Singapore Expats

Local school for expat kids

Interested to get your child into a local Primary School? Discuss the opportunities here.
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sfatafehi
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Local school for expat kids

Post by sfatafehi » Fri, 07 Oct 2016 10:58 am

Hello,

My family and I will be doing a 6 month rotation in Singapore.

My children are 3, 5 & 7. have other expats put their kids into the local schools, or always international? given the short amount of time we will be there, the International School seems like a very expensive option, keen to know what other have done in this situation and how public school have worked out.

thanks in advance!

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sundaymorningstaple
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Re: Local school for expat kids

Post by sundaymorningstaple » Fri, 07 Oct 2016 12:52 pm

You will not be able to get them into a local school. You have no choice but to put them in an International School. Be sure to allow between 20 and 30K/school year per child. If that is too steep, you might want to reconsider your rotation here (or ensure your company will pay for their education while here BEFORE you agree to anything).
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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sundaymorningstaple
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Re: Local school for expat kids

Post by sundaymorningstaple » Fri, 07 Oct 2016 12:56 pm

You will not be able to get them into a local school. You have no choice but to put them in an International School. Be sure to allow between 20 and 30K/school year per child. If that is too steep, you might want to reconsider your rotation here (or ensure your company will pay for their education while here BEFORE you agree to anything).

The normal rotation here is usually 2 years. One year being the shortest. It's almost impossible to get a 6 month lease so you will probably have to live in what is called a Serviced Apartment (normally 4~8K/month) unless the company is furnishing you a home that they keep under lease.

Or you might want to consider coming here on a 6 month Single contract and leave the family home as it not that long and it's quite hard on accompanying family members. (Personally I think this is the best option).
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

sfatafehi
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Re: Local school for expat kids

Post by sfatafehi » Fri, 07 Oct 2016 1:08 pm

thanks for the info, my company would be providing a furnished apartment.

It looks like other non locals have been able to get their kids into local school, this is only from the posts that i have seen.

Thanks

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Re: Local school for expat kids

Post by sundaymorningstaple » Fri, 07 Oct 2016 1:24 pm

Good Luck. You are going to need it. Unless you are coming in Oct/Nov you'll not find a vacancy in any local school at the start of the new school year in January.

Oh. Read the MOE website to learn about the Balloting for places for local schools and where EP holders are in the Hierarchy (dead last). Most school run out of places before all the locals find a place and if there are any left the PR children will suck up the rest. You might want to look into homeschooling if only for a 6 month duration (do a search of this site as there has been a little discussion about this).

MOE (ministry of education) links:
https://www.moe.gov.sg/admissions/inter ... l-students
https://www.moe.gov.sg/admissions/inter ... s-exercise
https://www.moe.gov.sg/admissions/inter ... hool-offer
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Re: Local school for expat kids

Post by PNGMK » Fri, 07 Oct 2016 3:46 pm

OP - don't be fooled. In the last 5 years the schooling situation for non PR and SC kids has gone from so-so to utterly impossible. Any information you are reading needs to be checked for how recent it is and who put it out. You could look for an FB group that looks into this (I can't remember the name).
I not lawyer/teacher/CPA.
You've been arrested? Law Society of Singapore can provide referrals.
You want an International School job? School website or http://www.ISS.edu
Your rugrat needs a School? Avoid for profit schools
You need Tax advice? Ask a CPA
You ran away without doing NS? Shame on you!

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Re: Local school for expat kids

Post by Barnsley » Wed, 12 Oct 2016 12:18 am

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/sc ... -next-year
SINGAPORE— For the second year in a row, fees for non-citizens at government and government-aided schools will go up next year in a continued effort to “differentiate fees by citizenship”.

From January, the fees will increase by between S$20 and S$60 a month for students who are PRs, and by between S$20 and S$150 a month for international students in primary and secondary schools, and pre-university institutions, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Tuesday (Oct 11).

For example, permanent residents attending primary school will pay S$130 a month, an increase of S$20. International students will pay S$600, an increase of S$50. The ministry, which announced similar increases in late September last year, said it reviews the fees annually and will make adjustments “when necessary”.

“The fee increase sharpens the differentiation between Singapore citizens, PRs and foreigners, to reflect the privileges of citizenship,” said an MOE spokesperson.

School fees for non-citizens have been increased substantially over the past seven years. The latest round of hikes would see PR students in primary school, for example, forking out in a month almost the same amount in school fees that their counterparts had to pay for the whole year back in 2009, when the Government first announced the need to raise fees to ensure that foreigners bear a “fair share” of rising education costs. Primary school fees for PRs were S$174 a year in 2009 and S$396 a year in 2011.

PRs and international students make up about 9 and 5 per cent, respectively, of the current student enrolment in government and government-aided schools. In 2009, TODAY reported that PRs and foreign students made up 8 and 4 per cent of the enrolment, respectively.

Some foreigners with children enrolled in government schools were upset with the news and described the move as “unfair”.

Permanent resident Leong YC, who has two sons in Sembawang Primary School, said the jump was “too extreme”, given that the previous hike was just a year ago.

The 42-year-old Malaysian felt the move is “part of a response to unhappiness that citizens have voiced” over the years, but that it “penalises” non-Singaporeans who plan to settle down here.

“I hope the Government can also think of people like us, who are sincere and want to build their livelihoods here,” said Ms Leong, who works in the semiconductor industry.

Ms Kim Thuy, whose two daughters hold Canadian and Vietnamese dual-citizenships, said it is “not fair for the kids who have a right to education”.

“I don’t know how it can be called a government school if you have to pay so much,” said the 43-year-old, whose eldest is a Primary 4 student at Bukit View Primary School.

Ms Thuy, who moved here with her Canadian husband and daughters in 2013, said she still hopes to enrol her youngest daughter, aged five, in a local school.

“International schools are too expensive, but it’s now tougher to get into a local one. I know a lot of foreigners who had to go back to their home countries because they could not afford even local schools here, even before this jump,” she added.

Others, such as Ms Sunitra Burton, are taking the hikes in their stride.

“For us foreigners, fees for government schools are still acceptable, compared with International Schools. But we don’t wish for further increments so soon,” said Ms Burton, whose family moved here from Britain six years ago.
Life is short, paddle harder!!

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PNGMK
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Re: Local school for expat kids

Post by PNGMK » Wed, 12 Oct 2016 9:07 am

The local school system here is both an educational and political tool. It's not for foreigners.
I not lawyer/teacher/CPA.
You've been arrested? Law Society of Singapore can provide referrals.
You want an International School job? School website or http://www.ISS.edu
Your rugrat needs a School? Avoid for profit schools
You need Tax advice? Ask a CPA
You ran away without doing NS? Shame on you!

AussieSkater
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Re: Local school for expat kids

Post by AussieSkater » Wed, 19 Oct 2016 8:07 pm

Your two younger children will be able to go to a local preschool, and there are many of them around, they do cost money and the cost varies from a couple of hundred to nearly $2k a month. For your older child, they would not be able to get a place in local school for 6 months. They would have to sit the centralised exam which is only held in September for entry in January or February for entry in March. Looks like you might have to homeschool the older one for 6 months.

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Re: Local school for expat kids

Post by katbh » Thu, 20 Oct 2016 3:24 pm

There is a third option - it may be cheaper to bring a relative to look after and school the children. Depending on where you are from, they do not necessarily need an EP, they can come in and out and do visa runs etc. Alternatively, you could see an agency about a short term maid contract. This is difficult as you are on a short stay - but I assume you will have an EP so not impossible. If you do not have an EP you can still hire but more expensive.

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