Enrolling for Aug/Sept - is it too late?

[ablanche]

My husband has just been offered a job in Singapore.

Is it too late to hope to get a place for my 5 and 3 year olds at school/preschool for next term?

I hear waiting lists are huge and deposits are huge. What do people do who aren't in Singapore yet? Surely you can't place so many huge deposits down? We would be moving for 3-5 years so want to make sure we get the kids into a good school.

What do others do who are applying from abroad?

[durain]

get in touch with the schools. some preschool will have waiting list.

[QRM]

Ask your potential employers what are their schooling policy, who know if they want you enough they might cover the deposits etc.

I know a number of people who gave Singapore a miss because of the problems getting their kids into a decent school here, like Durain said, its worth getting in touch directly with the schools and check.

[ablanche]

get in touch with the schools. some preschool will have waiting list.

Hmmm. yes... I realise this is the thing to do. I wrote to most of them a couple of months back when the subject of moving to Singapore first cropped up. All those that answered said that they had huge waiting lists. Seems crazy that we can't get into a school except for several terms in advance?? One school told me that there wouldn't be space for several years!! What do new expats do~?

[aussiemeg]

Hi there

For nursery you can probably get in a tanglin trust and also a blue house nursery.I was told about the huge waiting lists when a friend was moving over and she had no problem getting her 3 year old in at the place of her choice. The 6 year old was a problem though