2023 PSLE Discussions and Strategies (Children born in 2011)
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blackyv\" post_id=\"2120264\" time=\"1696678337\" user_id=\"56432:
You can keep all the options open.
Yeah, actually my gal keep saying go edgefield secondary will do, near home, same school as her brother.. haha.. but as parents, if her result can go better school, we always hope they should go .. I have never thought of ip actually until my sil/bil talked about it.. haha.. maybe go O route better..hehe
After all, you will need the actual PSLE result before you can make a decision. -
blackyv\" post_id=\"2120263\" time=\"1696678055\" user_id=\"56432:
Since PSLE is over, can sit down with your daughter now, ask her how she has fared / performed overall, for each of the 4 subjects.
Thanks for the pointer. Good point, will take note..
You can start to prep her, now.
Ask her -
If in November when the PSLE results are released and if she does qualify for IP, ask her if she is keen / interested in IP.
If she answer Yes,
be it IP (IB at MGS or otherwise A-level),
then
proceed to join IP now, at aged 12. Do not wait (delay) until aged 16.
That is,
provided IP is what your daughter truly wants to pursue. This desire to study IP, must arise and come from WITHIN herself, not forced upon by parents onto their child, a wrongful disastrous move in the subsequent later years to come, if it has been \"forced upon\".
Parents, especially to mothers,
Yes, you may have given birth to your child, 12 years ago. But you do not own your child. Let your child make the comfortable decision herself / himself, whether she (he) prefer to accept, choose ( IP or O-level).
As to what are the differences between
IP ( IB vs. A-level ),
there is another thread in this forum, which discuss the differences between these two. You may go over there to read. -
Travelling is a secondary consideration when deciding secondary school for my child.
My generalised views:
If my child has demonstrated independence and consistency in studies without tuitions and is reasonably flexible, I would let my child enroll in IP school his PSLE qualify him for.
If my child has demonstrated independence and consistency in studies without tuitions and is not flexible, I would prefer my child enroll in O level Seconday school his PSLE qualify him for.
If my child is not independent and not consistent and need lots of external helps (like tuitions/pushing), to get those good PSLE grades, I will not let my child enroll in IP school. I would prefer an O level Seconday school with nurturing/motivating environment. Attend open houses to gauge ethos of schools.
If my child is somewhere in the middle of these spectrums, to secure some insurance, I would look for a school his PSLE result qualified him with nurturing/motivating environment. Attend open houses to gauge ethos of schools. I would talk to my child over his preference for IP or O level curriculum. -
Do note that Sec 1 (and Sec 2) exam papers are not readily available on the market, unlike primary school papers. This is something that primary school parents may not know.
The implications? From S1/Y1, the child will have to be very independent, seek consultations from subject teachers if unsure what will be tested, what type of answer is expected, etc. While most schools will give at least 1 previous EOY paper for the kids to do/see the sample format, sometimes no answer is provided, or teacher doesnt have time to go thru it. Will your child be able to learn on their own like that?
I have friends with kids in IP, as well as others in Express. Whether or not a subject teacher is good/passionate in their subject & provides good notes, is really your luck of the draw, not whether IP or Express school. Also varies from class to class. This means that your child is more or less on their own, have to initiate forming bonds with helpful seniors/teachers etc who can share notes/advice/guidance. Very few helpful assessment books, especially Humanities. And no tuition is available for Humanities subjects (not at lower sec).
Many kids fail in S1/Y1 especially at first exam. They are still learning to juggle everything (including CCA) on their own. The difference between IP and Express is, the former has 6 long years to learn and adapt; whereas the latter has a very short runway before the next national exam. Will they recover fast enough? It’s a question mark that I would rather do without IMO. -
zac's mum\" post_id=\"2120301\" time=\"1696728660\" user_id=\"53606:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=2120301 time=1696728660 user_id=53606]
Do note that Sec 1 (and Sec 2) exam papers are not readily available on the market, unlike primary school papers. This is something that primary school parents may not know.
The implications? From S1/Y1, the child will have to be very independent, seek consultations from subject teachers if unsure what will be tested, what type of answer is expected, etc. While most schools will give at least 1 previous EOY paper for the kids to do/see the sample format, sometimes no answer is provided, or teacher doesnt have time to go thru it. Will your child be able to learn on their own like that?
I have friends with kids in IP, as well as others in Express. Whether or not a subject teacher is good/passionate in their subject & provides good notes, is really your luck of the draw, not whether IP or Express school. Also varies from class to class. This means that your child is more or less on their own, have to initiate forming bonds with helpful seniors/teachers etc who can share notes/advice/guidance. Very few helpful assessment books, especially Humanities. And no tuition is available for Humanities subjects (not at lower sec).
