2016 PSLE Results & Secondary Posting Discussions

[Zlia]

Hi all,

My son got 209 for his PSLE and we are considering Outram, Kent Ridge and New Town.

We like Outram because they are strong in sports and he’s interested in Rock Climbing and when my hubby and son went to the open house, they see that the students were very passionate (though I think that the students selected or who volunteered to assist in the open houses are always the passionate ones) and said they spend quite a number of days training weekly so we thought then there is a less chance of our son spending most of his time loitering around or playing too much computer games. However, I can’t seem to find any O Level performance online for this school and they missed asking about this during the open house.

His tutor recommended Kent Ridge as she said her students from Kent Ridge were very motivated and they love their teachers and their school. We went to the open house and thought it was ok. However, they don’t seem to have strong sports CCAs and my son is not really keen in the CCAs available there. The school’s O Level performance seems good when I saw the figures and their cut off point to Sec 1 seems to have increased over the years so I think it could have been more popular?

Another school we are considering is New Town. His tutor said it used to be an Ah Beng school but now it’s better. Another tutor friend said the standard of the papers there is quite high and the kids there who he taught were have good attitude and speak fondly of the school. I read online that they have a new principal this year who used to be a school leader in Anglican, so am wondering if it could be a plus point. I can’t find any recent O Level performance online for this school.

We are actually quite confused now. Not sure if we are looking for too much - OK O Level performance, good sports CCA that interests my son (he’s interested in rock climbing, basketball, floorball, tchoukball), less ah bengs, not too far from home or closer to his twin sister (I will go to her later). We stay in Tiong Bahru, but have seen many rowdy Queenstown and Bukit Merah students.

For his twin sister, she got 244+2. We are considering the below schools for her:
1. Nan Hua
2. Crescent
3. Fairfield
4. St Margarets
5. St Theresa
6. Gan Eng Seng

For her, we were thinking if we should have NH or Crescent as the first choice. Well, it’s quite scary though cos she is so close to the cut off points. We went to both open houses. She’s very much like the Nan Hua girls we saw in the school, prim and proper, soft spoken. The girls in Crescent, on the other hand, were different. They were more vocal, enthusiastic (they were encouraging her to try out all the CCAs in their booths), and the girls looked like they were enjoying both the company of their friends and talking to the p6 students. We could hear lots of hearty laughter and my girl enjoyed herself. I honestly hope my girl can be more vocal and adventurous cos I think this is necessary as she steps into working life in future.

And so, we are really quite confused now. We didn’t manage to go to as many open houses (maybe that would hv made us even more confused. Haha!) as we wanted to cos we had to cater to both the twins.

Please do let me know if you have any views on the schools mentioned above or any suggestions if you think there are other schools that we should consider.

I recall it was quite ‘standard’ when I chose my secondary school in the past - based on result and distance from home fullstop. Don’t know if I’m thinking too much now. Haha.

Thanks in advance!

[janet88]

nicnac:

Yes, Janet, to enjoy the affiliation advantage, you must put the school as your first choice. As long as you meet the requirements, you are guaranteed your spot in the school.
You lose that privilege once you puto the school as 2nd choice or lower.

thanks nicnac. greatly apppreciate.

[Twinkle2016]

lego:

Twinkle2016:

Anyone has tried online submission? Will it be jammed on the last 2 days of submission deadline?

During dd's time, we submitted online one day before the deadline and did not face any problem.
Try not to leave the submission to the last minute and factor in time to go down to your child's primary school to submit the option form in person should u face any difficulty in submitting it online.
The school will have to key in the S1 options for u and give u a verification slip, endorsed with the school stamp.

Thanks Lego

[lil_jade]

Zlia:

Hi all,

My son got 209 for his PSLE and we are considering Outram, Kent Ridge and New Town.

We like Outram because they are strong in sports and he's interested in Rock Climbing and when my hubby and son went to the open house, they see that the students were very passionate (though I think that the students selected or who volunteered to assist in the open houses are always the passionate ones) and said they spend quite a number of days training weekly so we thought then there is a less chance of our son spending most of his time loitering around or playing too much computer games. However, I can't seem to find any O Level performance online for this school and they missed asking about this during the open house.

His tutor recommended Kent Ridge as she said her students from Kent Ridge were very motivated and they love their teachers and their school. We went to the open house and thought it was ok. However, they don't seem to have strong sports CCAs and my son is not really keen in the CCAs available there. The school's O Level performance seems good when I saw the figures and their cut off point seems to Sec 1 seems to have increased over the years so I think it could have been more popular?

Another school we are considering is New Town. His tutor said it used to be an Ah Beng school but now it's better. Another tutor friend said the standard of the papers there is quite high and the kids there who he taught were have good attitude and speak fondly of the school. I read online that they have a new principal this year who used to be a school leader in Anglican, so am wondering if it could be a plus point. I can't find any recent O Level performance online for this school.

