I feel proximity and ease of access is an important consideration when it comes to a choice of GEP school, if there is no one to be the child’s "chauffeur". There are extra-curricular and after-school activities. Coupled with CCA, it means that 50% of the time, my P4 child can’t take the school bus home. Thankfully there is a direct bus service from the school to our home.

Rosyth is one of 3 schools that have been offering GEP the longest. The program is well-established and has experienced teachers. It is a challenging program, but the culture in the GEP is not one of competition and score comparison. Rather, the students are excited and consumed by the alternative curriculum and the intensity of the learning experience. I don’t have first-hand knowledge of other centers so I can’t compare Rosyth vs. them, but I find the Rosyth GEP and the school itself perfectly fine for my children.

Dear parents,


I may be guilty of being too sanguine. But from my personal experience of the program, I say Chill. When your child qualifies for the GEP, you should know upfront that the variability of his outcome in life is greatly reduced, and in fact skewed towards a positive outcome. The purpose of an education is to prepare our children for life. Rather than getting more worried about how difficult the academic program is, you should worry less about their final outcome.

Let me share some empirical data with you. In my time, all primary GEP students were guaranteed places at RI, RGS, ACS, but no concessions were made at O levels for entry to JC (aside from the concession for affiliate schools). Out of my secondary school GEP batch of 72, only one went to a JC other than Hwa Chong or RJC. From a class of 24, there were 9 doctors, 4 lawyers. That’s only a shorthand for the definition of success; there are many more in other fields (including myself, I daresay) who are doing very well. And, students who were “average” in the GEP still have good outcomes (lawyers, doctors etc). That is to say, most of them rank as outstanding when compared to the wider MS cohort.

That’s not to say there won’t be individuals who underperform or who who take a different, non-conventional path in life. But think about it - if serious application and hard work is one of the key ingredients of success, your child has a far better chance to develop these qualities in the program than outside it. I coasted and day-dreamed throughout lower primary, turning in perfect scores effortlessly. Were it not for the GEP, I would have presumably turned daydreaming into a chronic habit by the time I reached secondary school, whereupon it might be too late. I am eternally grateful to the program for humbling me and teaching me the value of hard work!

Do not worry about your GEP children’s academic success, for they have been blessed with above-average intelligence and talents. Worry instead about their emotions and social skills. These are far more important markers for a fulfilling career and family life, than PSLE grades ever will be. Work on their social skills, for the children may suffer from a misguided sense of exclusivity. Teach them that they are not superior individuals, that what they have is a gift and not a right. Always check in with their emotions, for gifted children are sensitive. They tend to ponder, dwell, and feel things more deeply, and their heightened emotions may at times cause them harm and at times hold them back from their true potential. Do whatever you can to help them gain a broader perspective and the wisdom that might come with it. In life’s journey, it is wisdom, not intellect, that truly determines happiness.

Your top 1% child will grow up, with high certainty, to be in the top 5-10% in society (this is not empirical, only my estimate). However, the top 0.1% by power or wealth may still come from MS. There are so many talented, and driven people not from the GEP. Children should be taught this fact as early as possible.

Once your child has gotten into the GEP, odds are he/she is set on a fairly good path in life. From my personal journey through one end and out the other, I’ve concluded that grades are only one small ingredient in life’s journey, and really not the key thing to worry about for GEP kids.

Dear parents,


I may be guilty of being too sanguine. But from my personal experience of the program, I say Chill. When your child qualifies for the GEP, you should know upfront that the variability of his outcome in life is greatly reduced, and in fact skewed towards a positive outcome. The purpose of an education is to prepare our children for life. Rather than getting more worried about how difficult the academic program is, you should worry less about their final outcome.

Let me share some empirical data with you. In my time, all primary GEP students were guaranteed places at RI, RGS, ACS, but no concessions were made at O levels for entry to JC (aside from the concession for affiliate schools). Out of my secondary school GEP batch of 72, only one went to a JC other than Hwa Chong or RJC. From a class of 24, there were 9 doctors, 4 lawyers. That’s only a shorthand for the definition of success; there are many more in other fields (including myself, I daresay) who are doing very well. And, students who were “average” in the GEP still have good outcomes (lawyers, doctors etc). That is to say, most of them rank as outstanding when compared to the wider MS cohort.

That’s not to say there won’t be individuals who underperform or who who take a different, non-conventional path in life. But think about it - if serious application and hard work is one of the key ingredients of success, your child has a far better chance to develop these qualities in the program than outside it. I coasted and day-dreamed throughout lower primary, turning in perfect scores effortlessly. Were it not for the GEP, I would have presumably turned daydreaming into a chronic habit by the time I reached secondary school, whereupon it might be too late. I am eternally grateful to the program for humbling me and teaching me the value of hard work!

Do not worry about your GEP children’s academic success, for they have been blessed with above-average intelligence and talents. Worry instead about their emotions and social skills. These are far more important markers for a fulfilling career and family life, than PSLE grades ever will be. Work on their social skills, for the children may suffer from a misguided sense of exclusivity. Teach them that they are not superior individuals, that what they have is a gift and not a right. Always check in with their emotions, for gifted children are sensitive. They tend to ponder, dwell, and feel things more deeply, and their heightened emotions may at times cause them harm and at times hold them back from their true potential. In life’s journey, it is wisdom, not intellect, that truly determines happiness. Do whatever you can to help them gain wisdom.

Your top 1% child will grow up, with high certainty, to be in the top 5-10% in society (this is not empirical, only my estimate). However, the top 0.1% by power or wealth may still come from MS. There are so many talented, and driven people not from the GEP. Children should be taught this fact as early as possible.

