Express or Normal stream

[serangoonist]

now new headache…weighing express in Bartley or normal in Zhonghua

also the big risk of only able to opt for one, means 1st is normal in Zhonghua then 2nd is must normal for Bartley though able to do express
pls your kind opinion, 1yr waste or not is absorable, cheers

[concernedmother]

My son did not do well in his PSLE exam and can only qualify for NA. I understand from the some of the students that the school will upgrade from NA to Express if the first year result is good. How true it is?

Should I choose him a better school where is at the lower end of the cut-off or a normal school where he is at the higher end of the cut-off so that he stands a beter chance of upgrade?

[jedamum]

mods,

pls merge with http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5882&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=45
TQ.

concernedmother,
i would go down to the schools of choice and gauge which school give me a better feel in terms of peer influence. cos regardless of the aggregate your kid has now, whether he will make it to Express after in NA will also depend on peer influence. JMHO.

[DCparent]

:? Express or Normal????

My son got 2A and 2B but the T-score is only 192, should I choose good school NA or average school Express. Is Kent Ridge, Tanglin, Fuchun, Teck Whye, Boon Lay ok school? :?:

[Mrs.014706 Gilmore]

Hello! I need inputs:

My girl got 208 for PSLE. We're considering going to Normal Acad in St. Margaret's. Is this possible? Any comments and opinions are most welcome.

We're attracted to St. Marg's pure literature, pure history, and pure geography you see...
She got A* for English, and dreams to be a lawyer or journalist, etc. someday

[jedamum]

mods,

pls merge with
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5882&start=45
TQ

[caroline3sg]

I have checked this with MOE before results release.


Before submitting S1-IS, you can call MOE to request for downgrade to NA. But MOE most likely will reject. They would say "your child is assessed to be eligible for express".

After posting result, you may appeal directly to the sch of choice. Again I have checked with one sch. Unless there are people who transfer out from NA, you won’t get a chance. There is long list of waiting list (ie about 100) and it is not first come first serve.

Imagine those who get 188 to 199, it is like striking lottery. They can choose very good sch. They won’t want to transfer out. So the chance is very slim.

[millan]

DCparent:

:? Express or Normal????

My son got 2A and 2B but the T-score is only 192, should I choose good school NA or average school Express. Is Kent Ridge, Tanglin, Fuchun, Teck Whye, Boon Lay ok school? :?:

Are you C?

[mummyjoyce]

I will choose Express - dont waste time to study for another year.

[jaycee]

hi


as a tutor I have encountered many NA and Express students. I strongly think Express will be a better choice. In NA, only combined science is offered. However, if your child works very hard for the first 2 years, it is possible for him to do Pure sciences. At least if he opts for Express, he has that chance to try to qualify for Pure Science class.
Secondly, if your child does not do well in ‘O’ Levels, student can retake ‘O’ levels ( so that will be 5 years in Seconday School), which is similar to NA. Therefore, I feel Express is still a better option.
Previously, I had a student who did very badly in Secondary 3 ( failed everything except English). The school gave him an option to drop to NA or continue Sec 4 ‘O’ Levels. The school strongly advised his parents to move him to NA. But he did not. He came to me in his Sec 4 year and told me he needs tuition for everything. With sheer determination and peseverance, he managed to score Eng B3, E math A2, Principles of Accounts A1, Science B3, SS/Geo B3 and Chinese C6.