[Serangoon] Primary Schools

[Dahlia]

thanks for responding class monitor and magiccastle. i just saw the response! anyway since i last wrote, we have decided on sending him to a coed school and was set on Yang Zheng (we live 200m away) until the new MOE ruling sets in recently for permanent residents.


i am old girl of Bukit Panjang Primary School but the commute is not favourable especially for my son and uprooting the whole family is not feasible.

my question is - Should I get a spot for him in bpes under phase 2a2, commute for couple of months and canvass for a spot in YZ during that time?
Or should i risk and see if i can get him in via phase 2c for YZ?

does anyone know, for those kids who do not get a spot in any of the phases, does MOE find a spot for them in a school close to their home?

[nms1]

Dahlia:

thanks for responding class monitor and magiccastle. i just saw the response! anyway since i last wrote, we have decided on sending him to a coed school and was set on Yang Zheng (we live 200m away) until the new MOE ruling sets in recently for permanent residents.


i am old girl of Bukit Panjang Primary School but the commute is not favourable especially for my son and uprooting the whole family is not feasible.

my question is - Should I get a spot for him in bpes under phase 2a2, commute for couple of months and canvass for a spot in YZ during that time?
Or should i risk and see if i can get him in via phase 2c for YZ?

does anyone know, for those kids who do not get a spot in any of the phases, does MOE find a spot for them in a school close to their home?

MOE will usually allocate you a school nearby if there are places which means you would probably end up with Zhonghua which almost always has vacancies after 2c.

[magiccastle]

Zhong HUA will be a better choice compared to bukit panjang. Journey too far for your boy to take it. Advisable to apply directly to zhong HUA instead of yang zheng which may need balloting or no chance to be balloted at all. U monitor the take up rate of yang zheng n then decide. Another school to consider is cedar primary .

[Dahlia]

thanks nms1.

hi magiccastle, Do u know if Zhong Hua is a good school? historically, their vacancy rates exceed application which is not really a good sign is it? i need to read up on cedar primary. such a trying period

[nms1]

I don’t know how true this is but I heard from my mil that one of the reasons some people don’t go for Zhonghua is that there is a large number of PRC nationals so the standard of English is not great especially in lower primary.


This is a bit of a chicken & egg as if no-one applies to go there, a lot of places will always go to those unable to register elsewhere in other phases.

Having said that, I have neighbours (Chinese Singapore & European parents) who moved their boys out of another school into Zhonghua and seem to be quite happy with it.

[Dahlia]

thats interesting info. do u know why your neighbour is happy with Zhong Hua? with large no. of PRC 's, is it safe to assume the standard of chinese will be very strong i.e competitive

[nms1]

Dahlia:

thats interesting info. do u know why your neighbour is happy with Zhong Hua? with large no. of PRC 's, is it safe to assume the standard of chinese will be very strong i.e competitive

I think one of their reasons is that it isn't high pressure.

[Dahlia]

thanks very much nms1.

[magiccastle]

Zhong hua not as popular as yangzheng is partly of it’s location.

If the chinese Standard in school is good due to the number of PRC students,then it is good . For Yang Zheng, despite it’s historical Chinese background, I don’t feel the school has really push itself to excel in chinese. The direction n background of the principal make a difference.
Every school have their fair share of good n not so good teachers. Even for Maris Stella which is nearby to serangoon though not grouped in serangoon schools but in Toa Payoh has it’s share of good n no so good teachers . But overall, the general standard at Maris Stella being a SAP school, is better compared to other schools like yangzheng , st gabriel or zhonghua is mainly because its ethic group of student are mainly Chinese with only a few Indians or Eurasians .

[limsley]

I was an old student of Yangzheng but have done PV for Holy Innocents’ as the latter is more convenient in terms of logistics. However, have heard that Yangzheng’s standards have improved over the years hence in a dilemma as to which school to apply now. Would appreciate some valuable advice.