MOE has announced changes to Primary 1 registration from next year’s exercise. Here’s the new framework at a glance, the link to the full story, and a round-up of what people are saying online.

In short: Phase 2C rises from 40 to 60 reserved places at most schools, and 12 schools get a new two-track split (families within 2km vs beyond 2km). The extra Phase 2C places come out of Phase 2A, the alumni phase.

The P1 phases from 2027

The new two-track scheme: At 12 schools, Phase 2C places are split equally between families living within 2km and those beyond 2km, with no home-school distance priority within each track. Citizens still come before PRs. (Source: Ministry of Education)

Read the full story on CNA

The 12 two-track schools

• Anglo-Chinese School (Junior)
• Anglo-Chinese School (Primary)
• CHIJ (Katong) Primary
• Methodist Girls’ School (Primary)
• Nanyang Primary School
• Ngee Ann Primary School
• Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School
• Raffles Girls’ Primary School
• Singapore Chinese Girls’ Primary School
• St. Margaret’s School (Primary)
• Tanjong Katong Primary School
• Tao Nan School

Mostly in Bukit Timah, with a few in Marine Parade. MOE will review the list over time; ACS (Primary) drops off when it moves to Tengah in 2030.

What others are saying

Reactions gathered from online discussions, grouped by theme + lightly edited for length and language.

Property jitters near the top schools

“Property prices within 1km of these schools are falling with the stroke of a pen.”

“Those who bought or rent near Stevens Road must be having heart pain.”

“Next year’s property listings: within driving distance of two of the Magnificent Twelve.”

Why keep alumni and grassroots priority at all?

“Just get rid of the alumni scheme. Job done.”

“Why should kids get priority just because their parents are alumni? Isn’t that the opposite of meritocracy?”

“On the other hand: alumni ties preserve a school’s heritage and community, and you can be a poor or a rich alumnus. Grassroots and religious groups also helped found and run these schools, so they’re the hardest to remove.”

Does opening up beyond 2km actually help?

“Extending beyond 2km may just attract privileged families again, since you’d need a car to drive your child there.”

“It makes no sense for a child living right next to the school to lose their place so someone far away can attend.”

“The other view: social mixing matters most when children are young. By the time they reach university, friend groups are already set.”

What it means for the 12 schools

“Some of these schools didn’t even ballot at Phase 2C, so the impact could be small.”

“For alumni living within 1km of the more popular ones, the odds just got tougher.”

“Every school is a good school, but now everyone aims for the 12.”

🧭 The bigger question: is PSLE the real issue?

“This P1 race won’t go away until we ease the pressure from PSLE.”

“Or make every school genuinely equal, same resources and materials, so there’s no better school to chase.”

We’d love to hear from you: Does the two-track scheme make these schools more inclusive? And if your preferred school is on the two-track list, how do you feel about this?