Choosing and Evaluating Primary Schools

[galaxyraider]

KathyChan83:

I will be registering for my son for Monfort and St Gabriels for his P1 in 2018. The registration is going to open soon in July. What are the no of slots for the prev years and between these 2 schools, which one is better?

Please be more specific. Which phase are you referring to? My guess would be 2C, but I might be wrong. You should read up on the balloting history.

As for which one is better, it depends on which aspect: academic, sports, culture, etc?

[zac's mum]

Since you are considering between these 2 schools, which are not very popular in the Hougang/Serangoon area, I would guess that you want a Catholic school for your boy. So you are going to apply under phase 2B am I right?


Montfort Junior is suffering from falling enrollment. Have a look at their balloting history: https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/article/hougang/

Whichever year it is, there are plenty of places left even after phase 2C Supp. In the past 3 years, their total number of seats fell from 210 to 180 to 120 (4 classes of boys only! That's a very small school. I'm not sure why. On paper it looks like it is completely undesired by locals. If anybody knows the reason why, please PM me. My BIL is an alumni & considering to enrol his Dragon boy there but I would like to know is there a serious problem with the teachers/culture of the school which is causing the school to close class after class every year. Are there also many non-Singaporeans since few locals go there & which nationalities?

St Gabriel's has 150 places every year, around half are taken up at phase 2B. If you're applying at phase 2C, there is only a very slight chance that there will be balloting this year. The last time it happened was in 2013 for PRs at 1-2km: https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/article/serangoon/

Again, I have no idea about the school culture since I don't know any friend's child in that school. Maybe you'd get more answers asking around your church friends regarding these 2 schools. Just a suggestion And PM me if u hear anything about Montfort please!

[cherrygal]

hiaks62:

Hi,


How do we find out which primary schools have strong aesthetics (arts) programmes?
We are looking in the north area (Ang Mo Kio, Yishun, Sembawang, Woodlands)

Thanks.

I heard Mayflower Primary has an arts programme.

[yc_mw]

Hi all,

I’m enrolling my daughter for p1 this July. We stay within 1km to Rosyth and Xin Min primary school.

Both are tough nuts. Been thinking if we should just try other schools straight away.

Any suggestions please?j

[gorobaby]

Hi, I am new to this forum. I am trying to get more information on which school is better. Radin Mas Primary School or River Valley Primary School??

Thank you for your time and assistance.

[RLa]

Hi, I m confused btw De la salle and Yew tee primary school? Any feedback/ comments about which is better school? Thks!

[galaxyraider]

I read many posts asking us to compare schools. Please note that this is a very subjective issue. What is good for me might not be good enough for you. Every parent has his/her own standard, thus it will be difficult to conclude. You really need to decide your own standard and look for a suitable school accordingly. List down your priorities such as home-school distance, affiliation to secondary school, popularity, etc.

[janet88]

galaxyraider:

I read many posts asking us to compare schools. Please note that this is a very subjective issue. What is good for me might not be good enough for you. Every parent has his/her own standard, thus it will be difficult to conclude. You really need to decide your own standard and look for a suitable school accordingly. List down your priorities such as home-school distance, affiliation to secondary school, popularity, etc.

:goodpost:
it's hard for anyone to advise which schools are good...because we all have our own perceptions of the word 'good'. even if anyone says so-and-so school is good, it depends on the child's character and whether the school culture is suitable for him/her. for eg if the parents are planning to register their child in a SAP school, they have to remember higher MT is compulsory from P1. if the family hardly speaks Mandarin, it will be challenging for the child.
btw, parents are also expected to play an active role to see that their kids are able to catch up in class.

[FantasyLandDreams]

Open house dates:


https://www.schoolbag.sg/story/primary-school-open-houses-and-school-tours-in-2017

[zac's mum]

I agree. Popular schools may not be the best fit for your child. On the other hand, it is very difficult for first-time parents to discover what criteria are important to them.


For myself, it was an eye-opener for me that despite all primary schools being under MOE, the way that each school is run can be extremely different from another. I never knew until I spoke to friends whose kids went to different primary schools all over Singapore, just to kaypoh & compare.

The things that differ are: whether or not there are CA1 and SA1 exams for P1 level, whether or not there is streaming at P3/4/5, whether there are any grades/banding in the mid-year report book. Even nitty-gritty things like whether the form teacher communicates via email only or uploads photos to a Class Dojo app, that one can vary among classes depending on the teacher’s preference.

Some parents didn’t know of the academic stress until the child got into the school. Some parents erroneously thought the spelling & tingxie and tests would matter but the school emphasized more on character development & behaviour in class. Some were shocked at the heavy amount of homework daily. Some were equally shocked at the lack of homework given.

Perhaps, these are the things parents want to know? It would be good if there is such discussion in the forum.