Hi just like to share something about the school since my child finished P6 this year. My husband and I worked very hard to get into this school (move nearby etc) but in the end, I was abit disappointed with the school. Firstly there is no field for the kids to run or do activities, this one is pertaining to the physical facilities. I should have checked before going but you never knew how important a field is until you see your kid growing up.


As for the bookstore, finally next year they will get a new vendor and I hope they offer buying of textbook online. For the past years it was very inconvenient to deal with the textbook buying. Also in the booklist they put in alot of stuff that were never used. So for parents going into primary one, please check the stationery list. The same thing is repeated in pri two, so if you dont check, you end up with two sets of the same thing and for art, alot of items bought were never used. Some reference books are the same too, so if you bought it in year 1, dont buy it in year 2. Hopefully the new vendor has a different style.

Next, for the higher chinese part, I was rather upset about it because my child studied it all the way till primary 5, which was when covid lockdown happened. So in 2020, the result was not good for higher chinese, the teacher simply informed us that the subject should be dropped for p6. Despite me emailing in to appeal, there wasnt even a reply.

I can only conclude that they were more concern about their KPI for higher chinese grades being affected than giving a chance to my child to continue in P6. After all it was a covid year with lots of zoom classes, they should have given a second chance, I didnt like the way they handled the issue. To think that one of the reason we came to nanhua is for the higher chinese! and having that subject taken away at P6 is such a terrible waste.

So that’s all I want to share. There are still merits to the school, their science notes are very good. And the teachers of various subjects gave remedial classes in the P6 year to help kids catch up and revise.

All the best to the kids going in 2022.

My boy is already in P4 and I just thought I should come back and leave some feedback for future parents of Nanhua about the school.


I enrolled by boy for Nanhua mostly because it teaches higher chinese and of course it is supposedly a good school. However after 4 years, I can say actually most importantly is if the child likes to study and is hardworking.

Unfortunately, my boy is not academic as in, he is bright but does not really enjoy doing homework, needless to say he is now in an average class. I come to realise Nanhua is a school that churns out students of high psle results because it is a GEP school, so GEP students from all over Singapore can choose to join at P4, eventually these students of course will push up the PSLE scores, because these are the best of the best in their cohort.

So what about the rest of the kids? Mostly I find that it is the parents who are competitive, firstly parents who bother to get their kids into Nanhua are already serious and dedicated parents who are likely to place emphasis on academic studies, hence I would say most kids are from families that make sure they do their work or send them for tuition. So there is no space for any slacking. Thus, my conclusion is, should all these hardwork be credited to the school system? I am not sure.

I have two neighbours who went to nearby Qifa Primary and it seems they have more homework then NanHua! I find it amazing how Qifa pushes their kids, whereas Nanhua seems to know the kids are already doing alot at home. Then again, I heard the real pressure starts in P5 when they have tons of work getting them ready for P6.

So my point is, if you are stretching yourself trying to get into Nanhua, do consider Qifa as well, it is not an bad option, in fact the school is already renovated and seems to have more open space. Anyway I wish someone had told me all these before I enroll my child.

That’s all for me now. All the best.

@magpies1 My boy is currently in Nanhua so I will like to let you know that for PV, try to offer something the school needs, it can be as simple as being a traffic controller in the mornings. It is not complicated. You just go the school website and I think they have a form for you to fill up. Just indicate you are willing to do anything. haha. Once you clock the required number of hours, you will qualify for phase 2b, however you will still need to stay within 1 km to stand a better chance. You can read all about these phases in the moe website.


@monajoba
The renovation is supposed to be completed by end 2019 and kids moved back in 2020, but looking at the rate of progress, I am not optimistic. You can always call up the school and ask them. In any case, the 1km is calculated based on the Clementi Jalan Lempeng address, so you should benchmark it there regardless if they move back or not.

I think the school buses goes everywhere, it just boils down to how much and what time they will pick up your child. If you live far away, they will pick you super early. The school bus is offered by Comfort delgro, so you might want to google their number and enquire with them.

Not sure about the phase 2as stage, you can refer to past statistics, I believe now they have to reserve places for phase 2c, so the number for each phase has been cut down. but I have not heard of people not getting in at phase 2a.

Culture wise, its leaning towards chinese culture but still fairly neutral I think. For kids who are struggling, there are remedial lessons almost immediately in P1, they are pulled out from various classes into a rainbow class for them to catch up. Overall, I find that enrichment classes is still necessary because nowadays, there are so many official non-academic activities like excursions, nano classes, social classes. The actual teaching time is actually greatly reduced. but I think this happens in all the schools. I heard from friends of other schools that there are direct chatgroups with the form teacher, but for Nanhua, we have to email them or message them on an app.

If your child had gone to a regular kindergarten then I dont think the prep classes are necessary. But Nanhua starts everyone on higher chinese, so you have to judge if your child's Chinese level is good enough to start. Suggest you go to the bookstore and flip thru a P1 higher chinese textbook/assessment book and you will see the standard. All I can say is the Chinese gets really difficult by P5, I have seen the comprehension questions and my Chinese standard is good.

Recess hours are staggered, younger children goes first. But now in the temporary campus, P3 to P6 are in the am session and P1 and P2 are in the afternoon sessions. So the afternoon session is less crowded.

