Do expat children go to local schools?

[sundaymorningstaple]

I can see you've read a lot of the threads here......


NOT.

[boffenl]

Hi, I believe that, before you choose to put your children into the Singapore Education System, you should find out if the system is suitable for your children. After all, there is a major difference between the education system and syllabus between your home country and Singapore. It would be advisable that a little bit of research is done before deciding on government schools.

Hi David,

It does seem that you're put off the local school system. The three moms on this thread have been diligent in researching and questioning the system here, local, international and independent. There is a vast difference between those three school systems and curricula as well.

I welcome your call for all parents to research the options for education for their children. But please do not assume that parents have not done their research when they choose something different--and appropriate for their child.

[Crido]

Hi everybody,
We/my daughter took the AEIS test last Oct. And are now keeping our fingers crossed for the results.
If there is anyone with previous experience in this field, could you please clarify a couple of issues for me?
1. they say no school transfers will be accepted this year, as school offer will consider the intended residential area. We are not in Sg yet and wonder what is the estimated distance, radius, that is usually considered by MOE? I just searched for primary schools in our intended area, Siglap, and could only find 4 schools in that district. I know places for international students are limited and am worried about a long commute to the potential school.
2. Any chance of results being published before the tentative date, Dec. 14th? It would help a lot with our house hunting....

Thanks!

[Crido]

P.S. the public school in Sg seems/is much, much better than what we have back home, so it is the right choice for us, not to mention budget. No offence meant for anybody
Many tahnks to posters who gave valuable information here on govt schools!

[Shona Trench]

Hi there - I don't think that there is any chance of receiving the results earlier than the date advertised. I was in your position last year, with 2 Secondary school children. Both were given a place, but at different schools....one is about a 15 min bus ride away, the other needs to allow about 30 mins. We decided not to try and change schools, but go with the system, and things have worked out fine.

[Crido]

Hi Shona,
Thank you so much for your reply. Had you already looked for an apt. before they released the results, as we are right now? I just don' t want to choose one apt. that will prove farthest from the school. I guess we will pay for... 2 more weeks of hotel/serviced apt. and decide after Dec. 14.
So nice that your kids were not bothered by the 2 different schools issue. Great opportunity to experience 2 different ...worlds.

My daughter was all excited but the relocation stress and excitement is getting to her now, asking if there are other Europeans in her school, what if they don' t like her, etc. Do you know of any blog, forum for expat kids in Sg to share experiences, views, etc. I would like to give her some...point to start from. Oh, and I am considering sending her to one ....enrichment camp or whatever they are called, for a week, as there are plenty for December holidays. Any thought on that?

Sorry for pouring questions like that and tahnks again!

[Shona Trench]

Hi Crido,
Yes, we had moved to a new apartment, and advised the MOE of our new address. I think the way the system works is that the schools fill the places with the local children, and naturally the International Students are given a place last. I have no problem with that, as after all they should allocate places to locals first, we should not expect any 'special' treatment. There are quite a lot of International students at both schools, but many of them are Asian, and there are not as many Caucasian students, so my children did feel a bit like a 'fish out of water' at the start. It takes time, and we had a lot of tears from them both at the start. However, all is well now, and they have settled down.
They still complain about the workload, and various other things, but hey, they are both teenagers, and I would expect that from them wherever we sent them!
We did not do any enrichment courses, so could not comment on that, sorry.
Good luck, regards Shona

[boffenl]

Shona, I can't thank you enough for your informational posts. Although my daughter has only attended SG local primary schools she still occassionally mentions how nice it would be to attend a International School--I guess the grass is always greener. But now that exams are over she's really LOVING school. The last few days of the school year are always wonderful.

I'd suggest to all folks who have older children that the international scouting movement in Singapore is very vibrant--the USA girl scouts have several troops of older girls and I know the USA Boys scouts do too. The UK and Australian scouts are active as well. If your kids are looking for instant friendships that's the way to go! We've found more and more kids are attending local schools and the scouts give them a handle on the "American-ness" in addition to the benefits they receive attending local schools. It's a win-win for everyone. As a side note--the USA girl scout program will accept girls of all nationalitites (non-Singaporean) who attend local schools.