All About SAP Schools

[Karpi]

jenniferjoey:

Hi Mummies,


Hmm... i am so sorry to interrupt... As my girl is going to be P1 next year, I am quite new and blur in getting her into a Primary School next year. And with all your SAP, GEP, affiliated terms makes me more panic...

Ever since she is born as our most precious gift from God, my hubby and I wanted to give her the best we have, which including the best school we can get her in. Since she was 1 year old, I start looking for Nurseries, Kindergartens, Primary Schools... But as time goes by, I have been wonder, is the school we choose is what she wants? Is this and that enrichment classes is what she likes... ? But we never force her to stay in any enrichment classes she don't like, in the end it's us who got too tired of sending her to so many classes she wants...

We can try all our ways and luck to get to get her into a very good school, but the rest is up to her. And for which Secondary School to attend is no longer up to us.

Hmm... If she goes to an ordinary Primary School and performs very well, of course she can gets into any sec school she wants. She may be the top few students in school. But if she goes into a damn well school with good reputations which helps her to get into secondary school but she can't scores, I may as well forgo, she may suffer or fail.

My cousin has been persuaded by her JC teacher to quit school as she can't score well, and if she wanted to stay in the JC and take the 'A' levels, she would drag down the school's overall performances. :x She suffered lots of peer pressure from the school but luckily her parents are supportive and encouraged her to finish up the 'A' levels. Just imagine if your child one day jump down from high floors, and you never know why... as we only know that we are giving them the best...

I almost wanted to sue that teacher.... plus the JC's principal... :stupid:

Truly sad to hear that in our education system. Yet many parents still
insist sending their kids into such schools (am referring to pri.)

so i do agree, what we trying to give the best we could to our kids,
are these truly what they want AND suits them or not (be it preparation,
power of learning, etc)?

[mummypumpkin]

Reading comments about affiliation or not etc, then wouldn’t it be better to just shortlist schools around one’s residence and pick the better of the lot, unless you happen to be residing in the popular school zone, but then again, we are all here cos we are kiasu parents! Guess the key is not to stress ourselves thereby stressing the kids out. Singapore schools in general are far better standards compared to other places where the vast difference can be seen in public vs private schools.

[titank]

What if we enroll our kid in SAP School? In the end if they get into Normal (Technical) then would it be a wrong choice in the beginning?


I do not mind to enroll SAP School if there is one next to my house.

[csc]

[Moderator's note: Topics selected for http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/choose-most-suitable-primary-school-your-child.]


Hi parents,

Juz sharing my own experience since I've 'been there, done that.\"

I totally agree with the Straits Times article on last Sat that mentioned parents should seek to choose a GOOD OR BEST primary school for your child and not the TOP school.

That's what we did. We chose a good neighbourhood school a short distance from our home. It's slightly beyond 2 km so Daddy has to do PV which in this school, do PV - almost 100% can get in. I remember some of our friends questioned why we didn't PV at a more reputable school then. But distance was a major concern for us - we wanted our young children to have more sleep to have a better quality of life - so that's the decision.

Anyway, we had no regrets - our children love their school a lot -- and they were blessed to be placed in the top class so they got all the BEST teachers in the school. Lots of opportunities for leadership roles, competitions, cca involvement which I think would be more competitive in a more reputable school.

A few of my friends too spent considerable time and effort (like PV, join clan, change church membership) to get their children into TOP primary schools.. thinking their children would benefit from being in that school.
Actually, the opposite happened. Their children were demoralised as some could not cope with the high standards in such schools.

After PSLE, they were channelled into a normal neighbourhood secondary school .
If the pri school has affiliations, some might get into the affiliated sec school but the reality would surface again when they received their \"O\" level results - might end up in a lower-end JC again.

For us, we are more selective about secondary schools. The environment and peer group in a secondary school play a major role in shaping the identity and building confidence in our teenaged children. So we would rather spend more time preparing the children to get into reasonably reputable secondary schools.

However, we will still choose the reputable schools that are nearer to our home. Actually, it's better to stay in the West or Central cos there are more choices of reputable secondary schools/JCs/tertiary institutions to choose from. Just my opinion.

[jedamum]

csc:

I totally agree with the Straits Times article on last Sat that mentioned parents should seek to choose a GOOD OR BEST primary school for your child and not the TOP school.

That's what we did. We chose a good neighbourhood school a short distance from our home. It's slightly beyond 2 km so Daddy has to do PV which in this school, do PV - almost 100% can get in.

However, we will still choose the reputable schools that are nearer to our home..

How do you actually place a tag on which primary school is 'Top', 'Neighbourhood' or 'Reputable'? 'Top' as in produce top students? 'Reputable' as in has several awards? 'Neighbourhood' as in situated near HDB neighbourhood?
There is a lot of misconception when one said that they chose a good neighbourhood school for their kids, but actually is the 'Top in that area' or 'More reputable in that area'.
Pei Hwa is situation beside HDB estate, so does that SAP school qualify as a neighbourhood school?
There are also parents who shifted to their preferred schools years before the P1 registration and then proclaimed that they registered in a school that is near to them - isn't that a red herring?

