attending the open house? Singapore&rsquo;s Ministry of Education (MOE) advises parents to consider <a href="https://beta.moe.gov.sg/primary/p1-registration/how-to-choose-a-school/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">five factors</a> when deciding on a school:
<img onerror="kspReplaceCdn(this)" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-75189 size-full" src="https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u133359/Infographic-on-choosing-primary-school-e1559815861823.jpg" alt="Choosing a primary sch" width="883" height="1219" srcset="https://wp.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u133359/Infographic-on-choosing-primary-school-e1559815861823.jpg 883w, https://wp.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u133359/Infographic-on-choosing-primary-school-e1559815861823-320x442.jpg 320w, https://wp.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u133359/Infographic-on-choosing-primary-school-e1559815861823-800x1104.jpg 800w" sizes="(max-width: 883px) 100vw, 883px">[Source: MOE]


<ol>
<li>Your child&rsquo;s abilities and interests: Is your child already exhibiting a talent that you intend to develop? Will your child thrive in a more competitive school, or a more relaxed environment? The MOE&rsquo;s <a href="https://beta.moe.gov.sg/schoolfinder/?journey=Primary%20school" target="_blank" rel="noopener">School Finder</a> allows you to search for schools that offer a particular co-curricular activity, or schools that have special electives and programmes.</li>
<li>The school&rsquo;s culture: What is the school best known for? What are the school&rsquo;s core values, and how are these values encouraged in class? Does the school have a strong alumni or parent support network?</li>
<li>The ease of getting to school: How long does it take to get to school by car/school bus, or public transport? Will the school bus fares be within your budget? Use the School Finder to search for schools near your home, or within a specified area.</li>
<li>Mother tongue: What second language will your child be taking? Do you want your child to take Higher Chinese, Higher Malay, or Higher Tamil? Use the School Finder to narrow down schools based on your second language preferences.</li>
<li>Special needs: Does your child have any special learning needs? Is the school equipped to nurture your child? Use the School Finder to search for schools that support hearing loss and other physical challenges.</li>
</ol>
Below, we look at some questions that have been asked by our KSP community leading up to the <a href="https://beta.moe.gov.sg/primary/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Primary 1 registration process</a>, to offer some insights for first-timer parents:
<a href="https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u133359/P1-Registration-Ex-2019-infographic-.pdf"><img onerror="kspReplaceCdn(this)" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-75209 size-full alignleft" src="https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u133359/P1-Registration-Ex-2019-infographic-1-e1559816320494.jpg" alt="" width="1398" height="883" srcset="https://wp.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u133359/P1-Registration-Ex-2019-infographic-1-e1559816320494.jpg 1398w, https://wp.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u133359/P1-Registration-Ex-2019-infographic-1-e1559816320494-320x202.jpg 320w, https://wp.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u133359/P1-Registration-Ex-2019-infographic-1-e1559816320494-800x505.jpg 800w" sizes="(max-width: 1398px) 100vw, 1398px"></a>[Source: MOE] Click on image to enlarge
<h2>Should I choose a nearby school or a preferred one that is further away?</h2>
Some parents strongly recommend choosing a <a href="https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=48&amp;t=65610" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nearby school</a>. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to judge primary schools through isolated incidents, hearsay, or a few visits,&rdquo; says a parent. &ldquo;Fortunately, all primary schools are good schools.&rdquo;
Many parents are also willing to consider schools that are 45 minutes to an hour away by public transport, if other criteria are met. In fact, with new public transport developments such as the opening of stations along the new Thomson-East Coast MRT line, many schools will be more accessible in the near future.
Don&rsquo;t forget to <a href="https://www.moe.gov.sg/admissions/primary-one-registration/information-on-primary-schools/new-relocating-merging-schools" target="_blank" rel="noopener">check on the MOE website</a> if the school you&rsquo;re considering is currently at a holding location, or will be relocating due to upgrading works. &ldquo;Some parents may not like the disruption and inconvenience,&rdquo; says a parent.