Once your child has gotten into the GEP, odds are he/she is set on a fairly good path in life. From my personal journey through one end and out the other, I’ve concluded that grades are only one small ingredient in life’s journey, and really not the key thing to worry about for GEP kids.

Dear parents,


I may be guilty of being too sanguine. But from my personal experience of the program, I say Chill. When your child qualifies for the GEP, you should know upfront that the variability of his outcome in life is greatly reduced, and in fact skewed towards a positive outcome. The purpose of an education is to prepare our children for life. Rather than getting more worried about how difficult the academic program is, you should worry less about their final outcome.

Let me share some empirical data with you. In my time, all primary GEP students were guaranteed places at RI, RGS, ACS, but no concessions were made at O levels for entry to JC. Out of my secondary school GEP batch of 72, only one went to a JC other than Hwa Chong or RJC. From a class of 24, there were 9 doctors, 4 lawyers alone. That’s only a shorthand for the definition of success; there are many more in other fields (including myself, I daresay) who are doing very well. And, students who were “average” in the GEP still have good outcomes (lawyers, doctors etc). That is to say, most of them rank as outstanding when compared to the wider MS cohort.

That’s not to say there won’t be individuals who underperform or who who take a different, non-conventional path in life. But think about it - if serious application and hard work is one of the key ingredients of success, your child has a far better chance to develop these qualities in the program than outside it. I coasted and day-dreamed throughout lower primary, turning in perfect scores effortlessly. Were it not for the GEP, I would have presumably turned daydreaming into a chronic habit by the time I reached secondary school, whereupon it might be too late. I am eternally grateful to the program for humbling me and teaching me the value of hard work!

Do not worry about your GEP children’s academic success, for they have been blessed with above-average intelligence and talents. Worry instead about their emotions and social skills. These are far more important markers for a fulfilling career and family life, than PSLE grades ever will be. Work on their social skills, for the children may suffer from a misguided sense of exclusivity. Teach them that they are not superior individuals, that what they have is a gift and not a right. Always check in with their emotions, for gifted children tend to feel things more deeply, and their emotions may at times cause them harm and at times hold them back from their true potential.

Your top 1% child will grow up, with high certainty, to be in the top 5-10% in society (this is not empirical, only my estimate). However, the top 0.1% by power or wealth may still come from MS. There are so many talented and driven people not from the GEP. Children should be taught this fact as early as possible. But once your child has gotten into the GEP, odds are he/she is set on a fairly good path in life.

DS did not change school when he got into GEP. He wasn’t unhappy in his old class, although he was bored most of the time. (He wasn’t never the top student either, although he was in the top 5-10%). In the GEP, he feels academically stretched by new ideas and teaching formats, and definitely some pressure in keeping pace with assignments and deadlines. But he is still happy!


I know someone else who had consistently been the top student in an all-girls’ school throughout lower primary levels, in fact making perfect scores for every test and exam. The first year in the GEP was indeed tough for her. Her parents had never told her that she might struggle with the GEP syllabus, and they did not take kindly to her scoring less than 95% in Primary Four. From having to accept sharply lower grades, to dealing with a co-ed classroom and outsized personalities, she had a difficult adjustment and her self-esteem took a blow. However she found her feet from the second year on, clawed back her academic standing, and grew to love her new school and new friends.

So the question whether a child is happier in GEP school cannot be fully answered at a single spot in time. The majority of children will adjust to the environment they are in, and may even rise up to new challenges. If they succeed, it is a valuable lesson in hard work and determination. I do not see any reason to shield my child from that struggle.

My child is in K2 at Lim Ah Pin branch. The principal Ms Wee is great. Super-energetic, caring, charismatic, and hands-on.


I don’t agree with those who say PSH is not academic enough. In fact, comparing their curriculum in Chinese/English/Maths to the P1 textbooks I just purchased tells me that PSH is probably over-teaching. In K2 the English spelling words/sentences (5 a week) include words like alphabet, dolphin, toothless, thankless, photograph, wriggle, wrist…Chinese spelling words (4-5 words/phrases a week) include 感谢,教我,讲故事… For Maths the K2 children have already learnt number bonds and ordinals, which are repeated in P1 textbooks. P1 standards may be higher these days so I stand to be corrected by other parents whose children have gone through P1, but on the whole I’m fairly confident my kid will be well-prepared for P1.

In October I went to register my kid for P1 in a popular school. I was told that in the first few weeks of school, there will be a list given out, of 100 English sight words that the P1 students are expected to recognise. Got a bit worried coz PSH only gave me a list of 50 words in K1/early K2. Went home the same day to find that my kid brought back a booklet of 100 sight words from PSH!

The school’s recommendation (in the Orientation letter) is to buy 2 sets of school uniforms and 3 sets of PE attire. Can that be right? I thought it’s usually the other way round.

Pen88n:

camleelaa:

I am! Do you know if it is advisable for just one parent to attend if my husband is busy? Will I be able to complete all the tasks (fill in forms, attend talks, select school bus, and purchase uniforms & books & stationary) on my own?

It will be easier if there are 2 of you as you can split up for the tasks. The crowd for books and uniforms form very quickly. If really too long queue, you can purchase school uniform from the shop at Serangoon directly on another day. Even books and stationaries can be purchased later.

:thankyou:

There is a thread on St Paul’s Church kindergarten in this forum, you can check it out. The distance consideration is more for caregivers – to my mind, it would be terribly disruptive for my parents to have to drive to Bartley, as they also ferry my other child who goes to school near Catholic Kindy.