We are actually quite confused now. Not sure if we are looking for too much - OK O Level performance, good sports CCA that interests my son (he's interested in rock climbing, basketball, floorball, tchoukball), less ah bengs, not too far from home or closer to his twin sister (I will go to her later). We stay in Tiong Bahru, but have seen many rowdy Queenstown and Bukit Merah students.

For his twin sister, she got 244+2. We are considering the below schools for her:
1. Nan Hua
2. Crescent
3. Fairfield
4. St Margarets
5. St Theresa
6. Gan Eng Seng

For her, we were thinking if we should have NH or Crescent as the first choice. Well, it's quite scary though cos she is so close to the cut off points. We went to both open houses. She's very much like the Nan Hua girls we saw in the school, prim and proper, soft spoken. The girls in Crescent, on the other hand, were different. They were more vocal, enthusiastic (they were encouraging her to try out all the CCAs in their booths), and the girls looked like they were enjoying both the company of their friends and talking to the p6 students. We could hear lots of hearty laughter and my girl enjoyed herself. I honestly hope my girl can be more vocal and adventurous cos I think this is necessary as she steps into working life in future.

And so, we are really quite confused now. We didn't manage to go to as many open houses (maybe that would hv made us even more confused. Haha!) as we wanted to cos we had to cater to both the twins.

Please do let me know if you have any views on the schools mentioned above or any suggestions if you think there are other schools that we should consider.

I recall it was quite 'standard' when I chose my secondary school in the past - based on result and distance from home fullstop. Don't know if I'm thinking too much now. Haha.

Thanks in advance!

Hi Zlia,

Congratulations on you supporting your twins through PSLE! Having to support 1 is already such an arduous task, not to mention 2!

My kids are still in primary school, but with my DD currently in a girl's school, I must say it's really a good choice. She used to be a very shy girl, but she has really blossomed in a girl's school! I think it's because she has to take on more leadership roles, and more free to vocalize her views etc. Hence, I would suggest you might consider a girl's school (can be Crescent girls, or st theresa). Actually, with her score, she can also safely make it to tanjong katong girl's school too, though it may be a tad far, but there's bus 16 from tiong bahru (i used to live around there. )

I'm not sure what advice for your boy as to a less ah beng school cos I don't live around that area nowadays, so I haven't much chance to observe any ah beng students from schools in that area. But my gut feeling is that if your boy is placed well above the mean of the school (discussed in some earlier posts), he will be placed in the top few classes, and thus, likely to be given stronger and better teachers ( as usually that's the case for top classes) and guidance and monitoring could be tighter. Less chance of ah beng behavior?

[asamy]

Please give some advice on the following schools :

Paya Lebar Methodist Girls School
Yishun Town Secondary School
TANJONG KATONG GIRLS’ SCHOOL
CHIJ St, Joseph’s Convent
ST. MARGARET’S SECONDARY SCHOOL
Bowen Secondary School
Crescent Girls’ School

[qms]

Zlia:

My son got 209 for his PSLE and we are considering Outram, Kent Ridge and New Town.

All three schools are on par with one another and they are all located no too far from where you live. If the curriculum offered is the same, I would think the final criteria would be CCA. It is better for your son to be in a CCA which he has interest in. He will be more keen to go to school, too.

Zlia:

For his twin sister, she got 244+2. We are considering the below schools for her:
1. Nan Hua
2. Crescent
...

For me, I would ask my daughter whether she is keen to go to a school with strong Chinese culture. If she is neutral on this aspect, Crescent may be a better choice due to distance. Crescent is also known to be a very good school in the Bt Merah area.

[Steadyberry]

anxious.dad:

floppy:

[quote=\"Steadyberry\"]Is it safe to put RI as 1st choice for t-score 266? Thanks

Absolutely not safe.
Police will come and catch you, monsters will appear to bite you and you might accidentally trigger apocalypse.

Seriously, you have 6 choices. As long as you spend some thought and apply sense in at least half of them (i.e. reasonably safe choices for 3rd to 6th), it doesn't matter if your first choice is a moon shot (miracles do happen, albeit rarely).

Do agree with floppy that first choice can be a moon shot under the current scheme. Hi Steadyberry, base on the last ten years COP, the highest for RI has been 263 (for 2013 S1 and 2007 S1). I referred to a link provided by a forumer in an earlier post.[/quote]Hi anxious.dad

Bishan is the nearest. Other schools like HCI, NJC, VS all take at least 1 hr +. So either RI or CHS
for 1st choice. Thanks for the info on the highest cop for RI. Guess it is ok to put RI 1st and CHS 2nd.

[nicnac]

janet88:

nicnac:

Yes, Janet, to enjoy the affiliation advantage, you must put the school as your first choice. As long as you meet the requirements, you are guaranteed your spot in the school.
You lose that privilege once you puto the school as 2nd choice or lower.

thanks nicnac. greatly apppreciate.