<h2>What is a good school culture?</h2>
This is for you, the parent, to define. What&rsquo;s most important to you? Is it:
<ul>
<li>the school&rsquo;s definition of &ldquo;success&rdquo; and its academic and co-curricular track record</li>
<li>student life (school facilities, enrichment activities, and other opportunities for growth)</li>
<li>the general behaviour of students</li>
<li>the calibre of teachers</li>
<li>the principal&rsquo;s experience and reputation</li>
<li>the core values of the school</li>
<li>the strength of the school&rsquo;s alumni network</li>
</ul>
Being clear about what you value in a school can help you greatly in your decision-making process.
If you want to be precise, you could even assign a weightage to each criterion, in order to help you rank your shortlisted schools. (See <a href="https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/article/how-to-evaluate-primary-schools/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an example</a> of how to create your own simple school ranking system, and get <a href="https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/article/curious-if-a-school-has-a-good-culture-weve-got-useful-tips-for-you/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more tips</a> on what you should be looking out for when you research or visit schools.)
<h2>Should I choose a popular school, or a less well-known one?</h2>
Is a high-achieving school (&ldquo;big pond&rdquo;) the best for our children? Or would they fare better in a less competitive school (&ldquo;small pond&rdquo;)? You need to be honest with yourself about where you think your child can thrive. (Read our <a href="https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/article/big-pond-vs-small-pond-how-does-competition-affect-our-kids/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a> on the research that has been conducted on &ldquo;big pond&rdquo; and &ldquo;small pond&rdquo; environments, and how they affect low-ability, middle-ability, and high-ability students.)
A commonly held misconception is that the teachers in popular primary schools are better. &ldquo;Every school has its share of good and not-so-good teachers,&rdquo; says a KSP member. &ldquo;[Unpleasant incidents with teachers] also happen in &lsquo;branded&rsquo; schools.&rdquo;
However, what you may encounter in popular schools is that students tend to have more access to tutors and enrichment classes. In other words, they would have entered primary school with good language and math skills, making it harder for students who have not enjoyed the same access in their preschool years to keep up.
<h2>Should I choose a school that is known for setting tough papers?</h2>
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been downloading many school&rsquo;s past-year papers for my son to practise, and I can tell the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Assistance_Plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools</a> tend to set their exam papers at a much higher difficulty compared to the non-SAP schools,&rdquo; observes a parent.
Whether or not this is true, it is relatively easy to buy or download school papers these days &mdash; and schools themselves often give their students papers from other schools to practise on.
More importantly, as Singapore moves away from the &ldquo;regurgitation&rdquo; style of answering exam questions, what matters is whether the school is testing your child on skills that will be valuable in the long run.
<h2>Should I choose a school that my child&rsquo;s younger siblings can also get into?</h2>
This is a common dilemma for parents who have children of both sexes.
&ldquo;There are pros and cons of both angles &mdash; convenience versus customization. Some think that customization is better,&rdquo; says a parent. &ldquo;You need to think carefully if you can handle the kids being in different schools.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I chose different schools for both my children, a girl and a boy,&rdquo; reveals a mother. &ldquo;I sent my daughter to my primary school (all-girls) for a hassle-free registration process. For my son, who is five years younger, we balloted at an all-boys school where we had religious affiliation, and we were successful. Both children used to take the school bus unless they had after-school activities; my daughter is able to travel independently now. From what I can see, both schools suit my children well, and there hasn&rsquo;t been much juggling required on my part.&rdquo;
<h2>Should I choose an all-girls or all-boys school?</h2>
&ldquo;One thing I have noticed is that boys who have grown up with sisters are generally more gentle-natured&hellip; they have been trained not to play too rough,&rdquo; says a mother. &ldquo;While such boys are good for society and make very good husbands in future, they may not adapt well when thrown into an all-boys school. The boisterous camaraderie and general roughhousing that is common among boys when they play together may shock some milder parents and kids who have not encountered this before.&rdquo;
That said, it&rsquo;s impossible to predict how a child will fit into any school. As a parent, all you can do is to choose a school that you believe is good for your child, and be ready to support your child if issues should come up. (Read about dealing with school bullying <a href="https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/article/school-bullying-what-if-you-are-at-your-wits-end/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.)
