Don't understand your statement about the part where you say you are rich, ever lived in London's most luxurious neighborhood, find London more expensive because 1L of milk in carton is at £4.99 not branded, just the supermarket house brand.... and that's no VAT levied. 


But didn't we found out that supermart housebrand like from Sainsbury's which is everywhere in London only charge ave £0.5x per liter?  So how can rich find London more expensive than average income people in London? Supermart won't charge you £4.99 for that 1L of milk because they see you look rich right? 

Harlequin:

Ok, now I get it  :idea: , it's the rich that find London is more expensive.... and the average income people find London is cheaper than SG...   :imanangel:

Harlequin:

1L of milk in carton is at £4.99.... not branded, just the supermarket house brand.... and that's no VAT levied.

Harlequin:

chrisloh:

Those have lived in UK before know that it's less costly to live in UK (even in London) than Singapore if you don't spend on luxury items like LV/Hermes/Channel bags as there are many VAT (aka GST) exemptions.

Here is the link for for you to find out more if you are interested:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/forms-rates/rates/goods-services.htm

Er... May I know which year of UK's living cost you are referring to that is less costly than Singapore? Or rather, which decade or millennium? I happened to lived in London for sometime, I have not known any basic necessity item that's cheaper than SG, not even the breakfast milk, cereals leh....... 

The living costs are not just base on VAT, or its exemption lor....   

BTW, HK also no VAT, GST or its equivalence.... how come their living cost is always higher than us?  :scratchhead:

We all know PSLE & O levels are the only national exams to test the kids & dtermine how academic Secondary schools & JCs will take in. To be fair to all kids, all should be measured on same standard. 


I am hearing some saying that just because GEP students study, do & cover much much more, they deserve priority & privilege. I find it strange. 

Just give an analogy, when these GEP kids grow up & go to work, they spend more time than others on his job assignment, do a lot more work than others (but immaterial to achieving goal of his job assignment), their job assignment grade is B, while another main-stream grown up kid does not do all these bell & whistle & end up with A. If i am the boss, are you saying I must give B grader promotion & more bonus vs A because he did a lot more than the A grader? The answer is obviously no!
So, now replace "job assignment" by PSLE & O level exam results, replace "promotion & more bonus" by priority & privilege, so we see why all those priority & privilege for GEP kids don’t make senUse. If they cannot even perform the basic job well, who cares how much they do & learn? Also all those extras are immaterial. If they have no such ability, then don’t enter GEP programme because nobody put a gun to their head (rather, to their parents head for forcing their children to go & remain in GEP Programme). 

There is now unhealthy thing happening where parents are forcing their kids to go & remain in GEP Programme is simply because they want to reap benefit of the priority &  privilege given to these GEP kids, & many are being hothoused rather have that ability. if parents believe their GEP kids didn’t do well or cannot do well in PSLE because of too much work & they can definitely ace PSLE if can focus on just like mainstream kids, bu all means, switch their kid to mainstream, don’t go around giving excuses for not performing & then demanding priority & privilege because they said their kids suffered from too much work in GEP Programme not related to PSLE exam questions.  That is my frank opinion which numerous may not like to hear, but I think I need to be frank about it as it does Singapore no good to go such route handing out priority & privilege just because of 1 P3 Exam results. 

for the general price of milk previously discussed, S$1.10 (without sale) in UK vs S$2.80 in Singapore, it is obvious that Singapore's milk price is so much expensive (155% more)!

atutor2001:

Actually many students living in London may find that it can be cheaper than here because they avoided the expensive stuff and buy only when there is sales. Ben and Jerry can cost as low as S$2 per tub during sales. Rental is the most expensive and they save by living outside zone 1. They avoid tube and take public bus. It is also normal to walk 1 km over in central area to save on transport. I have survived there on very low budget before, by buying pre-cooked food from Tesco which are expiring soon. We even know the time to go because they will be snatched up once the price tag is changed. What I missed most are the beautiful good quality dress when sales is on - we need to pay a bomb for the same quality here.