As long as awards are given, top students are listed, there is no stopping parents of going for what they deemed is the best - most parents nowadays won't usually blindly follow the crowd - those who did should be the minority, so to me, the report is just another report for reading pleasure.

[csc]

jedamum:

How do you actually place a tag on which primary school is 'Top', 'Neighbourhood' or 'Reputable'? 'Top' as in produce top students? 'Reputable' as in has several awards? 'Neighbourhood' as in situated near HDB neighbourhood?

There is a lot of misconception when one said that they chose a good neighbourhood school for their kids, but actually is the 'Top in that area' or 'More reputable in that area'.
Pei Hwa is situation beside HDB estate, so does that SAP school qualify as a neighbourhood school?
There are also parents who shifted to their preferred schools years before the P1 registration and then proclaimed that they registered in a school that is near to them - isn't that a red herring?

As long as awards are given, top students are listed, there is no stopping parents of going for what they deemed is the best - most parents nowadays won't usually blindly follow the crowd - those who did should be the minority, so to me, the report is just another report for reading pleasure.

The tags are definitely not given by me... I'm sure parents are in the know what the top schools and neighbourhood schools are.
Pei Hwa is definitely not a \"neighbourhood school' in the eyes of parents.

You are right, I happen to be in the minority who don't follow the crowd blindly... It's my belief that a \"reputable\" secondary school/JC/tertiary instituation is more important than a 'popular' primary school. Most employers don't even ask for the applicants' pri school.

Yes, I do want the best school - not the best in the whole of Singapore - but the best for my children's education and development.

[girlizz]

How about kids with parents who are foreigners (Malaysian per se). If they do PV, does that help bring them up to 2B priority level or they will remain at Level 3 of the list?


I'm new in the central area, do you know of any reputable schools in TPY/Newton/Novena/Bukit Timah area?

Thanks in advance.

csc:

[Moderator's note: Topics selected for http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/choose-most-suitable-primary-school-your-child.]

Hi parents,

Juz sharing my own experience since I've 'been there, done that.\"

I totally agree with the Straits Times article on last Sat that mentioned parents should seek to choose a GOOD OR BEST primary school for your child and not the TOP school.

That's what we did. We chose a good neighbourhood school a short distance from our home. It's slightly beyond 2 km so Daddy has to do PV which in this school, do PV - almost 100% can get in. I remember some of our friends questioned why we didn't PV at a more reputable school then. But distance was a major concern for us - we wanted our young children to have more sleep to have a better quality of life - so that's the decision.

Anyway, we had no regrets - our children love their school a lot -- and they were blessed to be placed in the top class so they got all the BEST teachers in the school. Lots of opportunities for leadership roles, competitions, cca involvement which I think would be more competitive in a more reputable school.

A few of my friends too spent considerable time and effort (like PV, join clan, change church membership) to get their children into TOP primary schools.. thinking their children would benefit from being in that school.
Actually, the opposite happened. Their children were demoralised as some could not cope with the high standards in such schools.

After PSLE, they were channelled into a normal neighbourhood secondary school .
If the pri school has affiliations, some might get into the affiliated sec school but the reality would surface again when they received their \"O\" level results - might end up in a lower-end JC again.

For us, we are more selective about secondary schools. The environment and peer group in a secondary school play a major role in shaping the identity and building confidence in our teenaged children. So we would rather spend more time preparing the children to get into reasonably reputable secondary schools.

However, we will still choose the reputable schools that are nearer to our home. Actually, it's better to stay in the West or Central cos there are more choices of reputable secondary schools/JCs/tertiary institutions to choose from. Just my opinion.

[allseasons]

\"kind\" of school it is (\"kind\" = SAP, affiliated, aided, neighbourhood, etc.), GEP.


Hi all,

Try to follow this thread, but as always.. I couldn't understand all the terms and acronyms. Can anyone enlighten me on these..? :?

Many thanks ya.. :oops:

[ChiefKiasu]

allseasons:

...Try to follow this thread, but as always.. I couldn't understand all the terms and acronyms. Can anyone enlighten me on these..? :? ...

Here's the starting point for your research: http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/kiasuparents-guide-primary-school-education. You should read the articles provided as links at the bottom of the article in the given sequence. It is a growing guide as it attempts to summarize and incorporate all the wisdom provided by parents in the forum.

[Zann]

csc:

[Moderator's note: Topics selected for http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/choose-most-suitable-primary-school-your-child.]


Hi parents,

Juz sharing my own experience since I've 'been there, done that.\"

I totally agree with the Straits Times article on last Sat that mentioned parents should seek to choose a GOOD OR BEST primary school for your child and not the TOP school..

I share the same view with you CSC. Less opportunity for the child in leadership role and CCA school team. I've heard of students in top popular primary score very well in academic and alway in top class but have never had a chance to take on leadershp role. When these students go for DSA application and were asked to fill-in what leadership role have they had in the past, they have nothing to fill-in. And definitely they had no chance for sport DSA since they have never been selected in the school team for any training.