Indecisive Dad - Go go local or international

[nutnut]

We're happy with the International School our kids go to, much happier than the local kindergarten that they went to.

Local Kinde had bullies and no reprimand, lack of good solid English, lack of teaching manners that we deemed acceptable, too much pressure to be graded on things (at 3 years old!!!)

International School Con:
International school IB program is good, but, it works better if your kids are bright, you'll know this, if they aren't bright, they don't thrive as much!

This is all I have to say right now, both school systems are fine, some International Schools are great, some poor, some mediocre.

I heard of kids in a friends daughter's (local) school where kids were made to stand in stress positions at 6/7 years old as a punishment and they were not allowed to talk to friends at all in class, face the front and listen.

Everything has it's pros and cons, all schools are different.

Good luck, it's a minefield.

[Roasted squid]

I do not want to wait half a year for my child to start school. Can I enroll mid-year? I guess it's best to contact MOE directly....

For your primary 2 child, 2013 registration will be conducted between July and August 2013.

Refer to this link for update
http://moe.gov.sg/education/admissions/ ... istration/

How difficult was it to get into a school?

As your child are not Singapore Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents. He or she will be place under Phase 3. MOE will release which school has available places after Phase 1 to 2C.
You only can register these school.


For more detail about phase information, refer to this
http://moe.gov.sg/education/admissions/ ... on/phases/

Quote from MOE web

Balloting will be conducted in Phase 3 if the number of applications exceeds the number of places available at the end of Phase 3 registration. Balloting will be conducted one day after phase 3 registration.

With effect from the 2012 Primary One Registration Exercise, for non Singapore Citizen / Singapore Permanent Resident children who have not been able to obtain a place at their school of choice after the Phase 3 balloting, MOE will post the child to a suitable primary school with vacancy. The posting outcome will be released to the parent a month after the balloting. MOE posting is final and no appeals will be entertained. Schools will also not entertain any walk-in applications.

[katbh]

Yes, you can apply for both local or international systems mid way through the year.
And I think I was misquoted. I was NOT saying there were holes in the Local Education system. What i WAS saying is that there are holes in ANY education system which may not accord with the moral or ideals of an individual parent.

My children have had a lovely and rigorous education in the local system. They have excelled academically but have also represented their school in sport nationally. They have climbed Mt Kinabalu, attended camp each year, been heads of their year, been on leadership programs, international panels, debates etc. Probably far more so than if they had been a cog in a huge International School. My children have had a great education - well rounded an well grounded. Mixing with children of all races and with teachers of high ability and dedication

[x9200]

Yes, you can apply for both local or international systems mid way through the year.
And I think I was misquoted. I was NOT saying there were holes in the Local Education system. What i WAS saying is that there are holes in ANY education system which may not accord with the moral or ideals of an individual parent

I can only repeat myself. What was mentioned is a serious gap especially if one wants to advertise the system for its alleged excellency. Also, I am afraid too many people see it as a real issue to suggest these are just some individual preferences.

[katbh]

And many people and institutions have vested interests in promoting International Schools over local schools.
The propaganda in International Schools, about local schools, is amazing. Hard to think that intelligent well meaning people actually believe it!

[Dalila2]

well there is a lot to read, and I can't go through everything you all posted here but would like to say one thing ...

... my son is in P3 now and it's getting though/er. He is a good student (90%) but still there are many things he needs help with because they are above his age ability (mostly math).

I'm not saying the local schools are bad, but they are not easy and you have to know what you are doing. My son is smart and I think we made a good choice for him, but every child is different. Curriculum topics are readily available on MoE's web site, have a look before you make a decision.

Of course, you can always move to an IS if local school doesn't work for your child.

[katbh]

A good way of seeing if your child will cope in a local school is to get a set of exam papers or an exam book from Popular. Packs of papers can be found at most markets, but if you do not need a whole heap of papers, it is best just to go to popular and get a booklet of exams.
Now remember that the exams are from the elite schools and are quite hard.
If you child, with not previous prepping can get over 50% they will be fine in a local school. If they are lower than 50% have a look at the paper. If it is because of things where they have made simple mistakes, they will also be fine - they will learn VERY quickly in the local school to be more careful and thorough.
If they REALLY struggle, perhaps and International School, with smaller class ratio and a slower curriculum would be more suitable.