U're welcome.

All the best to your DD in her secondary school. A new chapter begins.... :celebrate:

[mystuff_corner]

nms1:

mystuff_corner:

[quote=\"Morinosuke\"]I am actually rather surprised that a lot of people select the schools based on last year's lowest T-score of the school, not the median score. As the distance and convenience were important factors to us, DD and I spent time going for different open houses prior to PSLE and actually timed the commute between home to the school, including the wait/walk time. We also considered schools that were up to 20+ points lower than DD's estimated T-score, just as a safety net. We are happy that DD has a high chance of getting into her first choice school as her T-score was right smack into the school's median score recorded last year.


I would personally worry if DD insisted on selecting the \"utmost reputable\" school where she barely meets the COP, as it may affect her self-esteem knowing she starts off at the bottom of the pack. That particular T-score may be listed as the school's lowest score of 2017 intake, and she has to bear with the initial phase of schoolmates sharing each others' T-scores. As my DD will start the journey of her school life for the next 6 years, these social aspects were important for our decision.

Hi Morinisuke,

How do we find out school's Mean Score?

The median score is available at sis.moe. gov.sg[/quote]Hi Morinosuke,

Thanks for the info. :thankyou:

[Future Academy]

Zlia:

Hi all,

My son got 209 for his PSLE and we are considering Outram, Kent Ridge and New Town.

We like Outram because they are strong in sports and he's interested in Rock Climbing and when my hubby and son went to the open house, they see that the students were very passionate (though I think that the students selected or who volunteered to assist in the open houses are always the passionate ones) and said they spend quite a number of days training weekly so we thought then there is a less chance of our son spending most of his time loitering around or playing too much computer games. However, I can't seem to find any O Level performance online for this school and they missed asking about this during the open house.

His tutor recommended Kent Ridge as she said her students from Kent Ridge were very motivated and they love their teachers and their school. We went to the open house and thought it was ok. However, they don't seem to have strong sports CCAs and my son is not really keen in the CCAs available there. The school's O Level performance seems good when I saw the figures and their cut off point to Sec 1 seems to have increased over the years so I think it could have been more popular?

Another school we are considering is New Town. His tutor said it used to be an Ah Beng school but now it's better. Another tutor friend said the standard of the papers there is quite high and the kids there who he taught were have good attitude and speak fondly of the school. I read online that they have a new principal this year who used to be a school leader in Anglican, so am wondering if it could be a plus point. I can't find any recent O Level performance online for this school.

We are actually quite confused now. Not sure if we are looking for too much - OK O Level performance, good sports CCA that interests my son (he's interested in rock climbing, basketball, floorball, tchoukball), less ah bengs, not too far from home or closer to his twin sister (I will go to her later). We stay in Tiong Bahru, but have seen many rowdy Queenstown and Bukit Merah students.

For his twin sister, she got 244+2. We are considering the below schools for her:
1. Nan Hua
2. Crescent
3. Fairfield
4. St Margarets
5. St Theresa
6. Gan Eng Seng

For her, we were thinking if we should have NH or Crescent as the first choice. Well, it's quite scary though cos she is so close to the cut off points. We went to both open houses. She's very much like the Nan Hua girls we saw in the school, prim and proper, soft spoken. The girls in Crescent, on the other hand, were different. They were more vocal, enthusiastic (they were encouraging her to try out all the CCAs in their booths), and the girls looked like they were enjoying both the company of their friends and talking to the p6 students. We could hear lots of hearty laughter and my girl enjoyed herself. I honestly hope my girl can be more vocal and adventurous cos I think this is necessary as she steps into working life in future.

And so, we are really quite confused now. We didn't manage to go to as many open houses (maybe that would hv made us even more confused. Haha!) as we wanted to cos we had to cater to both the twins.

Please do let me know if you have any views on the schools mentioned above or any suggestions if you think there are other schools that we should consider.

I recall it was quite 'standard' when I chose my secondary school in the past - based on result and distance from home fullstop. Don't know if I'm thinking too much now. Haha.

Thanks in advance!

Hi Zlia,

I was teaching in Nan Hua High School years ago. Nan Hua's school culture is very Chinese. Students are mainly Chinese (there are a few students of other races though). Most of the students take HCL and the girls need to plait their hair. It is a co-ed school. You can expect your girl would become a polite and obedient student if she goes to Nan Hua.

I have many tutees from Crescent Girls in the last few years and now. It is a girls schools and there are students of all races. Many of my tutees are very closed to me. I find that they are more confident and more vocal.

The main differences between the two schools are:
(1) gender of students: co-ed vs. all girls schools
(2) school culture: more emphasis on traditional Chinese culture vs. nurture students to be more confident girls

You may discuss with your daughter which school is more suitable to her based on the two main differences.

Just my two cents.

Good luck to your daughter.