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve heard about <a href="http://girlsguidetoendbullying.org/Relational_RecognizeBullying.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">relational bullying</a> being common in girls&rsquo; schools, and have experienced it myself. However, my daughter has had a smooth primary school journey at her all-girls school,&rdquo; says a mother. &ldquo;My son is reserved when he&rsquo;s not around family, and he took about a year to get comfortable in the rowdy atmosphere of his all-boys school. He still needs to learn how to assert himself, but he is often placed together with some of the &lsquo;naughtier&rsquo; boys in class, as the form teacher finds that he has a calming effect on them. I&rsquo;ve quizzed my son about these boys and I find that he is amused, rather than threatened, by them.&rdquo;
<h2>Should I choose a school with an affiliated secondary school?</h2>
There are 27 secondary schools in Singapore with affiliated primary schools, and you can view the list <a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/the-complete-list-27-secondary-schools-and-their-affiliated-primary-schools" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
Changes have been announced to the school affiliation system, and they will kick in this year, where 20% of a secondary school&rsquo;s places must be reserved for students without affiliation priority. (Previously, there was no cap on the number of affiliated students that a school could accept. You can read about how the new system will work on the <a href="https://www.moe.gov.sg/microsites/psle/FAQs/affiliation.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MOE website</a>.)
What this means is that affiliated entry to a secondary school will now depend on two factors:
<ul>
<li>A child meeting the affiliated PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination) entry score set by the school.</li>
<li>Whether the demand for places in the affiliated school is lower or higher than 80%.</li>
</ul>
The affiliation system will be further fine-tuned when the <a href="https://www.moe.gov.sg/microsites/psle/PSLE%20Scoring/psle-scoring.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new PSLE scoring system</a> is implemented in 2021.
At this point, it&rsquo;s hard to predict if affiliated schools will still provide an almost-guaranteed entry for many of its students. But it&rsquo;s definitely an advantage over not having an affiliation at all.
Still have a question about choosing and evaluating primary schools? Seek advice from the KSP community <a href="https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&amp;t=193" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. Some of the comments above were excerpted from KSP school discussion threads; they have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
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Choosing A Primary School: Frequently Asked Questions By Parents

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<?xml encoding="UTF-8"><html><body><img onerror="kspReplaceCdn(this)" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-62261 aligncenter" src="https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u133359/43991904_s-800x533.jpg" alt="Choosing Primary School" width="577" height="384" srcset="https://wp.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u133359/43991904_s-800x533.jpg 800w, https://wp.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u133359/43991904_s-320x213.jpg 320w, https://wp.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u133359/43991904_s.jpg 848w" sizes="(max-width: 577px) 100vw, 577px"> Apart from academic performance, how else can you tell if a primary school will be right for your child? A KSP <a href="https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/author/thebottomsupblog/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">member</a> (and mother of two) shares her tips.
<h5>1. Look at the wall displays.</h5>
Are you looking for an achievement-oriented school or a values-driven school? That depends on your education goals for your child. What&rsquo;s important to a school is usually signposted through its wall displays. What messages are being communicated to the students through the school&rsquo;s posters, murals, and other displays? Do you agree with those messages?
Mom Tip: If the school has a social media page (usually Facebook), you can also get a sense of the school culture by browsing the page and reading the updates and comments.
<h5>2. Tap into the grapevine. </h5>
Every child&rsquo;s experience in a school will be different, but it doesn&rsquo;t hurt to gather several opinions before you make your final decision.
If the option is available, go straight to the source and schedule a meeting with the principals of the schools that you&rsquo;re interested in, or find a way to reach them via e-mail. It&rsquo;s the best way to ask about the principal&rsquo;s vision and objectives for the school. If not, you can talk to students at these schools as well as their parents, to find out if the learning environment is enjoyable, and if there is a strong parent community that supports the efforts of the teachers.
If you have teacher friends, ask them to check on a school&rsquo;s reputation and work culture. If they happen to &nbsp;work in the school that you&rsquo;re interested in, ask, off the record, about the findings of the &ldquo;school climate survey&rdquo;. An unhealthy work culture can only breed unhappy teachers&mdash;as well as students.
Mom Tip: If you have friends who have experience with both elite and neighbourhood schools, talk to them for a balanced perspective. If no one in your network has the scoop on the schools you&rsquo;re researching, refer to our primary school <a href="https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/schools/primary/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">database</a> to find the KiasuParents network for each primary school in Singapore, and seek opinions there.