[Max Headroom]

I spent 4 years in an International School here and they were great years. IB was challenging academically and extra-curricularly it was awesome too.

School-life was strict but not to the point of being stifling. In fact, one major difference between local and international school is that at international school you're subtly encouraged to be different, to be creative, to think out of the box and to dare to explore the unknown. I guess it's an extension of the "Western" mind-set, as opposed to the Asian way, which generally, is more reserved, more cautious and not so forthcoming when it comes to offering a different view or solution.

Oh, there will be people who disagree with me, on the basis of their personal experience and you can go on and on about this aspect, yes. But after living, schooling and working, in Singapore for 10 years, I've become convinced that this difference between East and West is undeniable. It's a cultural, perhaps socio-cultural thing. It's pointless trying to deny it, it's there. And I think it's worthy of consideration when deciding on a school for your kids.

[AnnabelG]

I am a mum of a 22 month girl; and I believe I would have to decide between international and local when she is older.

I feel that Singlish is the only con of being in a local school. In all fairness, I have interacted with many Singaporean teenagers/students in the last few years, and I am amazed by how academically strong they are, verbally confident (not to the extent of being brash), and bursting with creativity. You would be surprised that many students who yak Singlish effortlessly could come up with beautifully written essays. These are the new generation of students who are not in the workforce yet, so their older counterparts in the current workforce now is not a true indication of how creative/inspiring Singaporeans could be. Education is progressive and changes with time.

Without a doubt, the top Singaporean schools are of a very good standard; you cannot deny it. Now, the only problem for us, is how to get our kids into those schools ......

[katbh]

I am a mum of a 22 month girl; and I believe I would have to decide between international and local when she is older.

I feel that Singlish is the only con of being in a local school. In all fairness, I have interacted with many Singaporean teenagers/students in the last few years, and I am amazed by how academically strong they are, verbally confident (not to the extent of being brash), and bursting with creativity. You would be surprised that many students who yak Singlish effortlessly could come up with beautifully written essays. These are the new generation of students who are not in the workforce yet, so their older counterparts in the current workforce now is not a true indication of how creative/inspiring Singaporeans could be. Education is progressive and changes with time.

Without a doubt, the top Singaporean schools are of a very good standard; you cannot deny it. Now, the only problem for us, is how to get our kids into those schools ......

+1
My Ang Moh children are among that new batch of secondary students. And the other amazing thing about spoken English v Singlish is that they can also slip between Singlish and very good spoken English - not just written.

[Dalila2]

katbh - how are they doing in Secondary?

From what I have heard it's pretty hard and after that only the best of the best can get into the NUS or NUT.

I'm not sure I'll be able to save enough money in time to send 2 kids to study abroad. Mine are both fairly smart and would easily get into US/UK University but here I'm afraid is another story. For my older one Georgia Tech wold be a dream place, the younger one is still searching.


...
Exam papers for Primary 1-6 are available for download. Can't remember where, but I bet Google knows.

Exam papers are indeed from top-notch primary schools but are exactly the same as in any other primary school. What makes the difference is that one year one student from some school gets good PSLE results and after that all the parents who want the same for their children will move to that school. So, it's not the school that is better it's just the pupils who attend that school that are often pushed more by their parents to do better. In better schools you have a mother staying at home and working with a child and in other schools you have two working parents and grandma taking care of the child.

When testing your child using the old tests available online you also have to know how to grade the paper. Every little thing in the test counts. Full stop is half a point, wrong letter is full point, words too close or too far away half a point, open-ended sentences not written as the teacher would like to - 2 points, essay not having enough phrases - 10%. in math the result is 2 points and method is another 2 points, or 1-1 depending on how hard the question is.

[jonivefan]

Hi,

If you're looking for some earnest advice, maybe i can share my experience with you. I'm not Singaporean, but I've studied in both International Schools and went to RI(JC), aka the 'best' Junior College in Singapore. I have friends who go to schools like UWC/OFS, so I know somewhat what their experience is like. If you want, i can share my experience and my view from 'across the river' if you like. If you're interested and the advice is relevant, I can have a quick chat... contact at arvndbs2(at)gmail(dot)com.

cheers,
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[katbh]

^ sounds like an interested party promo there!