Schooling for my son

kansatish · Post by **kansatish** » Tue, 18 Oct 2005 5:54 pm

Hello,
I am relocating to Singapore on 1st December from India. I have a son who is 6 years old and is currently studying in Class I in India.
1. I want to know if I can put him in a local school Primary I in year 2006, or do I have to wait till year 2007?
2. If yes, how do I go about it because I don't seem to have much time
3. If I plan to put him in year 2007, is it easy enough to get admission in Primary II?
4. Do local schools have any transport facilities?

Would appreciate detailed replies.

Thanks and regards
Satish

Candy · Post by **Candy** » Tue, 18 Oct 2005 6:50 pm

Yes your son can attend local goverment school, but you have to approach the schools to find out if he'll be accepted.
You should visit www.moe.gov.sg to find out if your son should be starting primary 1.
With Goverment local schools you are require to make a biannual contribution of $1000 to the MOE, and a monthly contribution of $90. Foreign students are the last to be to be allocated a place in local schools, so you will have to find out yourself if there are spaces for your son by contacting the schools of your choice. Good luck!

june_faerie · Post by **june_faerie** » Fri, 04 Nov 2005 1:14 pm

If you are coming in December, most probably your son will not be able to go to a local school in year 2006. I am not sure of your child's ability and proficiency in English and Maths subjects. I am a local agent helping foreign students to gain entry to local schools in Singapore. You may like to seek my advise. By the way, local schools have transport available for students for primary levels.

Blaze · Post by **Blaze** » Sat, 05 Nov 2005 3:50 pm

june_faerie wrote:If you are coming in December, most probably your son will not be able to go to a local school in year 2006. I am not sure of your child's ability and proficiency in English and Maths subjects. I am a local agent helping foreign students to gain entry to local schools in Singapore. You may like to seek my advise. By the way, local schools have transport available for students for primary levels.

Why does arriving in December preclude a kid from going to a local school in 2006 ?

Agewise, if the kid is born in 1999, he/she is eligible for P1 in 2006. Availability-wise, there seems to be an abundance of vacancies! Are we missing something here ?

Blaze
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june_faerie · Post by **june_faerie** » Sun, 06 Nov 2005 11:59 pm

Well, usually for foreigners, they have to go for placement test in school. Schools usually have a number of foreign students to take in a year. Placement tests are usually for Eng and Maths subjects. That is why I say the student may not be able to get in because the eng standard is not there. Well, I am not sure about the education system in India and the child's english proficiency. It really depends on the school. There are exceptions though, if the child is really good.

kansatish · Post by **kansatish** » Mon, 07 Nov 2005 1:54 pm

Hello June,
Thank you for the information. The schooling system in India is pretty good and is of high standards. My son is very proficient in English and Maths. The medium of instruction is English. The subjects that he has are English, Maths, Tamil (Second language) and Environmental Studies. He had been selected as outstanding student last year and received the General Proficiency award. The school in which he is studying is one of the best schools nation-wide. Good to know that you are a local agent for foreign students. Please send me your private e-mail ID and we will discuss more on this.

Thanks and regards
Satish

k1w1 · Post by **k1w1** » Mon, 07 Nov 2005 2:26 pm

Kansatish,

The information the above poster gave was not entirely accurate, as far as I am aware. For high school entry, there was an entrance test for foreigners (for the top schools) up until this year when it was scrapped. I am not exactly sure of the details, but in any case, it does not apply to you.

Your son, as a non-PR or non-citizen will only be allowed admission to school under phase 3 enrolment. The prior phases are for local children only - it basically means that all local children are given entrance priority, and the remaining school places are left open to foreign kids.

The following link tells you the schools that had places available at the beginning of phase three, as well as the number of places that they had. Note that this information is a couple of months old. You will need to contact the school directly.

http://www.moe.gov.sg/esp/schadm/p1/ava ... ancies.htm

Use this link to give you contact details of the schools you would like to contact, including email addresses, (seeing as you are not here yet).

http://app.sis.moe.gov.sg/schinfo/index.asp

june_faerie · Post by **june_faerie** » Mon, 07 Nov 2005 11:18 pm

I do not think it is not entirely accurate. From what the MOE website has shown about the phasesm it read as below:

CATEGORY 2 CHILDREN WHO ARE NOT SINGAPORE CITIZENS OR SINGAPORE PERMANENT RESIDENTS
Phase 3 For a child who is not a Singapore Citizen or a Permanent Resident. - Registration & Announcement of result (Tue 30 Aug 2005)

mumbaigirl · Post by **mumbaigirl** » Tue, 08 Nov 2005 7:39 am

For Primary 1 you can easily get admission.... they don't ask for a test unless your child joins school in the middle of the year or it is Primary 2 onwards. I am not sure whether the test has been scrapped as mentioned by K1W1.
If your child is born in calendar year 1999, he can start Primary 1 in Jan 2006. The admission exercise for this, however, was done in July-August 2005, thus leaving no vacancies in the top schools.
Getting into Primary 1 is easier than Primary 2. Moreover, the academic years of local, Indian and International Schools are different. There are two Indian schools here too.
regards,
mumbaigirl

k1w1 · Post by **k1w1** » Tue, 08 Nov 2005 9:28 am

I apologise, I thought you guys were referring to the CQT for top schools and Junior colleges.

Try this link (actually handy for anyone looking at the local schools). It is a step-by-step guide to (foreign) registration. There is a placement test required.

http://www.moe.gov.sg/esp/foreign/5steps.htm

Blaze · Post by **Blaze** » Tue, 08 Nov 2005 2:17 pm

I just got off the phone after a conversation with a customer service guy at the MOE. According to him, admission to P1 is only paperwork. There is no placement test even if the student is a foreigner.

Phew! It's a relief hearing it straight from the horse's mouth. I, like Kansatish, will be arriving in SG in Dec and wanted my son to join P1 starting 2006. I am afraid the kid is not ready for a placement test!

Blaze

k1w1 · Post by **k1w1** » Tue, 08 Nov 2005 3:15 pm

Just a point of interest: Balestier Hill has the highest number of foreign entry children attending. Something like 200 of them are from other parts of Asia and Europe.

kansatish · Post by **kansatish** » Fri, 11 Nov 2005 1:00 pm

Dear All,
Thanks for the wealth of information. I am now kind of hopeful that my son's schooling is not a major cause of concern in Singapore.
Satish

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