Local schools?List of good ones?

[GIA]

Hi, I tried to search in internet but couldn't find, wich local schools count like very good?And how long are waiting lists there?Thank you!

[Aunty Aunty]

To find information on local schools, you would need to do your research on the MOE website. It will tell you all you need to know about the local system and how to apply for a school. In terms of wait-list or availability, you would need to contact each and every school directly for the information. I would think that it would be different for every school as well as every year level. Also, as you probably already know, if you are not Singaporean or a PR, you would be in the last phase of enrollment during an admissions exercise.

[school daze]

I don't think they do waiting lists like international schools do, one of my friends had to go down on the designated day and queue up to get her daughter's name on the list (the day was only about 6 months before the beginning of the term that her daughter was due to start).

As Aunty says above, foreigners get the lowest priority so you can usually forget about the schools which are considered 'good' unless you're PR.

I thought I read somewhere that your son was only 3 years old - he won't be due to attend until he's 6, it's kindergarten until then.

[Opera Estatr]

try oprea estate

[another opera estate fan]

yes, try Opera Estate Primary School in the east, near Siglap/East Coast.

It is a nice, homey, local school that will not stress out your kids.  Avoid all the "good" local schools. 

Usually these "good" schools are considered good because they produce high scoring kids.  But I'm not keen on having my kids score high grades in local schools.  I want them to have a sound, good Singaporean education but not have 5 extra tutors drilling them everyday so that they can score good grades for local exams.

It is hard being in the local school system where ALL the Singaporean parents are drilling and stressing their kids to ace their exams.  This might affect you in some ways.  But try not to let it bother you.

For us, we're glad that our kids are benefitting from the local education system but we don't want them to be unduely stressed.

Passing and scoring decent grades in local schools are good enough for us.  They are still kids and we want their lives to be filled with enriching experiences and not just filled with exam worries every single day.

[GIA]

Thank you all for replies! I know we are still small, but would like to know in advance and if there are waiting lists we could stand on it now. And what about English in local schools?All our friends tell us they also thought about local schools and then changed on International because of bad English in local schools.

[smiley188]

i just posted on local schools in a different thread. If you are concerned about the kids learning Singlish at school, just teach them that "proper" english is to be spoken everywhere except at school (they need to fit in after all)

my kid goes to St Margaret - happy with the school.

local schools don't have a waiting list per se. there is an application process every july. Check out the ministry of education website for primary one registration.

priority of admission depends on several factors. for expats, it boils down to whether you are a PR or not (better chance when you are a PR.. altho preference for citizens). Also, church affiliations or volunteer work the year before may help, as would living within 1 km (really competitive schools), or at least within 2 km would be useful.

for schools that are in high demand, there is balloting done.

for non-PRs, they usually have to wait until later rounds...

cool thing is that some schools also have other activities for the kids eg gymnastics classes, tennis, dance, swimming... less running around for parents

do bear in mind about the "mother tongue" requirement. Usually only a choice of chinese, malay or tamil but possible to apply for other languages eg german or french but need to check with the schools directly.

other reputable schools:
1) nanyang (high pressure - jim rogers kid probably going there)
2) acs (boys)
3) mgs (girls)
4) raffles (girls?)
5) scgs (girls)
6) catholic high (boys)
7) chij (girls) - several campuses - toa payoh is good
rosyth
9) henry park (co-ed)

more out there but these are the ones i know

[mytake]

It is a nice, homey, local school that will not stress out your kids.  Avoid all the "good" local schools.  Usually these "good" schools are considered good because they produce high scoring kids.  But I'm not keen on having my kids score high grades in local schools.  I want them to have a sound, good Singaporean education but not have 5 extra tutors drilling them everyday so that they can score good grades for local exams.

This is precisely the reason why you should avoid the 9 schools listed by PP. IMO, the schools that are high in demand and which require balloting are the ones that you should avoid.

St margs and opera estate are good options to consider.

[Zhonghua Primary]

My kids (10 and 7) are in Zhonghua Primary School near Serangoon Gardens. They are not pressured at all but are having fun learning. My 7 year old is learning chess,speech and drama as well as gymnastics during their curriculum time besides playing 'learning' games during English and Maths. He has limited homework (once or twice a week about 20 minutes each) which he usually has no trouble completing on his own.

My 10 year old has just returned from a very fun 2 day camp filled with activities like abseiling and dragon-boating. She does not go for any tuition at all and is very relaxed about school.She used to go to an international school here but due to financial reasons we transferred her to the above school.She has been there just over a year now. She is happy and well-adjusted (took her less than two months) and loves going to school. She usually has homework three times a week which she manages to complete on her own in an hour or so.

There doesn't seem to be any rote learning besides spelling and times-table. In fact, they both have brain-storming sessions at school. My 10 year old also has to carry out her own research as part of her science project.

Both my kids have plenty of time besides school and homework to spend splashing in the pool and playing with the neighbourhood kids in the park.

As for the Singlish, they use it with their friends but switch effortlessly when home. Not a problem.