Any mention of which schools will be piloting this next year?

lilyoink:

hello, anyone knows the promotion criteria from NA to Express for Tampines Secondary school.

My son scored 177 for psle, but i hope that he will work hard in sec one and be promoted to express stream in sec 2 just like me

Hi, Tampines Sec NA is my daughter’s third (very safe) choice. Maybe our children will be friends if they both get in. I’ve no hopes about her being promoted to Express though, as she has dyscalculia and struggles a lot with math. Am happy for her to learn at a slower pace in NA.

Hi all, I would like to know if students who take Foundation Chinese are automatically enrolled in CL B in sec 1, or if they take standard Chinese and are then offered CL B if they cannot cope? I can’t find much information on the CL B centers in Singapore other than a Schoolbag.SG article on the one at St Hilda’s. Would love to hear from parents whose kids are doing CL B in sec 1. Thanks.

Yes you’re right that I meant PSLE score and not COP, thanks zac’s mum. I know all the basic information on the schools. To be more specific, I’m looking for feedback on culture, discipline, feedback on teachers. JC affiliation doesn’t matter as my daughter is not likely to go down the A level route.

COP 183. Geylang Methodist vs St Anthony’s Canossian. Which would you rank higher?

Can anyone share the subject combinations for E and NA for 2018 please?

cmm:

Anyone has any feedback on Geylang Methodist School?

I don’t have feedback but I visited the open house today and thought the students carried themselves and spoke well, and the school has an interesting applied learning programme. The only thing I didn’t like was that they don’t offer Core literature to NA students and all the express classes must take either A math or POA. This school is my DD’s second choice after Temasek. If anyone has any feedback, do share!

kye_lin:

Time to revive thread...

My son got 225. We stay in Katong. TKSS is just opposite us and we really like the school. But cut off is 231 last year. He is in scouts and would love to continue in secondary school. TKSS has scouts.

Others we looking at will be:
St Patrick (225) (scouts)
Geylang Methodist (224) (no scouts)
St Gabriel (222) (scouts)

Should we even try for TKSS for 1st choice and hope? Or don't even bother...
Thanks for any advice.....

Congrats on your DS’ result. I think 225 is too far off from 231 to waste your first choice.

mooners:

My boy is also facing the similar issue. He was from Sec 2Exp down to Sec 3NA. His current subject combi is English, Math, Geog/SS, Phy/Chem and Chinese.Has pass his Sec 3NA but he wants to take private O level so he will not waste the 1yr in N level, take into consideration that he still need to serve NS.

I wonder how to go about applying a prep centre for his Yr 2018 O level as a private candidate.
He is currently attached to a home tutor which giving him tuition 4x a week on English, Math, chem / physic, social study / Geo but not mother tongue.
Was thinking of going to ITE for their GE course for their cheap course and practical for science.
Can you advise me?
Should he drop out from gov school to joint as private candidate?

I can't really advise if he should drop out of school or not. But I don't think the N level year should be seen as a waste, as it leads to many paths - ITE, PFP, O levels. The key thing to consider is whether your son has the self-discipline to study for the O levels without the rigour of a school environment. Also, having been in Sec 3 NA he will have to catch up to the Sec 3 Express syllabus before he starts the Sec 4 syllabus next year, which means he has to work quite hard between now and January.

As for how to withdraw from school, the school will want to understand your reasons for doing so. They will then ask for a formal letter from you stating your intention to withdraw your son and the reasons, which they will submit to MOE for approval. At the same time, the private school will have to submit an application to MOE for permission to enrol your son in their preparatory course. Not sure if it is the same arrangement for ITE though.

Thanks for the insights slmkhoo and phtthp - it helps me crystallise my thinking about this.


Yes, a lot hinges on her willingness to put in the work required. She is pretty excited about this path because she gets to take the "pure" versions of her favourite/strong subjects with more content i.e. Geog, Lit (which she’s already doing), and Bio. Will definitely look into catch-up during the holidays.

For poly admission, the criteria stated on MOE’s website for Joint Admissions Exercises 2017 is based on examination results achieved at:

- 2016 Singapore-Cambridge GCE ‘O’ Level Examination or
- a combination of one past year and 2016 Singapore-Cambridge GCE ‘O’ Level Examination

So basically for 2019 JAE, she will use 2018 O level results. Or, if she decides to take two years to do this, 2020 JAE will use 2018 and 2019 O level results (if she does 2-3 subjects each year). If she takes two years, time-wise it would be the same as if she had finished Sec 5.