Moving to Singapore and looking for a good Secondary School

[nurtureKids]

My child is currently at SAIS (pursuing IB). Prior to that he was in another IB PYP school. The first one that he went to was in pre-school (back then pursuing IB) My son was educated in the US K through 4th. My personal experience is that PYP programs arent that suitable for kids who are not motivated as they seem not to be able to give those kids an extra nudge or push to achieve higher. Also, I find that the PYP classes usually spills over to the other class times and thus the core subjects get pushed home or done in a rushed manner. As such, it may not be the schools but the PYP program. This is the only thing I don’t like about SAIS, other than that, everything is great. With regards to fitting in socially, I think that foreigners in local schools are quite common - don’t know if this helps?. I was also told by the admissions at ACS-Intl and SJI Intl, there is a 50% foreign and 50% local policy. Currently, I am favoring these local-international schools partly because students take the IGCSE and IB whereas local schools take the GCE. BTW, did you visit the singaporeexpats forum - they have more talk on international schools.

[SINGAPORENEW]

Thanks, nurtureKids, that’s very helpful info!

I have the same experience with the PYP. Too much time spent with the units of inquiry and insufficient and superficial core subject teaching. Result: Parents need to resort to teaching basics themselves (currently my case, as I am supplementing English and Math with homeschooling) or to hiring countless tutors to fill in the gaps. We are currently at a second tier IB school in Hong Kong, perhaps that is why our experience has been such a disaster.
I wonder if better international schools like UWC or SJI International somehow avoid the pitfalls of the PYP program. This would be helpful to know as it will influence our choice of schools in Singapore. Sadly, there seem to be few, if any non-IB schools except SAIS and SAS and Tanglin. The latter seems very geared towards British universities as a final destination, which isn’t so great if you’re planning on sending your kids to the U.S. for college. So, the next best choice seems to be a top IB school, if anything…

[nurtureKids]

I am glad to hear someone sharing my point of view about PYP. SAIS is pursuing IB PYP, so curriculum is geared towards PYP. However, SAIS does have standardized testing like the schools in the US. They use MAP testing. For "pure" American-based curriculum, there are SAS and International Community School (ICS). ICS is a christian-based school and it seems quite small. I have not tried SAS since it has a long waiting list.

I have friends at UWC whose children are in the lower grades and some are supplementing Math and foreign language. One, in particular, finds the environment limiting as her child is an advanced reader. UWC does not have the MYP, so that might be to your liking, they have IGCSE. I think the Singapore Math is definitely more challenging than any other Math. I believe SJI does Singapore Math. With regards to Science, I have not found a school with a good science curriculum. The science fair project (which is a yearly affair for kids G5 and above in the US) is almost non-existent in any school here.

[SINGAPORENEW]

I am shocked that even at UWC it might be necessary to supplement teaching with homeschooling or tutoring! They have a reputation of being the top international school. Is that just hype?

I don’t mind supplementing math, since I am sure there are plenty of great Singapore math tutors to rely on. This is what I do here in HK and we’re very happy with our tutor, plus I can teach math myself. However, I find it extremely challenging to find good English tutors, so I’d like the school to take over most of the teaching in that area. It is important to be immersed in the language to learn it well. I wonder if there are there any international schools in Singapore that stream English? Plus, which school might possibly have the best English program?
As for science, I have the same experience here. There aren’t quality science fairs to speak of in any of the international schools and the science lessons I have witnessed both in Elementary and Middle School are appalling, lacking both structure and creativity. I am not sure why that is, in particular since we are paying substantial fees to have our children go to these schools…

[nurtureKids]

Frankly, my friend (whose child is in UWC) were discussing with the other parents (of UWC) and they all are, kind of, arriving at the conclusion that the international schools here does not seem to provide the quality education they get in their home countries. I am in agreement. Hence, the consideration for local school.

BTW, did you apply to UWC yet? Their admission policy is not based on 1st come 1st serve. As they have more applicants than vacancies, they use a "holistic" approach to select their newly-registered students.
I find that in the US, the private schools publish the results of the standardized tests, the awards their students receive or the college acceptances - to "prove" their worth. However, in Singapore, I haven’t found an international school that have "proven their worth" in this manner. Instead it is usually how long their waiting list is??
Can’t really help you on the language part. The 2 schools that my son attended these past 2 years, I really can’t boast of their language program. I am comparing these to the US schools that my son attended. I think that checking out the American schools (SAS, ICS) is a good start. Good luck for your search. Hope to hear the outcome of your search

[Playful mom]

I posted a reply on another message board, but thought I’d repeat it here.


I don’t have info on the other schools but here it is for SAS:

Our Gifted and Talented Education (GATE ) math program is an accelerated pull-out program for students demonstrating a need for extended math curriculum for the year. Identified students study the math curriculum one grade level above their grade level. There is one GATE math class per grade level and students are released from their regular math classes on a daily basis.
Our Math Enrichment program is designed to enhance classroom learning beyond the differentiation extensions in the regular classroom with lessons designed to deepen students understanding of grade level mathematical concepts . Identified students engage in rigorous problem solving with instruction, supervision and feedback by the enrichment teacher . In a regular schedule five day week, students will attend Math Enrichment twice a week and remain in their regular classroom for three math lessons.
Within RLA, grade five students are also eligible for screening for our RLA GATE Program. Identified students further develop their reading and writing abilities by participating in real world projects involving creative problem solving and independent and collaborative projects. These students are released from their regular RLA classes on a daily basis.

[SINGAPORENEW]

Thanks for this info, playful mom. I had a chat recently with a grade 6 SAS mom and she pointed out that her gifted child had missed some of the core instruction going on in the regular classroom whilst participating in the gifted program. This the caused her to have some knowledge gaps. Is this a common problem? It sounds like GATE might be a new initiative?

Also, is there any streaming at SAS in addition to the strictly gifted program? At my child’s current school there are 3 different math streams beside the gifted program to cater to a variety of abilities…

[nurtureKids]

Hi playful mom I suppose u r a sas parent. May I know if sas uses the accelerated reader (by renassiance learning) or similar type programs? Also do they do class books at 5th grade? Lastly, what type of state-level or national-level projects do they participate in e.g. Science fair project, national history project. Oh, and what standardized tests do the students take? Thanks a lot.

[bromath]

@singaporenew, If you son gifted in math, why you don’t try ACSIndependent ? this school is one of the best IB school in the world. Has CCA math olympiad, Gifted Class, and accelerated class of science. A principal Graduated from Harvard university.

Try to attend open house :

Date: Saturday, 19 May 2012
Time: 8.30am – 1pm
Venue: 121 Dover Road, Singapore 139650

[Playful mom]

Actually I am not a SAS mother. I am trying to choose a school for my child (5 yrs old) and SAS has been the most transparent about the types of acceleration they provide. They also told me they start streaming for all other core subjects at 6th grade.


I have asked UWC but was told there is no streaming, which does not sound right. If anyone has more concrete information?

I am not so worried about the education levels for P1-P3 but I wanted to get better info. about the academic rigor of the international schools once kids are a bit older e.g. 8 onwards.