Choosing and Evaluating Primary Schools

[zac's mum]

ricedoll\" post_id=\"1978250\" time=\"1590667457\" user_id=\"165813:

Thats a good way to see it, Zac's mum. But hard to tell when you kid is 5 or 6.

I was able to tell, back when kid was in K1/K2, that he wouldn’t survive in an academic pressure cooker type of school. Hence I specifically sought out a more relaxed school, in order for him to catch up & thrive in his own time. I also narrowed down to primary schools that have a low affiliation COP to a secondary school as a safety net.

[floppy]

ricedoll\" post_id=\"1978250\" time=\"1590667457\" user_id=\"165813:

Thats a good way to see it, Zac's mum. But hard to tell when you kid is 5 or 6.

Hence, MGS is a more popular choice as most people will assume their daughter will clear t-score 220 (or whatever the new AL score is) when the time come.

[Hendon]

lifeasglim\" post_id=\"1978185\" time=\"1590648831\" user_id=\"148318:

hello! hoping to get some thoughts from parents here for my dd (SC) p1 registration this year.

Our options so far:
2b - CHIJ TPY (>2km) through church affliation
2c - Ai Tong ( < 1km) ; Marymount Convent (1-2km)

We do prefer Ai Tong over CHIJ TPY because the school is so near (walking distance) but its so competitive!

So my plan is to try CHIJ TPY hoping to get a balloting chance for those outside of 2km. IF in the event that we get a place, check in with ATS during 2C to see what are the chances like for SC within 1km. But now with registration moving all online, I am not sure if I will be able to get the information to make that decision.

Of course there's marymount for 2cs but between CHIJ TPY and Marymount, we prefer CHIJ TPY for its secondary school affiliation hence trying for 2b.

So my dilemma is IF we get a place at CHIJ TPY, do we withdraw for Ai Tong at 2C? What would you do and why?

Any other suggestions or comments are welcomed! Thanks!

My sense is that you may not even get a chance to ballot at 2B as you are > 2km for CHIJ TPY. bear that in mind.
You should also gauge your child ability ... getting into ATS is another matter.

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[quote]

My sense is that you may not even get a chance to ballot at 2B as you are > 2km for CHIJ TPY. bear that in mind.
You should also gauge your child ability ... getting into ATS is another matter.[/quote]Is it very stressful studying in ATS? Are the students generally well-spoken?

[zac's mum]

Read\" post_id=\"1978285\" time=\"1590676675\" user_id=\"185776:

Is it very stressful studying in ATS? Are the students generally well-spoken?

ATS exam papers are one of the toughest in SG.

And how is your kid’s command of Mandarin? Cos ATS is a SAP school. Have to do Higher Chinese from P1.

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zac's mum\" post_id=\"1978287\" time=\"1590677164\" user_id=\"53606:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=1978287 time=1590677164 user_id=53606]


ATS exam papers are one of the toughest in SG.

And how is your kid’s command of Mandarin? Cos ATS is a SAP school. Have to do Higher Chinese from P1.[/quote]

Thanks zac's mum. Mandarin is so-so, but kid's English is also not fantastic Will a mission school be better for the spoken English environment, or are they the same nowadays?

[zac's mum]

Read\" post_id=\"1978294\" time=\"1590678955\" user_id=\"185776:

zac's mum\" post_id=\"1978287\" time=\"1590677164\" user_id=\"53606:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=1978287 time=1590677164 user_id=53606]

ATS exam papers are one of the toughest in SG.

And how is your kid’s command of Mandarin? Cos ATS is a SAP school. Have to do Higher Chinese from P1.

Thanks zac's mum. Mandarin is so-so, but kid's English is also not fantastic Will a mission school be better for the spoken English environment, or are they the same nowadays?[/quote]

Nowadays the preschool kids watch so many hours of American cartoons that they all have an American accent!

But seriously, kid’s English can be improved by reading more books (either you read out loud, or get an audio book that will read out loud while the child flips the physical book & matches the words).

Peers in a mission school are generally more likely to be from English-speaking homes, speaking with grammatically correct sentence structure as opposed to Singlish. But this is just in general. What if her best friend happens to be a Singlish speaker? Don’t count on as-yet-unknown peers to educate your child...still have to put in the work, language-wise.

[Read]

zac's mum\" post_id=\"1978297\" time=\"1590679846\" user_id=\"53606:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=1978297 time=1590679846 user_id=53606]

Nowadays the preschool kids watch so many hours of American cartoons that they all have an American accent!

But seriously, kid’s English can be improved by reading more books (either you read out loud, or get an audio book that will read out loud while the child flips the physical book & matches the words).

Peers in a mission school are generally more likely to be from English-speaking homes, speaking with grammatically correct sentence structure as opposed to Singlish. But this is just in general. What if her best friend happens to be a Singlish speaker? Don’t count on as-yet-unknown peers to educate your child...still have to put in the work, language-wise.[/quote]

Some food for thought. Thank you for your reply!

[lifeasglim]

Thanks @floppy for your direct analysis. Appreciate it. It's along with what I was thinking too.


Yes @Hendon, its a slim chance that CHIJ TPY may even open up for ballot for outside of 2km but got nothing to lose to try.

Because ATS is our only 1km school, that leaves us with no choice but to try applying for it at 2C. My preferred school was actually Kuo Chuan as its not that far by car but they rejected me for my PV application last year. so... well... it is what it is.

All the best to us who have kids applying this year!

[floppy]

lifeasglim\" post_id=\"1978392\" time=\"1590732878\" user_id=\"148318:

Thanks @floppy for your direct analysis. Appreciate it. It's along with what I was thinking too.

Yes @Hendon, its a slim chance that CHIJ TPY may even open up for ballot for outside of 2km but got nothing to lose to try.

Because ATS is our only 1km school, that leaves us with no choice but to try applying for it at 2C. My preferred school was actually Kuo Chuan as its not that far by car but they rejected me for my PV application last year. so... well... it is what it is.

All the best to us who have kids applying this year!

Assuming logistics / transport isn't a concern, and you are more concern about affiliation, another possible school that you can look at is CHIJ OLGC. While it's not the most convenient school to get to, in terms of traveling by car, it shouldn't be that much further than KCPPS or CHIJ TP. The school is also likely to be quicker for you to get to (AMK Ave 1 -> Li Hwan Dr -> Burghley Dr).