I can’t believe it! It’s my turn this year for the Primary One registration – an important milestone in a child’s life that usually gives parents the jitters. The MOE has just announced the Primary One registration phases and dates HERE.
Registering one’s child at a reputable primary school in Singapore has been a hot topic year after year, which is why the MOE has developed a system of phases to allocate children into various primary schools. This system also causes a lot of anxiety to parents, particularly to those who are not qualified under Phase 1 and Phase 2A.
I’ve witnessed the stress that my friends went through in order to enrol their kids into a premier primary school of their choice. I had the first discussion with V on this topic about two years ago. I thought that we should always plan early to avoid disappointment. After all, it’s our prerogative as parents to give Edison the best that we can – particularly in educational matters.
Most parents are looking for a good primary school with the following criteria:
- Proven track record of outstanding PSLE results.
- Also excel in non-academic areas, i.e. sports, arts, etc.
- Has a dedicated team of principal and teachers.
- Has a good learning environment.
- Has a good school image, i.e. discipline, success stories, etc.
Primary school is an important milestone that will affect the choices that our children will have in the years to come. So, it’s never an easy decision for the parents.
For us, we’re also looking for a primary school with good record of PSLE results and a good learning environment. We also prefer a co-ed school because I heard a lot of stories about bullies in an all boys’ school. Lastly, we prefer the school to be within 1-2km from our house to minimize travelling time.
After short-listing our preferred primary schools, we did a bit of research to see how intense the competition is to get into these schools. We didn’t sign-up as a parent volunteer so we’re likely to end up in the dreaded balloting process.
After exploring all the possible options, one major decision that we made was to relocate. Our journey to find a new home that is near to our preferred primary school for Edison came to a conclusion last year when we made a booking for a new apartment unit at Bartley Residences.
Our new place is within 1km from that school; in fact it’s just a short walking distance. So, the biggest advantage is the minimal travelling time for him in the next five years, and maybe nine years because that school is also affiliated to a secondary school.
Based on past years’ record, the balloting process starts for applicants staying within 1 to 2 km from that school. Our new place is just within 1km, so hopefully we can secure a place for him without balloting.
Just two more months to go for that BIG DAY. Who else is registering for Primary One this year? Have you made your choice?
