wanerbros2001:

It is wiser to place your child in a better school but NA stream rather than Express stream but lousy school. If the child ends up in an environment where it is not so good, you would have to worry about his/her safety daily. Heard there are gangs in certain schools

Agree!

Anyway i am not sure if its common for students to switch streams. Was from NA but we did fairly well for our O's, 3 of which scored 10pts and better. So i feel that the ultimate question is not about streams but how supportive a school is when it comes to educating all levels.
There are afterall mixture of good and bad peers anywhere we go. So if i have to chose, i wouldnt worry about how NA may affect my child or how benefiting it can be at the express class, but focus more on the school's overall performance, programmes and environment.

mummychua:

i scored ard 200 during my psle almost 20yrs ago, got into a not so good sec sch. my twin sister who scored lower than me have no choice but to go to a NA in a better sec sch.


I started at the bottom of the class and came out top at my 'o' level, i did not go to a jc but manage to get myself into a popular course in poly.

as for my sister, she took 5yrs to complete her sec sch, mixed with a batch of not so good friends. took a course in poly that take her to no where. and she's still struggling today.

if possible, go for express course.

Selection of friends have nothing to do with academic results. Its a form of personal choices and we shall not be judgmental of that. Im sure for someone who came out top in class can tell this apart...