Choosing and Evaluating Primary Schools
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Mummyshina:
Hi my girl will be going to primary 1 next year may i know how do you usually check the school open house? As i had email to 2 schools and they said they dont have open house in case case how do i check if the school is suitable for my kid?
there is no open house for primary schools.
you can check out the schools you're interested in by asking parents in those threads here at this forum. -
Hi, I wish to hear some feedback on what you would do if you are in my shoes or have similar experiences.
I'm interested in Alexandra Primary School (ALPS) and currently staying near but not near enough (slightly more than 2km). My MOP is due in July and that makes purchasing a resale unit within 1km impossible to execute at this point in time. I can only think of renting but 30-mth rental period is very long. Frankly whichever school my kids go to we will have to move. It's just where and when to move and whether we can sustain for 30 months?
My alumni is a good school but is in Seng Kang and I'm a registered alumni member. I don't think there is a problem to get in but we will have to move house. My hubby works in Jurong area and commuting daily to and fro SK and Jurong will probably kill him. We thought of moving to Hougang/Kovan/Serangoon or wherever which is near to SK but not in SK itself. Does it make sense? Everyone tells me to move as close to a school if possible even though I do not think there would be balloting for Phase 2A(1) but is it practical for the kids? This is more for the hubby's sake as he heard that it would take about 45mins to drive from SK to Jurong in the morning leaving at 630am and evening is worse?! But choosing this option will give us more time to look for a place to stay after our MOP is up in July.
The other option if I were to choose ALPS is to rent somewhere within 1km but is it confirmed that we can surely get in without balloting? We are really in a dilemma coz taking this route would mean we have very little time to react as we would need to have the address ready by July. :?
:thankyou: -
Tendertail:
Nothing is guaranteed. ALPS is getting very popular and last year, all SC under 1km squeezed in. The previous year, balloting was conducted for SC between 1-2km. Moving forward (and probably as early as this year), I suspect ALPS will be conducting balloting for SC under 1km.
The other option if I were to choose ALPS is to rent somewhere within 1km but is it confirmed that we can surely get in without balloting? We are really in a dilemma coz taking this route would mean we have very little time to react as we would need to have the address ready by July. :?
:thankyou:
Given than Plan A is no good for your spouse and Plan B is high risk, why not look at Plan C, i.e. another school nearby. Sometimes, you may have to accept a compromise rather than getting fixated with one particular school. -
Tendertail:
If you can accept the schools near your current place, listen to Floppy. Easiest option and good for your DH.Hi, I wish to hear some feedback on what you would do if you are in my shoes or have similar experiences.
My alumni is a good school but is in Seng Kang and I'm a registered alumni member. I don't think there is a problem to get in but we will have to move house. My hubby works in Jurong area and commuting daily to and fro SK and Jurong will probably kill him. We thought of moving to Hougang/Kovan/Serangoon or wherever which is near to SK but not in SK itself. Does it make sense? Everyone tells me to move as close to a school if possible even though I do not think there would be balloting for Phase 2A(1) but is it practical for the kids? This is more for the hubby's sake as he heard that it would take about 45mins to drive from SK to Jurong in the morning leaving at 630am and evening is worse?! But choosing this option will give us more time to look for a place to stay after our MOP is up in July.
If cannot accept those schools, then I would put the kids in your good alumni school first and consider options after MOP is due. You don't commute to SK until Jan next year. You still have a good 5 months after July to decide. Can consider moving to central area like Toa Payoh / Potong Pasir (with PIE direct to Jurong). My friend's kid travels to SK every day from Potong Pasir. No issue.
Forget ALPS if need to rent. Too much trouble. -
cherrygal:
Thank you so much, Floppy and Cherrygal, for reading and replying to my long post!
If you can accept the schools near your current place, listen to Floppy. Easiest option and good for your DH.Tendertail:
Hi, I wish to hear some feedback on what you would do if you are in my shoes or have similar experiences.
My alumni is a good school but is in Seng Kang and I'm a registered alumni member. I don't think there is a problem to get in but we will have to move house. My hubby works in Jurong area and commuting daily to and fro SK and Jurong will probably kill him. We thought of moving to Hougang/Kovan/Serangoon or wherever which is near to SK but not in SK itself. Does it make sense? Everyone tells me to move as close to a school if possible even though I do not think there would be balloting for Phase 2A(1) but is it practical for the kids? This is more for the hubby's sake as he heard that it would take about 45mins to drive from SK to Jurong in the morning leaving at 630am and evening is worse?! But choosing this option will give us more time to look for a place to stay after our MOP is up in July.
If cannot accept those schools, then I would put the kids in your good alumni school first and consider options after MOP is due. You don't commute to SK until Jan next year. You still have a good 5 months after July to decide. Can consider moving to central area like Toa Payoh / Potong Pasir (with PIE direct to Jurong). My friend's kid travels to SK every day from Potong Pasir. No issue.
Forget ALPS if need to rent. Too much trouble.
Indeed, I cannot accept that particular school which is very near my place. The other good one within 1-2km is equally difficult if not more difficult to get in than ALPS. The rest of the ok schools are all slightly out of 2km and even then balloting is still required for those schools looking at past records. Sigh, moving house is a sure thing for us, just where..
Reading your feedback and also talking to a few others over the past few days, we are most likely heeding Cherrygal's advice to go for my alumni and slowly decide where we are going to stay next. Potong Pasir is also one area which I thought it's relatively central for both the kids and hubby's commuting. Thanks for that affirmation. Appreciate it!
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Is anyone familiar with Gongshang, Chong Zheng and Yumin? Need reviews. TIA!!
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Hi all,
My flat is just across Rosyth Pri School but it will be difficult for my son to get in under 2C coming this registration according to the past history, any advice for another school nearby?
Many thanks
G -
smartyjones18:
Ideally you should've gone for volunteering so that you could secure the place in Phase 2B. Since you didn't, why not go for balloting in Phase 2C while at the same time look for another school that usually still has vacancies in Phase 2C Sup? You can consider St Gabriel's Primary.Hi all,
My flat is just across Rosyth Pri School but it will be difficult for my son to get in under 2C coming this registration according to the past history, any advice for another school nearby?
Many thanks
G -
Thanks a million @galaxyraider
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hi all,
Are there any single session schools that start later in the day like 8 AM?
thank you.
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