Secondary Schools - West

[sunshinemum2]

[quote]Swiss Cottage in Butok Gombak is a good neighbourhood school too. My nephew who scored 240 in the last PSLE was posted there and obtained 5th in the whole express cohort this year. I also understand that the school has a headstart programme for the current sec 3 students who are taking \"O\" levels next year. The students have to report to school these 3 weeks even though the school has officially closed for other levels.


Kranji Secondary is another good school. I heard from a girlfriend whose daughter is there that the teachers are dedicated and hardworking. It also has a headstart programme for those taking 'o' levels next year .[/quote]Will also consider them.
[quote]My DD is in CTSS. CTSS has common test every monday. Different subject each wk while some schs finish in a week.My DD finds that she can grasp the subject better in this way. [/quote]CTSS sounds good.

Thank u all for the info.

BTW, does anyone has child in Commonwealth Sec? It is the nearest to my home and would like consider it, but would like to hear from anyone with views on it.

[caroline3sg]

got a brochure on commonwealth sec. It offers:

1) Pure Science & A Maths for all express students,
2) through train for NA students (don’t know what this is about coz didn’t attend the talk)
3) 1 of 7 sch to offer economics

[mrswongtuition]

caroline3sg:

2) through train for NA students (don't know what this is about coz didn't attend the talk)

Means the kids do not take N levels. Straightaway take O levels at S5.
There are pros & cons. My previous school had this program but they had strict criteria & the kids there have loads of family support, so the result was good.

[Yen715]

No hard feelings… just curious lah… I happen to come across one comment from some website … he/she commented that Swiss Cottage has haunted spots. I wonder if he/she is trying to "bad mouthed" about that particular school. I am considering SCSS as one of my choices.

[jedamum]

Yen715:

he/she commented that Swiss Cottage has haunted spots.

i thought a lot of schools have 'haunted spots'....
especially pri sch toilets at the highest floor....at least for all the pri schools that i used to attend! :roll:

[Yen715]

Oh yeah, that’s true.

[jedamum]

Yen715:

Oh yeah, that's true.

just now, i just casually mentioned your post to my husband (an old student) and he said that it was true! :!: one particular room and a stretch of corridor; hearsay, a couple of students were unlucky and a teacher was unlucky twice.
anyway, while agreeing that it is not uncommon to have such spots in other schools, he also qualified that what happened was during his era, and that these 'things' could have moved on or to other spots....

[Jean.014397H]

Commonwealth and Clementi Town are good choices.


Both of these schools produce students with pretty good grades. Also, your son will enjoy the CCAs offered (which I heard is quite comprehensive).

Do consider Nan Hua too!

[s-weetsugar]

Im currently fifteen and I completed my Secondary 1 and 2 syllabus in CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’, and frankly speaking, they only recognise the best. If you’re second best, it is hard to get opportunities that will really enrich and give you the experience that will come out useful next time.


Start of my Secondary 3 year , I transferred to a rather unknown school in the west due to a change of address. It really opened my eyes as for the first time, i was actually coming into contact with students of different races and different academic streams. My cohort has a total of 2 Express classes, 3 Normal Academic classes and 1 Normal Technical Class. It was shocking at first, St. Nick’s has 11 classes of Special/Express students.

Let me just head straight to the Pros and the Cons.

Pros (academically)
> The small cohort makes sure every student has the proper attention that they need.
> The teachers are just as good as those that i had in St. Nick’s, or even better.
> Sufficient CCAs.
> Meaningful enrichments.

Pros (character-building wise)
> We embarked on a programme called the Leukaemia Awareness Programme, where we went down to Wisma Atria to promote the awareness of Leukaemia. We are now in the Singapore Book of Records because of this. Before this, we had a 2 month enrichment course on how to plan events, market our merchandise to raise funds and public speaking. I wouldn’t even have dreamt of such an opportunity in St. Nick’s.
> I became more mindful of the other races, especially now that i have a few malay close friends.

Cons
> Distractions like BGRs are definite to show up.

I hope i have cleared up misconceptions that prestigious schools are definitely better than neighbourhood schools, for it is not always the case. In St. Nick’s, it was just 24/7 study, study, study (and i truly mean 24/7, with the amount of homework), but now, my studies aren’t neglected while having other activities, and i still achieved an excellent grade after the End-Of-Year Examinations.

Afterall, it is still up to the child on whether he/she will do well in their studies. But in our time, being academically strong isn’t the only criterion that people look at in society.

[Kaisuparent 8]

Hi s-weetsugar,

Thanks for your inspiring message post about neighbourhood school. My daughter scored 207 for her PSLE. As a result, our choices are really limited. Can you tell me whcih school are you from?

Kaisuparent 8