How far is too far?

[mrswongtuition]

mwchua:

hi all,


Need your kind sharing and advice. Any parents here staying at Punggol/Sengkang area and yet have kids studying at Bukit Timah/Dunearn Road area ? How long does a typical 1-way journey take ?

How do you find the distance that young kids have to endure everyday to and fro ? Will it really exhaust them to the point of not being able to pay good attention in school ? Will traffic jam aggravate the whole situation ? What about CCA/supplementary classes arrangement ?

Many thanks.

Rgds,
Ming

My boy will only enter P1 in 2013. We're putting him in my hb's alma mater, which is NYPS. We stay in Punggol.

I was also searching madly for more info on school bus. NYPS has a bus to pick up the kids in SK/PG area. Usually the kids board the bus at around 6.20am. Should be no problem for my boy as he is already used to travelling on daily basis. It's good for kids to have some 'daydream' time during the day. Usually, they'll end up playing on the bus.

To save time, I intend to change to a school nearer to his school when the time comes or be a SAHM. We hv no intentions of moving nearer to the school as we feel that it's not worth paying so much for a house & be straddled with loans.

[mum2two]

my old primary sch is anderson primary which is in amk. heard that it is quite a popular school in amk. but the sch has afternoon session. i am currently staying in whampoa. there is no walking distance school at my place. nearest will be at balestier hill primary which means have to take school bus or public bus. im a sahm but we do not have a car.

i am thinking of shifting anywhere which has a school which is within walking distance but hindering me is that bcos i have to upgrade to 5rm then eligible for hdb loan and im also not comfortable getting a second hand flat. sengkang n bukit panjang have cheap houses but my hubby working in toa payoh. and if i shift house, kids never get a place at the walking distance school, die liao…

[KSP]

How far is too far?


I think is when the child start complaining then that is considered far.

[LOLMum]

my dd’s classmate lives in tampines and school is in bukit timah. so parents drive her to school in the am and she will take a taxi home (cca, after school tuition etc). she used to take the school bus but i think there were a couple of times, due to miscommunication, she was not picked up.


there were times the classmate fell sick in school and because of the distance and her parents were at work, the maid and grandma (+ young child at home) were unable to pick her up. poor dear, has to stay in school and wait for the school bus at 1pm.

so if you are not working, i guess it might be easier for you to do the school run. otherwise, do take the distance into consideration when applying for a school.

there are others who live quite a distance away from school too and i know that most would take a nap, breakfast/lunch in the car.

[ooptimizer]

For primary school, I sent my children to the nearest one so they can walk there - just 5 minutes walk.

[mrswongtuition]

LOLMum:

there were times the classmate fell sick in school and because of the distance and her parents were at work, the maid and grandma (+ young child at home) were unable to pick her up. poor dear, has to stay in school and wait for the school bus at 1pm.

We expected this situation and thankfully, my in-laws have said that they will be officially retiring when my son goes to P1 so that they can ferry him around. They each own a vehicle, so it should be managable. My brother-in-law is working in the family business and his schedule is very flexible. He has also said that he will help if need be (provided we loan him our car).

It's true that if you don't have a 'back up' plan, the child might 'suffer' in school when they are sick and need to be brought home to rest or see the doctor.

Mr. Wong
(using my wife's account)

[fooblack]

Sorry to hijack this thread.


My gal is 3yrs old. She will be registering for P1 in about 3 yrs time…

We stay in Seng Kang, at the edge of Hougang so we are < 1km of some hougang primary schools.

However, my preference is Nan Hua as I am an old boy. My questions:-

1. Is seng kang too far for NH? Any chance that there are school buses to do the fetching?

2. If really too far or no school bus, I think i may have to shift somewhere nearer to Clementi. Which area is the best in terms of striking a balance betw the distance to NH as well as cost (clementi houses are super -ex). I am thinking Bukit batok or choa chu kang… are these too far?

thanks for your advices… cheers

[KSP]

fooblack:

Sorry to hijack this thread.


My gal is 3yrs old. She will be registering for P1 in about 3 yrs time....

We stay in Seng Kang, at the edge of Hougang so we are < 1km of some hougang primary schools.

However, my preference is Nan Hua as I am an old boy. My questions:-

1. Is seng kang too far for NH? Any chance that there are school buses to do the fetching?

2. If really too far or no school bus, I think i may have to shift somewhere nearer to Clementi. Which area is the best in terms of striking a balance betw the distance to NH as well as cost (clementi houses are super -ex). I am thinking Bukit batok or choa chu kang... are these too far?

thanks for your advices.. cheers

First you need check with the NH schoolbus operator whether they serve your area and their charges. I know of someone who studies in bukit timah and lives in Changi end. So the child takes the same bus as those stay in Bedok and Tampines. Everyday first one to be picked and last one to alight. Each way is about 1.5hr and the charges is $250/mth.

But it will be a waste if you don't make use of your old boy status to apply under P2A1/2. The other options is to move to the west. I think at the current market, any flat along the west coast is expensive. Can try consider those more towards the west like Jourong East or Lakeside area. CCK to Yew Tee area could be a bit far but the price are more affortable.

[verykiasu2010]

fooblack:

Sorry to hijack this thread.


My gal is 3yrs old. She will be registering for P1 in about 3 yrs time....

We stay in Seng Kang, at the edge of Hougang so we are < 1km of some hougang primary schools.

However, my preference is Nan Hua as I am an old boy. My questions:-

1. Is seng kang too far for NH? Any chance that there are school buses to do the fetching?

2. If really too far or no school bus, I think i may have to shift somewhere nearer to Clementi. Which area is the best in terms of striking a balance betw the distance to NH as well as cost (clementi houses are super -ex). I am thinking Bukit batok or choa chu kang... are these too far?

thanks for your advices.. cheers

if you have decided Nan Hua, it is best to move house...imagine the time save and convenience from all the travelling over 6 years

[titank]

fooblack:

Sorry to hijack this thread.


My gal is 3yrs old. She will be registering for P1 in about 3 yrs time....

We stay in Seng Kang, at the edge of Hougang so we are < 1km of some hougang primary schools.

However, my preference is Nan Hua as I am an old boy. My questions:-

1. Is seng kang too far for NH? Any chance that there are school buses to do the fetching?

2. If really too far or no school bus, I think i may have to shift somewhere nearer to Clementi. Which area is the best in terms of striking a balance betw the distance to NH as well as cost (clementi houses are super -ex). I am thinking Bukit batok or choa chu kang... are these too far?

thanks for your advices.. cheers

Move house consider a serious decision & right now believe that Clementi, West Coast are expensive ever since the development of Fusion No Polis, Bio Polis etc etc.

It would be wise to look around school near to your area. Anyway hope you can come to a good decision.