However, if we buy things at normal price there, I think it ican easily cost 3 to 4 times here. On the other hand if poor people like me who only buy things that are on sales, the cost can be as low as half here. Perhaps that is the reason for the disagreement.

if you are talking about general milk costs in UK, obviously people talk about prices of milk from the like Sainsbury's or Tesco because they are everywhere in UK.


however, you quote a radiculous price for milk in UK & appear to substantiate that you know better than others because you have lived there before appears quite strange. So where did get £4.99 milk in UK that you quoted us from?
If you like to drink £4.99 milk or even £100 milk, it is Ok but please tell us frankly that there are also £0.5x (about S$1.10) per liter milk widely available because the general population in UK drink the £0.5x per liter milk, not the £4.99 milk & how can that figure be used to compare to the milk in Singapore to justify that food costs are much more expensive in UK?
That bothers on, on well, ...
The similar milk I get from Singapore NTUC is like S$2.80 per liter!

Harlequin:

NormalLayman:

Hi Chief, so serious? Did he/she purposely rename all usernames or only some are wrong?
May be we should give benefit of doubt?
He/She may have typed wrongly because some usernames are not really standard English. Anybody including me could have made the same mistake.

Please do not take offense because I just hope there is no misunderstanding & a lively forum should have very diversive views otherwise it will not be lively & as though everybody echoing each other, no difference in views.

To be fair, forumers should post responsibly & not to state things as though they are facts when they are not, like fresh milk cost so much in UK when in fact they are not & yet still insisted that what they said is true (Including saying he/she lived there before & know the price very well) until they were proven wrong by chrisloh. I initially give that forumer (H something, don't know how to spell the name) benefit of doubt but after he/she insisted on his/her statement without qualifying that he/she may remembered wrongly or some reason), I start to have doubt.

I supposed you are referring to me? First, how do you know for sure I never lived in London before? Just because I don't shop in Sainsbury? But drink the £4.99 milk?

Talk about \"a lively forum should have very diversive views\" and follow with a statement of \"like fresh milk cost so much in UK when in fact they are not & yet still insisted that what they said is true.....\" Now I am not sure are some members that preaches the value of \"diversify views\" can indeed keep up to his/her preaching.

BTW, it takes about 2 mins to find out online what's the Sainsbury milk price? Wouldn't I thought of that if I want to pull a fast one on ChrisLoh and kaking?
It's certainly easier than sparring with her.... there is milk, and there is milk.... talk about staying 5 years in Chelsea?! Luckily I didn't quote Mayfair that I stayed.

Anyway, good day/s to you, bro/sis. Wish you good luck in whatever you are pursuing or after. :imanangel:

Hi Chief, so serious? Did he/she purposely rename all usernames or only some are wrong?

May be we should give benefit of doubt?
He/She may have typed wrongly because some usernames are not really standard English. Anybody including me could have made the same mistake.

Please do not take offense because I just hope there is no misunderstanding & a lively forum should have very diversive views otherwise it will not be lively & as though everybody echoing each other, no difference in views.

To be fair, forumers should post responsibly & not to state things as though they are facts when they are not, like fresh milk cost so much in UK when in fact they are not & yet still insisted that what they said is true (Including saying he/she lived there before & know the price very well) until they were proven wrong by chrisloh. I initially give that forumer (H something, don't know how to spell the name) benefit of doubt but after he/she insisted on his/her statement without qualifying that he/she may remembered wrongly or some reason), I start to have doubt.

ChiefKiasu:

Moderator's note: kaking's account has been terminated for purposefully renaming Usernames of other members with the intention to insult. An open discussion on the Internet can only take place if members focus on exploring different points of view in a cordial manner. We will ban any member who repeatedly attempt to start fights with others who may not agree with his/her points of view.

Why are academic schools not doing what they they are trained to do?


Why are they admitting top sports talents which they have no resources to train & groom? Shouldn't these kids go sports school instead if they serious in making it in sports?

why are priority & privileges given to GEP kids on assumption they are the best based on a P3 exams on Math & English without basing on PSLE & O level results when that is more befitting level to compare on? Saw somebody joked that those kids superb in Chinese but not in English can never be GEP kids? Why such bias?

Why should all top schools become IP schools to deprive those who did 't do well in PSLE nut did very well in O level from getting in?

Why the rules have been implemented to tilt in favor of those who did Well when young & then say they deserve the privilege & priority for next few years without competition? Looks elitists to me?

These are about questions made by your opponents that nobody give a direct reply yet.

Would be nice to see sensibly & direct reply to these questions.

