PSLE Discussions and Strategies

[thebottomsupblog]

Hi everyone! Here are the upcoming secondary school open house dates for 2026 (year-end):

https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/article/secondary-school-open-house-2026-for-psle-students

[thebottomsupblog]

This post is deleted!

[thebottomsupblog]

@ruiya Thanks for sharing Ruiya with our community. We’ve listed it in our forum sidebar. Do keep us posted here as you update it, and we’d love to hear how parents find it!

[thebottomsupblog]

Secondary school open house events are underway!

Some parents might prefer to attend open house events much closer to Results Day (tentatively between Tuesday, 24 November 2026 and Wednesday, 25 November 2026).

But practically speaking, two open house events in a day is already a lot, so it’s also good to plan ahead and space out the visits. You can check open house dates here, but do also double check with schools before heading down:

https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/article/secondary-school-open-house-2026-for-psle-students

You can also read about this open house experience:

https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/article/kiasuparents-stories-secondary-school-open-houses-psle-score-18

[thebottomsupblog]

At a glance · The Straits Times Post-PSLE Forum

Look beyond cut-off points, PSLE scores when choosing secondary schools: Principals at ST forum

Beyond the score. Choosing the right secondary school after the PSLE should not be based solely on a school’s cut-off points or the child’s score, said five secondary school principals at The Straits Times Post-PSLE Forum on 31 October. Instead, parents should make practical considerations like the time it takes to get to the school and whether its unique programmes and co-curricular activities cater to the child’s interests.

Tuition and the score. Goh Soon Hoe, principal of Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School, said: “If the PSLE result was attained through sheer force of tuition, then maybe that AL [achievement level] score may not be a good representation of what a day-to-day life in secondary school education is all about.” Lucy Toh, principal of National Junior College, said relying on tuition for good grades is not sustainable in secondary school, where students take more subjects.

Maturity for IP. Toh said parents gunning for IP schools like National Junior College, which offers the Integrated Programme (IP), a six-year secondary school pathway, also need to consider if their children have the high level of maturity and self-directedness required for this pathway, which allows students to skip national examinations at Sec 4. “If your child is not yet operating at that level of maturity in Sec 1, then IP could be a bit of a sharp shock to the system,” she said.

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One point short. Asked whether it is advisable to apply to a school when a candidate is one point short of the PSLE cut-off points, Lee Han Hwa, principal of St Andrew’s School (Secondary), said it is not. “If I’ve been studying the school AL score at least over the past three years, by and large, the score doesn’t really change,” he said. Goh [Soon Hoe] added that with the Education Ministry introducing choice order in 2021 as a tie-breaker for Sec 1 posting, such risk-taking could result in students wasting their first choice. They might also not get into their second-choice school if other children listed it as their first choice.

Use all six choices. Koh Caiyu, principal of Pasir Ris Crest Secondary School, said families should optimise all six school choices during the Sec 1 posting exercise, instead of narrowly focusing on their top school pick. “The last thing we want is that only the first choice is your go-to, and then the five choices, you just close your eyes and anyhow indicate,” she said.

Open houses and students. Tan Po Chin, principal of Anderson Secondary, said families should attend school open houses and speak to current and former students to consider a range of schools that would be a good fit. “That’s where you get the most authentic reflection of the school experience... The students’ experiences are the ones that really would reflect the best of what secondary school life is,” she said.

Mixed abilities in class. One parent asked how a child with good PSLE results might have his learning experience affected when he enters a school where affiliated students are accepted with much lower scores. Lee said boys develop at different paces, and some bloom when they are older, and that teachers are well-versed in differentiated instruction to cater to students of different abilities. Tan added that diversity in the classroom allows students to gain different perspectives and hone life skills.

Source: Read the full article on The Straits Times →