<h5>3. Less homework = more growth.</h5>
I was told by a well-informed friend that parents may be increasingly looking towards &ldquo;good&rdquo; schools, rather than schools at the cream of the academic crop. It&rsquo;s something that I&rsquo;ve done for both my kids&mdash;chosen schools that are not known for being academically driven, but rather, for providing a caring environment where values are emphasised.
Parents who are forward thinking may also favour such schools to give their children the time and space to develop their other talents, although again, this would be subject to one&rsquo;s budget and other factors.
Mom Tip: Even if you&rsquo;re not thinking about the future just yet, it&rsquo;s an undeniable fact that children need more time, simply to relax. Insufficient play time is thought to impede a child&rsquo;s emotional development, leading to anxiety, depression, and self-control <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/10/all-work-and-no-play-why-your-kids-are-more-anxious-depressed/246422/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issues</a>. This may have a lasting impact on adulthood as well.
<h5>5. Diversity is healthy. </h5>
If you want to raise a child who is comfortable mixing with other races and nationalities&mdash;not just socially, but for work eventually&mdash;it&rsquo;s best to start them young. In fact, parents should lead by example, and having your child join a school that has a more diverse student body may be one way of expanding your own social network.
Mom Tip: There are some neighbourhood schools that are known for having a multicultural or even a multinational student profile that includes permanent residents and non-Singaporeans. These schools tend to be located near residential neighbourhoods that are more diverse as well. It&rsquo;s worth doing the research to see if you have such a school near you, as it would be akin to sending your child to an international school&mdash;for the price of a local school.
<h5>5. Observe the morning or mid-day drop-off (for double-session schools).</h5>
It&rsquo;s a chance to see how kids feel about their school&mdash;unstaged and unfiltered. I live near a highly popular school where I&rsquo;ve witnessed kids crying at the school gate, whereas my daughter looks forward to being dropped in school early so that she can read or mingle with her friends.
A fellow mom has also shared with me that the drop-off provides clues about the socioeconomic mix of the student body&mdash;just look at the cars driven by the parents. As with all matters, parents hold different views on this: Some parents are wary of &ldquo;wealthy&rdquo; schools as they are concerned that their children may feel envious or inadequate. Others see this as good exposure for their children to expand their circle.
Mom Tip: My daughter is in a school where many of her friends live in a condominium or on landed property. In contrast, we&rsquo;re a middle-class family residing in a four-room HDB flat. My daughter&rsquo;s had a smooth sailing school life; I&rsquo;m very happy with her circle of friends, and we&rsquo;ve had no qualms about inviting them to our home for birthday parties or playdates. That said, I have also noted that in my daughter&rsquo;s school, there are certain assumptions about money, such as when parents are encouraged to buy commemorative products that cost &ldquo;only $80,&rdquo; or when yearly fees for certain CCAs (co-curricular activities) run into three- or four-figure sums. To this end, my advice would be to always ask for a cost estimate before you make a commitment. Don&rsquo;t feel pressured to support all of the school&rsquo;s activities or promoted causes, as you always have a choice. &nbsp;
<h5>6. Find out how the school runs its CCAs.</h5>
Don&rsquo;t stop at asking about the school&rsquo;s range of CCAs, but find out if children will be given the freedom to choose activities that they may enjoy, or if the school dictates what they can join. Also, find out if the school adopts a modular CCA approach to give every student exposure to a wide range of activities, or if students are encouraged to stick to their interest areas.
Mom Tip: Don&rsquo;t assume that schools will be able to spot and develop each and every student&rsquo;s talents. If you feel your child may have a strength or particular interest, be proactive and look for opportunities within and beyond the school. (Read about my daughter&rsquo;s experience <a href="https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/article/6-resolutions-for-p1-parents/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>, and read about another child&rsquo;s foray into the world of performing arts <a href="https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/article/can-you-raise-a-child-star-in-singapore-a-mom-says-yes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.)
For more community advice, read our <a href="https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&amp;t=193&amp;p=1856142#p1856142" target="_blank" rel="noopener">discussion</a> on choosing and evaluating primary schools.
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