Hi alng,


Thanks for the info on the new Chinese initiatives - sure sounds encouraging.

Hi Shm125,


i’m a HDB heartlander too, elder DD already in SCGS, younger one following suit soon. Seriously, this ‘elitist’ thing should be laid to rest. DD has never come home crying or wishing she had something we couldn’t afford. She made great friends both rich and not so rich, she gets invited to birthday parties both simple and elaborate. This is part and parcel of growing up in Singapore, we can only help our children cope but we can never shield them completely from it.

Well my kids are weak in Chinese too and that’s because we hardly speak it at home. I can’t say that SCGS puts particular emphasis on Chinese unlike SAP schools that offer higher Chinese (only 15 schs currently i think). I would say the emphasis on different subjects are quite balanced there. Therefore if you want to help your kids with mastering Chinese, you need to get them interested in the language. Big challenge for me still.

Morning jam in Bt Timah is a pain I admit and none of the schools along the belt are spared. Going home is not so bad though. Clementi not too far lei??? Think your kids shld be ok. We are in the north, and some of DD classmates from Changi and Punggol and all got used to it eventually.

At the end of the day, if you are guaranteed of a place in a good school, my advice is not to gamble on a ballot and uncertainty.

SCGS is like any other schools along the Bt Timah belt, a proportion of their student population comes from the higher income group for sure, however it is also true that many of the students live in the heartlands of Singapore. Having interacted with many SCGS students, they generally don’t come across as ‘artas’, proud or rude. On the contrary I find that the students do carry themselves well.


Every school will have their own black sheep, whether it is an elite or non-elite school. However, the character and attitude of our children is ours alone, no school should be expected to replace our roles as parents in imparting values.

To parents with the opportunity to send their daughters to SCGS, i say go for it. Find out more about the school for yourself and certainly don’t let strangers on a forum influence a decision that affects your children.

Cheers

ST didn’t say much about SCGS, just mentioned that a mother is considering the school since there are still places after Thurs.


SCGS is just like any other schools in the Bt Timah belt, the proportion of students from wealthier families may be higher but that doesn’t mean it’s an ‘artas’ school. Every school in Singapore has its black sheep, even neighbourhood schools.

Met parents who are volunteers at KH and didn’t managed to get in to the school during Phase 2B. I feel for them. Now… i understand that parent volunteers go in with their eyes wide open knowing that at the end of the day there is no guarantee of a place. Fair.


However i also feel that the school has a responsibility to cap the number of parent volunteers that they take in each year. Some schools have 40+ places for Phase 2B and their volunteer numbers are almost double that number!!!

Now you may say that the school cannot tell exactly how many places there will be at different phases from year to year - i totally disagree with that! Even Kiasuparents.com can come up with highly accurate statistics annually. Schools will roughly know the numbers - and taking in so many PVs over what is historically limited spaces just tells me that the school don’t care about the welfare of their VOLUNTEERS and just treat them as free hands and legs. In short they don’t have a sound volunteer management system.

MOE should really address this.

Don’t follow the crowd and choose a school because it’s an top/elite school, choose the school because you know the environment will allow your child to thrive - you know your child best. Visit the school if possible, ask around, observe their students, understand their curriculum and CCA etc… and most importantly after you have decide upon one, don’t waiver just because you read somewhere on this forum so and so thinks this is bad and that is good…


All the best to worried parents out there, i know how it feels…

SCGS 43 places for phase 2C

Applicants as of 27 July: 24 (<1km) 1 (1-2km) 1 (>2km)
Ballot quite likely for phase 2C