Many kids fail in S1/Y1 especially at first exam. They are still learning to juggle everything (including CCA) on their own. The difference between IP and Express is, the former has 6 long years to learn and adapt; whereas the latter has a very short runway before the next national exam. Will they recover fast enough? It’s a question mark that I would rather do without IMO.[/quote]
I may have different concerns: the yearly promotion exams in both O level and IP schools. we dont get to pick “good” the teachers, but it’s the same situations for every student. We should focus on areas we can control. -
bbbay\" post_id=\"2120296\" time=\"1696727347\" user_id=\"175278:
Can elaborate on what does \"flexible\" refer to.
Travelling is a secondary consideration when deciding secondary school for my child.
My generalised views:
If my child has demonstrated independence and consistency in studies without tuitions and is reasonably flexible, I would let my child enroll in IP school his PSLE qualify him for.
If my child has demonstrated independence and consistency in studies without tuitions and is not flexible, I would prefer my child enroll in O level Seconday school his PSLE qualify him for.
If my child is not independent and not consistent and need lots of external helps (like tuitions/pushing), to get those good PSLE grades, I will not let my child enroll in IP school. I would prefer an O level Seconday school with nurturing/motivating environment. Attend open houses to gauge ethos of schools.
If my child is somewhere in the middle of these spectrums, to secure some insurance, I would look for a school his PSLE result qualified him with nurturing/motivating environment. Attend open houses to gauge ethos of schools. I would talk to my child over his preference for IP or O level curriculum.
My understanding is O level lessons are more structured, while IP lessons may not follow textbooks and syllabus may be jumbled up, eg they may cover sec 2 topics in sec 1 first and vice versa. Some top express schools do advanced maths, sci or language or more than other schools. But most differences will start from sec 3. Generally sec 1 and 2 are similar. -
bbbay\" post_id=\"2120312\" time=\"1696739997\" user_id=\"175278:
Yes, many parents even IP parents are not aware of the significance of critical years sch exams esp sec 4.
I may have different concerns: the yearly promotion exams in both O level and IP schools. we dont get to pick “good” the teachers, but it’s the same situations for every student. We should focus on areas we can control. -
00skyblue00\" post_id=\"2120313\" time=\"1696740863\" user_id=\"143605:
Not so much on accelerated academic learnings. IP curriculum include ongoing projects, presentations and extended essays (and even novel, non academics subjects) that require students to manage their own learning and time, unlike the typical O level curriculum which are mostly classroom base and much more structured. For lack of a better word I can think of(with my small set vocabulary) I use the word flexible to mean students comfortable to learn and delivery not in the traditional classroom/exam/lessons setups. Some other students may very much still prefer the classroom/exams setups - most of the time get to sit back quietly , listen to teachers in class, answer questions on exam paper, and receive the marks.
Can elaborate on what does \"flexible\" refer to.
My understanding is O level lessons are more structured, while IP lessons may not follow textbooks and syllabus may be jumbled up, eg they may cover sec 2 topics in sec 1 first and vice versa. Some top express schools do advanced maths, sci or language or more than other schools. But most differences will start from sec 3. Generally sec 1 and 2 are similar. -
You may want to find out more at the open houses or ask current parents. From what i found out, the traditional written WA are nowadays mostly used for lower-tier Express schools and NA students.
Those top tier Express schools like some SAP schools and Crescent, as well as the Express track of dual-track schools, are more and more like IP schools nowadays, with many weighted projects and assignments, as well as higher order qn types in the written WAs. -
phtthp\" post_id=\"2120289\" time=\"1696709734\" user_id=\"35251:
Yeah, I did ask what's her thought on her performance. She only think she messed up her Chinese, she think maybe a 3-5. As for maths and science, quite confident with 1 and maybe a 2 for English.. frankly, she had no idea what's the different btw ip and I, when I explained to her, she just said , ok.. anything..
Since PSLE is over, can sit down with your daughter now, ask her how she has fared / performed overall, for each of the 4 subjects.
You can start to prep her, now.
Ask her -
If in November when the PSLE results are released and if she does qualify for IP, ask her if she is keen / interested in IP.
If she answer Yes,
be it IP (IB at MGS or otherwise A-level),
then
proceed to join IP now, at aged 12. Do not wait (delay) until aged 16.
That is,
provided IP is what your daughter truly wants to pursue. This desire to study IP, must arise and come from WITHIN herself, not forced upon by parents onto their child, a wrongful disastrous move in the subsequent later years to come, if it has been \"forced upon\".
Parents, especially to mothers,
Yes, you may have given birth to your child, 12 years ago. But you do not own your child. Let your child make the comfortable decision herself / himself, whether she (he) prefer to accept, choose ( IP or O-level).
As to what are the differences between
IP ( IB vs. A-level ),
there is another thread in this forum, which discuss the differences between these two. You may go over there to read.
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