Hampton Pre-School (by Eton)

[blueroti]

I was also at the open house today. the school is new, quite nice. but the teachers weren’t very sure how the classes will be conducted eg. the chinese lesson for N1 is only about 30mins so i asked them if instructions would be given in both english and chinese for the other lessons, and the teacher said she wasn’t sure.

[LLX04]

yes, 1 of the cons was that I didnt get to speak to class teacher. The supervisor informed me that they have not assigned the teacher yet, so its pointless to speak to teacher.


Other cons were :
1) unable to view K1-2010 classroom
2) there isnt any K2 class - 2010
3) they are over-subscribed - means it will be full and packed - i have seen them turn-away non-Bishan parents
4) no school handbook to understand the rules and regulations but most parents already registered with cheque deposits.

I guess most parents are assured that they are paying good services or kiasu that they dont get a place. Even you register with cheque deposit today, u will only be inform if your child got shortlisted by wednesday. I overheard one parent who has already withdraw her daughter from her current childcare centre and stressed she will be dismayed if her daughter didnt get a space.

Hope this is helpful.

[blueroti]

and just wanted to add - the difference between eton house’s curriculum and that of hampton’s is that the former adopts a query-based method while the latter’s thematic based. that was what the teacher said. the reason is that eton is an international school but she reassured me that the eton school trained teachers are also familiar with thematic-based.

[vwcorrado]

I am one of those that able to sign up my son into Hampton. He will be in N2 next year. When I see the master list during their open house, it is super overwhelmed! Not easy to grab a convenient and decent place for kid. Guess the ball is rolling for me to the horror/fun engaging schools and parenting life.


Any other thoughts from those who’ve signed up?

[LLX04]

i got a place for my gal in K1 but I rejected it cos they have not assigned the teachers to the class thou the supervisor assured the teachers are good. When i further enquired, she clarified that most teachers have minimum 2 years teaching experience but not from eton school. Beside that, they have not found the chinese teacher for K1. zzzzzz, and the supervisor gives me the attitude that take it or leave it cos they have a long waiting list.


I strongly believe teachers are strong element for me to entrust my kids to them. If I cant speak to the teachers, i dont want to take the risk.

[blueroti]

hi LLX04, VWCorrado


my girl didn’t get a place in hampton but they called me on Monday to ask if I’m interested in enrolling her for a new class that they’re going to have in April. After some deliberation, i decided to give it a miss.

and as for the teachers, when i went to the open house, the teacher i spoke to told me the teachers are trained at Eton House and they are experienced.

my impression is that they’re not really ready for the new term in Jan. and maybe coz’ of the overwhelming response, they’re trying to cope as well.

[blueroti]

hi insider


thanks for your insights. i juz went to the hampton school website
(http://www.hampton.com.sg) to check if PCF's affiliation is with eton school or eton education centre. it's stated there at the bottom of their home page - \"A PCF child care centre managed by Etonhouse\". So i suppose it's Etonhouse. but honestly, after my visit to the school and speaking to the teachers (who are fr Etonhouse), i'm not very impressed either. i juz feel tt the teachers whom i met are juz not into kids and their speeches come across as very rehearsed.

i'm not very familiar with the thematic or query-based approach but the teacher i spoke to assured me that the teachers are also familiar with the thematic approach.

but i guess we will only know if it's really good when the actual class starts next year.

[LLX04]

lol, insider.


Actually i was looking forward to place my gal in the childcare but was quite disappointed with how dis-organised they are. Imagine some of the classes are starting in December and no teachers assigned yet? I dont feel comfortable placing my gal to be one of the guinea pig.

[LLX04]

For K1 class , the ratio is 1:20.

[blueroti]

hi insider

i was also pretty puzzled when they told me they’re adopting the thematic approach as opposed to eton’s query-based. but they explained that eton is an international school hence the query-based method while hampton is adopting thematic method as it prepares the kids for the normal schools. frankly, i’m not familiar with the methods so duno if this is correct.

but you’re right - there will probably be some teething problems but i hope whatever the issues they have will not cause much of a problem for the kids.

juz a thought - actually eton will have to ensure that hampton will be a success as their reputation is at stake here rt? PCF is govt run so they should be more strict since negative public opinion will hurt them as well rt?