All about Transferring to Other Primary Schools

[Cavin]

acforfamily:

[Moderator's note: Topics merged.]


Has anyone transferred their child midway through Primary school? Any experiences to share?

Yes, I transferred my son during his P2/2009 from a not so academic focus school to an academic focused one.

He was able to cope well despite the initial few weeks of adjustment,
most importantly, after much encouragement from his new form teacher and me, his results improved tremendously.

[kiasimom]

I am very overwhelmed by the parents enthusiasm to transfer their

children to a SAP or GEP school. Very often I will wonder
if there is a genuine need to transfer your child out of the
school that he is already familiar with.
To me, a compulsory transfer will be:
1. Shifting of house
2. GEP transfer
3. Affliation to secondary school
point 3 is the least supported reason though.

As a parent, I do understand that you want the best for
your child and hope to put your child in the best school.
However, did we look at it from the child’s perspective?

Having said that, I will like to share my personal experience
on school transfer.
2 years ago, I shifted to Tampines.
The only reason why I think of a transfer back then was distance.
I wanted my children to study in a nearby school and the nearest primary school near us is
St Hilda’s.
I called up the school and was offended by what the admin told me.
" You can come and fill up the form but I will ask you to try other schools and not waste your
Time waiting for us!" The lady on the other end of the line did not even ask for more
Informatuon. She just brushed me off like that.
Call it pride or egoism, I decided that I will rather not enrol my son in this school.
I have no faith in how they will instill values in my son. With DS’s results, I have no problem
Putting him in another school. But then again, what’s the purpose of doing that?
I discussed with DS and he mentioned that he will rather stay put in his current
School. 2 years down the road, judging from past year PSLE results, his current school top scorer
Is only 1 point behind SHPS Top scorer.
Many parents want to transfer their child, maybe more often than not, it’s the pride of
Saying your child is in a Sap or Gep school.
If the child is really good,his PSLE results will tell. This result will then place your child in a good
School.
Is there really a need to transfer your child to a sap or gep school when he is doing very well
In his current school?
For DS, I am not thinking of transferring to a SAP and GEP school.
I like the commitment and the positive attitudes of his teachers in his current school. And this is
Reflected from the principal down to his subject teachers.
They do not just focus on academic achievement, they also emphasized on values
And character building.
I think this is more important than just focusing on academics excellence alone.
No, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying academic results are not important.
My son does study very hard and he is happy although most of his time is spent on studying.
In my opinion, the environment plays an important part. As long as he is good, it doesn’t matter
Which primary school he is in.
The real acknowledgement is the secondary school your child is in.
To quote what my husband says,: it is ok to be a fish in a small pond as long as my son is happy.
Learning should be a happy process. "
I fully agree with what DH says as I have observed that a happy learner produces happy results.
the only reason that will justify the transfer is shifting of house. Otherwise, we are happy with our
Current decision.
The above is just my personal opinion.
,

[peterch]

kiasimom:

I wanted my children to study in a nearby school and the nearest primary school near us is
St Hilda's.
I called up the school and was offended by what the admin told me.
\" You can come and fill up the form but I will ask you to try other schools and not waste your
Time waiting for us!\" The lady on the other end of the line did not even ask for more
Informatuon. She just brushed me off like that.
Call it pride or egoism, I decided that I will rather not enrol my son in this school.,

I've just experienced this kind of attitude a few weeks ago at another school. In my case, I would like my DS to go to the same school as my DD. When I called up the school for information, the admin had a very bad attitude. BUT I didn't gave up, I came to the school last week and another admin was very friendly explaining the procedure of transfering my DS to the school. The lady that talked to me on the phone was there and her face.......... :x but I just didn't bother about her

[ooptimizer]

Some admin staff have very bad attitude everywhere.

[corneyAmber]

Actually I am keen to transfer to neighbourhood school leh… but even that there is a waiting list hor.


However, the admin was pleasant and provided details even over the phone. Also encouraged me to put my kid on waiting list.

[pecalis]

For transfer of schools, MOE conducts a mass one at the end of the yr called the STEPS exercise. This guarantees you a place nearest to your home within 3 km but parents cannot choose a specific sch.


If you have in mind a particular sch, you may write email to the P and you’ll need to fill in a waitlist form, submit tog with latest sch results and any other achievement or documents like IQ report. Usually the waitlist is valid only for a yr and you may have to reapply.

Some school (even so called good neighbourhood schs) clerks are proud and rude and may not entertain you kindly. So I suggest going the P direct, anyway, the P is usually the one who decides who to accept in the event there is a vacancy.

I just tried asking on behalf of my aunt and the P replied almost immediately that there is no vacancy at all but will put child on waitlist.

[CharleneX]

Hi All


I am in a dilemma whether to transfer my DS to another school.

Currently, he’s with Edgefield Primary School, and am thinking of transfering him to St Andrew or Maris Stella after he completed P1. I don’t know what are my chances of getting him in these two schools. Apparently, Edgefield doesn’t have SA/ exams for P1 and P2, so I wonder how the other schools going to assess him if I wanted a transfer.

Please advise.

Lene

[kylene]

my husband will be posted overseas and we plan to go over as a family. Problem is that we’ll only come back when my son is 8 years old. will it be difficult to find a school of our choice when he enters at pr 2?

[schellen]

kylene:

my husband will be posted overseas and we plan to go over as a family. Problem is that we'll only come back when my son is 8 years old. will it be difficult to find a school of our choice when he enters at pr 2?

Hi! I don't know where you're going so I'm just gonna suggest an existing thread to you but this one is for kids returning from China. Maybe you can scan through and find some general (i.e., regardless of country returning from) procedures to follow? Here's the link: http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6005

[kylene]

hi,

thanks for the link. i’ll look through it. we’ll be going to Australia. not so worried about academic part, but more worried about availability .