Round 2: ting ting! :rotflmao:

TravelMummy:

concern2:

[quote=\"TravelMummy\"]Actually DSA selection process is set by the school based on their belief on how best to sieve out kids in certain niche areas they want to develop. This is arbitrary across the board, not just GEP. At HCI, GEP kids are exempt from some tests, SMOPS kids are exempt at others, bicultural camp kids yet others. We can always ask why HCI only exempt SMOPS kids and not RIPWMC kids? Swimmers are exempt even from sports trials at RI & ACSI and are made offers after interviews, just like GEP. The schools are satisfied that past competitions are a good enough gauge, just like the GE programme. If you are a closet Michael Phelps but haven't taken part in any competition, boy would it be hard for you to wrangle your way in at this late stage. Some schools accost kids at sports nationals and offer them firm places way before DSA trials or PSLE. Is that unfair? Sports school offered their platinum scholarship months before DSA. I have friends whose kids are already offered CO places at NUSH in P5! Yet, NUSH has the most seemingly \"fair\" tests where all kids, regardless of GEP or not, have to sit for. Fact is, these schools have been educating kids for a long time. We should trust they know how to sieve out the kids they want. Why should we begrudge them the perogative? This is not a 1 way traffic. The school needs to want you as much as you want them. If you want to cry unfair, you can cry unfair across the board. Why single out GEP? The process across the board in selecting talent is arbitrary. The sports trials for the same sport across the schools are conducted differently, according to what the school wants. We don't tell the school to standardise or scrap them! GEP is just another perceived talent. Some schools just want the top 1% talent, in sports, aesthetics & academics and bully for them, they are popular enough to just be able to get it! And unfortunately for the mainstream, these schools believe that GE contains majority of the top 1% academic talent. Sure, if we persist on having a different set of beliefs from their educators, we are free to boycott the school and apply somewhere else. If we wish to send our DC to their school, then we should respect that the educators are smart enough to devise the right program to select the kind of talent they want...they are the professionals in their chosen field.

TravelMummy, your post is only relevant to those who belief and trust that the schools and those in their profession knows best. From Kaking's posts, I find that to be lacking, because information gathered from his hearsay, his 'reality' doesn't jive with the way things are supposed to be.

Sorry, kaking, did you mention you have any kids? I might have missed it cos the thread is going too fast for me.

Hi Concern2, something or other will always be lacking. There is no perfect selection system of talent selection. Some parties will be displeased while others are pleased. But i have not experienced any lack of transparency in my experience. If anyone bothers to talk to the HODs or senior teachers at RI/HCI, I am sure they are q open to share openly their past experiences with getting DSA places are. With RI, I was told in a forthright manner this year that 85% in SA1 & top 50 in RIPWMC (top 3.5%) won't stand me a high chance for DSA into acad. That it may be worth us trying if he was top 1% in RIPWMC ie topped round 2 of the competition and with average grades of 90% & above. I was told outright that we would be better off trying for sports DSA, even though DS grades are more than decent by mainstream standard. For certain sports, bronze medalists who achieved better timings than last year's gold medalists may not even get CO as there are many this year's gold medalists and national reps waiting for places. 一山比一山高。 They are looking for top 1% - creme de la creme - not just above average from the crop of applicant. After all, there are just these few places to allocate. Similarly, at HCI, I was given fairly good guidance as to how the school would look at DS and was able to intelligently assess our chances and apply accordingly. It is hard for the school to formally publish standard guidelines as the crop varies from year to year. But honestly, selection depends on quality of applicants in that year, and they will select the top of each talent crop. What more details could one give? My DS is not GEP, but I won't claim that GEP tests are less rigorous than GAT or HAST because I suspect our tests are always more difficult than these general ones. So if these schools make the assessment that GEP scores of above 80% is sufficient for a kid to be worth interviewing, who are parents to argue? If we do not trust the educators of the school, then we mustn't send our kids to that school. Schools have organized the open houses to give us all a chance to ask our questions and have tried to answer them as transparently as they can. We need to also do our own research as well. GEP is just a label. Give the educators some credit. If the GEP kid is not bright, it will come thru in the interview and he or she won't be granted a place. Simple. If some mainstream kid is equally smart, he will equally ace the tests and interviews and get in on his own steam. But the reality is, we parents all thinks our kids are so smart. Unfortunately there is someone else out there smarter. Reality sucks![/quote]

You can be living in HDB flats within 1km of Pei Hwa.

