[Bukit Merah] Primary Schools

[ChiefKiasu]

brightlight:

Hi Chief,


Thanks a million for the information.

I'm residing in Redhill, Gan Eng Seng is very near to my place but I am bit reluctant about the school.

My kid is in K2 now and I have not made any preperations for her primary school. How good chance I have for my child to go to Radin Mas or CHIJ Kellock? Any steps I should take in advance to put her in one of these schools.

Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated.

If your child is already in K2 and you have made no prior arrangements, eg. be parent volunteer at least the year before, your only hope for getting in an earlier phase would be if you are an alumni. Otherwise, you will almost certainly be in the Phase 2C balloting. That is pretty much the last stage and your chance is dependent on the number of places available versus the interest in the schools. You should start contacting the principals of these schools to enquire about your chance so that you can make alternative plans. They will have some idea given the birth rate of that year and the number of volunteers they already have to gauge the demand.

Also, you need to determine if CHIJ Kellock and Radin Mas is really within the 1-2km radius of your address. They do look at least like a 15min walk from Redhill.

[mintcc]

Hi Brightlight,


If we look at Tanjong Pagar Constituency, there are also.

Anglo-Chinese School (Junior)
Anglo-Chinese (Primary)
Balestier Hill Primary School
CHIJ (Kellock)
Farrer Park Primary School
Gan Eng Seng Primary School
Queenstown Primary School
Radin Mas Primary School
Raffles Girls’ Primary School
River Valley Primary School
Singapore Chinese Girls’ Primary School
St. Margaret’s Primary School
Zhangde Primary School
St. Joseph’s Institution Junior

Quite a lot of good schools within resonable distance since Redhill is also quite near to town and the novena area.

[brightlight]

Hi Mincy,


Thanks for your response. I will consider the schools given in your list.

Regards
bb

[astroboy]

Hi Brightlight,


Like you, my gal will also be enrolling for Pri 1 next year. I missed out on the parent volunteer so has to try Phase 2C.

You should have short-listed the schools by now and spend the next few mths finding out more abt these schools. Before you can come out with the list, many criteria will go thru your mind like near/far, mixed/single sex, reputation, achievements, school affliation, strengths and facilities of the school. There’re no right or wrong answers, just go with your heart.

Once you have worked out the list, the next thing is to see how many vacancies are left for Phase 2C for each of these schools (wait for MOE announcement in Teletext). Forget abt the more popular schools like Nanyang or Singapore Chinese Girls’ Primary School as all places will be snapped up before reaching Phase 2C.

Last year was the dragon year cohort so registration was red hot. Hope this year is a little kinder to us!

To increase your chance in the short-listed school, make sure your choice school is near to your home (the distance factor) so that you’ll have first bite of the apple. If you select the school which has a high number of vacancies, then your chance will be better. If not, then pray hard!. If still cannot get in, then there’s Phase 3. At the end of the day, be glad that your child has a school to go to even if its not the parent choice.

[brightlight]

Thanks Astroboy.


Roughly when MOE will announce on the vacancies? Sorry if my query sounds silly, I’m just a singapore PR. Kindly bear with me.

BTW this is a very informative forum site for a parent like me. Big thanks to all the forumers. Keep up your good work.

Rgds,
bb

[ChiefKiasu]

brightlight:

Thanks Astroboy.


Roughly when MOE will announce on the vacancies? Sorry if my query sounds silly, I'm just a singapore PR. Kindly bear with me.

BTW this is a very informative forum site for a parent like me. Big thanks to all the forumers. Keep up your good work.

Rgds,
bb

The Ministry of Education (MoE) will be announcing this info by mid-May 2008, according to this MUST-VISIT http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/admissions/primary-one-registration/.

[astroboy]

Yup, ChiefKiasu points to the right spot –> the MOE webpage or Teletext for latest numbers.


Which are your preferred schools you intend to enrol your kid? Maybe we could share and then decide for ourselves.

My shortlisted schools are:

Group A (70% interest) - based on my new house address as they are nearer
i) CHIJ Kellock
ii) Gan Eng Seng
iii) Zhangde Primary School

Group B (30% interest) - based on my current house address
i) Fairfiled Methodist
ii) Henry Park
iii) Queenstown Pri

Group C (200% interest if have vacany)
i) Raffles Girls
ii) Nanyang Primary

Astroboy is "chin chai"and contended with any schools in Group A and B. Group C is long shot and is included to make me feel good that daddy has done the best he can and if anyone is to blame, blame it on the government!! for creating this self-made registration monster called "MOE".

[brightlight]

Hi,


My choice of schools would be

1. CHIJ Kellock
2. Radin Mas
3. River Valley

[ChiefKiasu]

brightlight:

Hi,


My choice of schools would be

1. CHIJ Kellock
2. Radin Mas
3. River Valley

Good choice, though I feel you should at least drop by Zhangde for a quick look before you dismiss it. New schools are hungrier, and Zhangde has already won a award.

[brightlight]

Thanks for suggesting Zhangde. I will consider it as well.