Catholic High (Primary)

[littleprince]

Wow, Careermum, thank you so much for your kind sharing. I look forward to read more about your elder 2 boys’ experiences!

[Careermum]

littleprince\" post_id=\"1917637\" time=\"1562244470\" user_id=\"19510:

Wow, Careermum, thank you so much for your kind sharing. I look forward to read more about your elder 2 boys' experiences!

Having been through with these 3 DS, my conclusion is let the child choose the secondary school of his preference. Only he knows what is best for himself. And I am glad I respected their wishes although as a Kiasuparent, I would sometimes think how nice it would be if all my 3 DS are associated with a secondary school with a high-sounding name, haha.

DS1 is very active physically and socially since primary school. In CHS Secondary, he was very involved in his CCA and other ad-hoc activities and stayed back late everyday voluntarily. During lower secondary, just by listening in class, he managed to do fairly well, without much studying. But intelligence is not enough for upper secondary. He did badly for his Secondary 3 exams, getting grades as low as C5, C6, D7. He managed to buck up in Sec 4 and did well to enter JC. And graduated with a fairly impressive testimonial due to his active involvement in CCA including various leadership positions.

I am glad he was in CHS coz I find CHS very forgiving, haha. Despite his poor grades, he was promoted to Sec 4. Also, despite doing badly for higher chinese, he was allowed to continue with it. Had he been in a top secondary school, I don't know if he will be asked to be transferred out or asked to repeat 1 year. Anecdotally, I have heard of such cases from friends' kids.

[bleues13]

littleprince\" post_id=\"1917637\" time=\"1562244470\" user_id=\"19510:

Wow, Careermum, thank you so much for your kind sharing. I look forward to read more about your elder 2 boys' experiences!

Hi Littleprince and Careermum,

I read with interest about your sons’ academic achievements! You must be very proud of them! I’ve a P2 boy and am hoping to hear some advice from experienced mums with achiever kids how your kids managed their academics. Is tuition necessary? If your kids have tuition, how do they balance their childhood/schoolwork?

[littleprince]

Careermum, your ds3 sounds like a gifted kid and that explains why he is enjoying himself despite the strong competition in the other school. Was he in GEP? Did he have any tuition during his primary school years?


I can’t say the same for my boy. Although he has done well, it is very much due to him working hard doing assessment books and test papers. He is not the don’t need to study and yet can still get very good results type. He needs to diligently practise his concepts otherwise he will forget them very quickly too. So I worry that the other school will be too hard for him. Seems like all of them are really really bright

[littleprince]

Hi bleues13,


I am indeed very proud of him, not because of his good results. More in his good learning attitude and willingness to work hard. I hope he continues to stay sensible even beyond his secondary, JC and university days.

How is your child coping with school? As long as he is still coping fine , you don’t need to rush into tuition. Sometimes, they just need a little guidance from us. And in my son’s case lots of practice.

I buy other schools’ test papers to let him do ,on top of assessment books

[bleues13]

littleprince\" post_id=\"1918342\" time=\"1562595567\" user_id=\"19510:

Hi bleues13,

I am indeed very proud of him, not because of his good results. More in his good learning attitude and willingness to work hard. I hope he continues to stay sensible even beyond his secondary, JC and university days.

How is your child coping with school? As long as he is still coping fine , you don't need to rush into tuition. Sometimes, they just need a little guidance from us. And in my son's case lots of practice.

I buy other schools' test papers to let him do ,on top of assessment books

Definitely agree that attitude is more important than aptitude! I'm not keen to jump on the tuition bandwagon any time soon, so I find it reassuring to hear about your experience and parenting style. My boy is coping and I don't stress him... he's just P2 afterall! To me, the early school years is to develop his ability to learn for himself and enjoy the process of doing so. Though i think 'enjoy learning' can be tough in our education system which is still very exams-oriented.

[Fadedsquare]

Hi…

Anyone has the stats for 2A(2) balloting for 1km, and 1-2km for past years?

As there are 7 remaining spaces for 2(A)2
Very high chance for balloting.

[anitaray]

Hi dear parents,


My son just confirm a place for P1 2020. Highly appreciate to hear some of advice on preparation for P1 - such as preparation on social skills, any P1 preparation course needed, PinYin, etc,… How did or are your boy(s) coping with the P1?

Also, can I ask whether you have some experience to share regarding the student care hosted in CHS campus for Primary school kids?

many thanks and have a great weekends to everyone

[Careermum]

bleues13\" post_id=\"1918336\" time=\"1562593898\" user_id=\"94910:

Hi Littleprince and Careermum,

I read with interest about your sons’ academic achievements! You must be very proud of them! I’ve a P2 boy and am hoping to hear some advice from experienced mums with achiever kids how your kids managed their academics. Is tuition necessary? If your kids have tuition, how do they balance their childhood/schoolwork?

Personally I feel that tuition is necessary if the child feels that he needs help for that particular subject. The child knows himself the best.
For my case, all my 3 DS enjoyed themselves from P1 to P4, with no tuition; they also concentrated on their CCAs.
They have tuition from P5 onwards for their weaker subjects.
For those subjects without tuition, we have to see if they themselves can handle on their own.
Sometimes they didn't do well for a particular subject coz they concentrated too much on CCAs and other activities and neglected their studies, which they can then catch up in P5 & 6.
But if understanding the subject is a problem, then tuition would be helpful.

For my case,
DS1 had tuition for Chinese and Science. He was good in Math & handled himself. He refused English tuition despite getting a B at P5 end of year exam. But he said he could manage, and really got a A* during PSLE. So I was glad I trusted him.

DS2 and DS3 had English tuition only. Actually they said they could handle themselves, but due to the changes in the PSLE English format, I felt it was safer to get a tutor to guide them.
For the other 3 subjects, I just buy past years top school papers to let them do and check the model answers behind.
Personally I think English is more difficult to handle by just doing past years papers coz there is no standard model answers.

[Careermum]

littleprince\" post_id=\"1918340\" time=\"1562595236\" user_id=\"19510:

Careermum, your ds3 sounds like a gifted kid and that explains why he is enjoying himself despite the strong competition in the other school. Was he in GEP? Did he have any tuition during his primary school years?

I can't say the same for my boy. Although he has done well, it is very much due to him working hard doing assessment books and test papers. He is not the don't need to study and yet can still get very good results type. He needs to diligently practise his concepts otherwise he will forget them very quickly too. So I worry that the other school will be too hard for him. Seems like all of them are really really bright

littleprince,
No, my DS3 is from mainstream. Not from GEP. So the initial months in the top school in Bishan was a bit tough for him. As his PSLE t-score was 27*, he together with another 4-5 mainstream high scorers were put together with the GEP students. The GEP students had already learnt many Math and Science concepts which are very advanced (secondary level). So they could understand the lessons easily.
DS3 was rather intimidated initially. But he eventually caught up, and now he is able to cope, and scores around the same marks as the GEP students.

He only has English tuition during Primary school. Details are in my post above