There are still many cheap condos within 1 km of Pei Hwa & MGS, much cheaper than the other part of Bukit Timah.

toddles:

Errrrr. Isn't MGS and Pei Hwa in landed neighbourhoods?

Don't quite understand this statement about rich alumni having advantage etc. if MOE has sticker to using distance as primary yardstick, & people go to their nearby primary school means alumni mostly all living near the school, they will all be of similar family background, rich or poor differentiation will not arise.


Also, there are many good schools not in expensive neighbourhood, like Rosynth, St Nic, Nan Hua, Rulang, Methodist Girls, Pei Hwa, Pei Chun, Ai Tong, Red Swastika, Maha Bodhi, Nan Chau, Chongfu, Kong Hwa etc. So, saying that P1 registration based on distance favors the rich is not true.

weyw:

Rata:

[quote=\"toddles\"]Hard to say when they will implement it... guess no use guessing... hopefully they will announce this Sunday at NDR speech.

Last year when they made the change to give SC priority, it was also implemented straightaway. the PRs also had no time to change plans, or do PV etc...

last yr plan change is to protect all SC kids. so all SC kids no impact of unfair. But the cap of phase 2a affects some SC kids and it will lead to unfair suituation among SC. Is very different

Rata, yes...it indeed will lead to unfair suituation among SC

the rich SC alumni will get their way in if capped phase 2A1 vacanies and distance is considered for balloting... those poor SC alumni outside certain distance will feel the unfairness even they already joined for years but no $$ to move nearer...[/quote]

The way you say is too passive because if the system is broken, the people who created them should fix it, & not always dealing just at your end because there is limit to what you can do at your end (eg if every week got tests, tons of homework & projects to complete at home to handup, can you remove these stress by not doing?) & if everybody know the system is broken but just say you will deal with it just at your end, the system will not improve & the world will not progress.

slmkhoo:

MotherHen:

[quote=\"CayennePepper\"]But MOE doesn't decide the COPs of schools; students select the schools themselves right? If all the bright sparks choose to place themselves in a few schools, we are hardly say that it's MOE's doing.

Actually, I've been thinking the same thing. The education system per se has never \"told\" me what to do or what not to do. Tweak PSLE all they want, the worrywart in me will still find something to stress about :oops:

Different strokes for different folks. Eg, just take my brother and myself. Kids in the same education system, same age even. But it's as if our kids attend schools on different planets. I radiate stress and he (and his kids) radiates well-being. So perhaps it's our mentality that has to be tweaked instead?

I have to answer 'yes' to your last question. Although eliminating stress altogether is not within our control, and I'm not sure it would be a good aim anyway, controlling how we react to stress is to a large extent within our control.[/quote]

Any kid can apply through DSA, but whether get in or not another story. I just want to say DSA because of academic or GEP are plain rubbish & giving these GEP kids a bad name for having back-door entrance without competing fairly. Given that these are the feelings & impressions of many People, so why MOE not doing anything? OSC is for show or real, we will know on 18 Aug.

metz:

NormalLayman:

Based on what you said, all the more reason to scrap DSA for GEP kids & all those preferential treatment & extra funding to schools from MOE for preferring to admit GEP kids. MOE is doing them a disservice & giving them a bad name when these kids are able to compete based on their results. As usual, action speak louder than words. Until we see action by MOE to disperse those doubts, what I or you say or share will not matter.

Or by the way, the way you wrote a bit strange because it is well known that for DSA for GEP kids, PSLE results do not factor in anymore as they are already admitted before PSLE results are out, & they just need to get a score of 220, a mark which more than 50% of students can score better, so really an insult to these GEP kids. Since they can score so well, might as well let them get entry by competing fairly based on PSLE results than DSA & mandating such a low balls score requirement, thus killing all these rumours which will never die until some actions are taken.

I am getting the notion from you that DSA is only meant for GEP kids? From what I understand, mainstream students are welcome to apply under the academic domain. Strictly speaking, mainstream students (once offered by DSA) are also enjoying the same \"privileges/insults\" you mentioned.

Honestly, I have no interest whether there should be DSA or GEP or if PSLE is a fair exam. I merely want to point out the misconception that no GEP kids are rejected by DSA.