Advice needed - O level in a dual track IP school

[titank]

Why not put in this way is the kid could qualify for IP but opt for o level track instead in those school? Some schools offer dual track so that those who cannot perform well at least have some kind of backup plan.


If you are overly worried, it might be better to put kid inside a pure O level programme school.

[sharonkhoo]

This is just my personal opinion. I think that, ideally, a child should be in the upper 50% of his school cohort. Of course, I know that this is not always possible, and things may happen which we cannot foresee. But when choosing a school, I would not intentionally place my child in a school where he is likely to be in the lower 50%.

[zbear]

slmkhoo:

This is just my personal opinion. I think that, ideally, a child should be in the upper 50% of his school cohort. Of course, I know that this is not always possible, and things may happen which we cannot foresee. But when choosing a school, I would not intentionally place my child in a school where he is likely to be in the lower 50%.

slmkhoo, can you elaborate more as I cant follow what you are saying?

[sharonkhoo]

zbear:

slmkhoo:

This is just my personal opinion. I think that, ideally, a child should be in the upper 50% of his school cohort. Of course, I know that this is not always possible, and things may happen which we cannot foresee. But when choosing a school, I would not intentionally place my child in a school where he is likely to be in the lower 50%.

slmkhoo, can you elaborate more as I cant follow what you are saying?

It's the \"big/small fish in a big/small pond\" issue. I think that a child will feel better about himself and struggle less if he is in the top 50% of his cohort. He will not be at the bottom and trying to catch up all the time, and will probably have more opportunities to take part in school activities etc. Academic results are important, but the child's self-esteem and all-round development are more important in the long run. A child who is barely keeping up will probably spend all his time being tutored to keep up, and feel bad about his performance.

I know that some kids will be motivated to push harder when they find themselves at the bottom, so parents have to \"read\" their kids. When choosing schools for my kids, we chose schools where we hoped they would be at least comfortably in the middle of the pack. It's turned out that one is well ahead and the other is not, but we did our best when choosing!

[Dreamgear]

mwchua:

Would like to seek some advice from parents with kids in O level track in a dual track IP school.


It used to be that IP schools only offer 1 track, i.e. IP. So all kids are in the same track. However, now we have more schools which offer dual tracks of IP and O level. We often see this as positive since students can switch easily between the 2 tracks depending on their academic progression.

However, it is also quite clear which track has a higher COP. My concern is, if my child can only qualify for the O level track of an IP school, should I put her in that IP school or another school with similar COP, but everyone is taking O level and thus, more \"equal\"?

The reason for my reservation is that my child is currently already facing the different \"labelling\" in her primary school. The GEP kids in her school are often given more opportunities (no offence to parents with GEP kids), and this is quite common even during occasions like P5 camp and intermingling class. Even though they are just primary school kids, they can already feel and sense the \"differentiation\".

I myself came from a SAP school. During then there were still 2 streams of Special and Express. The 1 class of \"Express\" students were often marginalised and teachers do treat them, differently.

Kids nowadays are even more sensitive and aware of the often not subtle labelling being placed on them.

Welcome any frank sharing of experience from parents Please also feel free to drop me a pm if you think it's better to discuss that way.

:thankyou:

This is why understanding the culture and choosing the right fit is very important

[KSP]

I think to be in the upper 50% based on PSLE results would mean at least 5 points above the COP. So one would have to choose a Sec Sch which has a COP 5 points lower than PSLE Tscore. But in actual fact many (or majority) would choose within 0-2 points away. Unless the child has an outstanding Tscore which is way above the COP of the top 4. But for children with that kind of results really doesn’t matter whether in a big or small pond. JMHO…

[Mdm Koh]

I think it depends on the school and how many O level classes there are. You may want to find out more from the students of the school that your DC is interested in…

[zeemimi]

There are only a handful of dual track schools for girls. why don’t you post in the respective school thread and ask for feedback instead of speculating here? Your fears may be unfounded. I worried if my jae kid can fit into ip jc but she fit in really well.

i asked my ds if there is any differentiation between the ip and o level kids in his school. He doesn’t feel any difference. Maybe boys are just clueless most of the times and girls are more sensitive.

[Pen88n]

Being in O level track in an IP school will also give the kids in the O level track an opportunity to join the IP track should they perform well and top the cohort in lower sec. This acts as an incentive and a 2nd chance to opt for IP for the kids after PSLE.