P1 recess food I think is only catered for 1 week, after that they will have a buddy from a senior level for a few days to teach them how to buy food. Anyway kids picked up on these skills fast, so dont worry about that, dont be surprised if they opt to play instead of eating.

Hope all these helps.

@magpies1 My boy is currently in Nanhua so I will like to let you know that for PV, try to offer something the school needs, it can be as simple as being a traffic controller in the mornings. It is not complicated. You just go the school website and I think they have a form for you to fill up. Just indicate you are willing to do anything. haha. Once you clock the required number of hours, you will qualify for phase 2b, however you will still need to stay within 1 km to stand a better chance. You can read all about these phases in the moe website.


@monajoba
The renovation is supposed to be completed by end 2019 and kids moved back in 2020, but looking at the rate of progress, I am not optimistic. You can always call up the school and ask them. In any case, the 1km is calculated based on the Clementi Jalan Lempeng address, so you should benchmark it there regardless if they move back or not.

I think the school buses goes everywhere, it just boils down to how much and what time they will pick up your child. If you live far away, they will pick you super early. The school bus is offered by Comfort delgro, so you might want to google their number and enquire with them.

Not sure about the phase 2as stage, you can refer to past statistics, I believe now they have to reserve places for phase 2c, so each phase has been cut down. but I have not heard of people not getting in at phase 2a.

Culture wise, its leaning towards chinese culture but still fairly neutral I think. For kids who are struggling, there are remedial lessons almost immediately in P1, they are pulled out from various classes into a rainbow class for them to catch up. Overall, I find that enrichment classes is still necessary because nowadays, there are so many official non-academic activities like excursions, nano classes, social classes. The actual teaching time is actually greatly reduced. but I think this happens in all the schools.

If your child has gone to a regular kindergarten then I dont think the prep class are necessary. But nanhua starts everyone on higher chinese, so you have to judge if your child’s chinese is good enough to start. Suggest you go to the bookstore and flip thru a P1 higher chinese textbook/assessment book and you will see the standard.

Recess hours are staggered, younger children goes first. But now in the temporary campus, P3 to P6 are in the am session and P1 and P2 are in the afternoon sessions. So the afternoon session is less crowded.

P1 recess food I think is only catered for 1 week, after that they have a buddy from a senior level for a few days to teach them how to buy food. Anyway kids picked up fast, so dont worry about that.

Hope all these helps.

J2018:

Hi,

Does anyone have more info on what exactly the NanHua Bilingual Elective Programme (BEP) is about? How is it conducted (e.g. as a separate lesson outside the usual school lesson? Does it modify the current class lesson in anyway)? What additional things do they do and learn there? What advantage is there to be in this, e.g. advantageous to go to certain secondary school?

Also, if your child happened to be in the programme, how does your child find it?

All I know is that it starts in P4S2 and ends in P6S1.

Thanks in advance for the help as I just couldn't find any additional info on the details.

Hi i saw on the school website that it is only meant for the GEP and Tag class kids, meaning those on the higher tier of academic results, so I suggest you dont worry about it unless you are offered that option and if you do, enquire with the relevant teacher for it?

Serendipity:

Wonder when CCA fair will be?

Its this friday on 12 jan morning but only for p3 above students.

Regarding new site. The big field is a bonus, but yeah not sure why canteen is smaller even though it was previously a school meant for sec.level kids. Class room space also smaller, probably about 30%

Regarding snacks: i think depending if u are sure ypur child will eat. I pack biscuits for my boy becos sometimes he doesnt eat and i dun wamt amy fresh food going to waste.

Pretty panda:

Hi parents


Anyone knows if clementi primary or pei tong is better?

Thank you.

I think if you look at the stats, among the 4 primary schools in clementi, pei tong is the easiest to get in. You might want to check out both school websites to see what they offer to see which one you prefer for your child. The last time I check, Clementi primary seems to have some focus on art. As for Pei Tong, I am not sure what they are strong in.

how come no update to this thread on the 1st page of the statistics this year?

Did anybody have experience of child not jabbing BCG and then register for primary schools? If so please pm me, I have some questions, thanks!

Selene655:

Dear all,


We are deciding between Pei Chun and Hong Wen as 2B (will be submitting PV application form soon)...

We have heard so much about Pei Chun but not much about Hong Wen.
In fact between both, Hong Wen's location and facilities profile suits us [direct public bus should my parents picks her up for any purpose and there is a school-based student care (which we will definitely send her to within the first years of Pri]
However, Hong Wen seems to only promotes their chinese, are they all rounder in English and their MATHS and sciences? Any good/bad experience about that?

Another thing is, we are considering Canossa Convent and Cedar Primary also.. Or should we grab the opportunity of taking up St Nick's?

I am so spoilt with choices... Anyone to advise???

My friend's daughter is in Hongwen and I didnt hear she has any issues with the school.

I think you have to decide what type of school your daughter should goes to. St Nic and Canossa covent have religious affiliations and are all girl's school. Whereas Hongwen is mix and more Chinese oriented.

You may also want to look at which school have affiliation to secondary schools, my friends with older kids keep emphasising the importance of this to me because they say it is difficult to get into a good secondary school.