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 Come July to August each year, many parents have a trying time figuring out and taking part in the Primary School Registration Exercise, especially if they are registering a child for the first time. Check out our FAQs below on the most common concerns and queries, plus some tips on how to get into the school of your choice.
What is the Singapore Primary School Registration Exercise?
The 2010 exercise is meant for Singapore Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents who are born between 2 January 2004 and 1 January 2005, who will enter Primary One in the Year 2011.
When is the Registration Exercise held?
The registration of children for admission to Primary One classes in 2011 will be carried out from Tuesday, 6 July 2010 to Monday, 30 August 2010. All primary and full schools will be open for registration from 8am to
11am and from 2.30pm to 4.30pm on each scheduled registration day.
The registration is divided into 7 phases - please see the table below. Category 1 registration (Phase 1, 2A2,
2A2, 2B2, 2C and 2C Supplementary) is for children who are Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents,
while Category 2 registration 2 (Phase 3) is for children who are neither Singapore Citizens or Permanent
Residents. Children eligible for Phase 1 would be able to receive the forms directly from the school through
their siblings and return them likewise ogether with the necessary copies of documents. For all subsequent
Phases, parents would need to register directly at the school on the relevant dates, or authorise a third party
to do so.
| Phase |
Eligibility |
Registration Date |
Results Date |
|
Phase 1
|
For a child who has a sibling studying in a school of choice. |
Tuesday 6th July 2010 and Wednesday 7th July 2010 |
Note: All children registered under this phase will be given places in schools. |
| Phase 2A1 |
For a child whose parent is a former student of the school and who has joined the alumni association as a member not later than 30 Jun 2008; or whose parent is a member of the School Advisory/Management Committee.
|
Friday 9th July 2010 |
By Tuesday 13th July 2010 |
| Phase 2A2 |
For a child whose parent or sibling has studied in the school of choice; or whose parent is a staff member of the school of choice. |
Thursday 15th July 2010 and Friday 16th July 2010 |
By Tuesday 20th July 2010 |
| Phase 2B2 |
For a child whose parent has joined the school as a parent volunteer not later than 1 July 2009 and has given at least 40 hours of voluntary service to the school by 30 June 2010; or whose parent is a member endorsed by the church/clan directly connected with the school; or whose parent is endorsed as an active community leader. |
Thursday 22nd July 2010 and Friday 23rd July 2010
|
By Friday 28th July 2010 |
| Phase 2C |
For a child who is ineligible for or unsuccessful in earlier phases. |
Monday 2nd August 2010, Tuesday 3rd August 2010 and Wednesday 4th August 2010 |
By Friday 13th August 2010 |
| Phase 2C Supplementary |
For a child who is unsuccessful in gaining a place in a school of choice at Phase 2C. |
Wednesday 18th August 2010 |
By Monday 23rd August 2010 |
| Phase 3 |
For a child who is neither a Singapore Citizen nor a Permanent Resident. |
Monday 30th August 2010 |
Monday 30th August 2010 |
Why are there so many phases? Which phase should I go for?
The phases help to give more priority to those incoming students who are already associated with the schools. The stronger the association, the higher the priority. Generally, you should go for the earliest phase that you are eligible for e.g. if your child doesn't have siblings in the school but you are an active alumni member, you should go for Phase 2A1. If you are unsuccessful in one phase, you can try to take part in the subsequent phase.
What documents do I need to produce for the registration?
Parents must produce the originals of each required document at the time of registration. Each child should be registered at only one school at any one time. If a child is registered at more than one school, he may lose his place in the school of choice.
With reference to Singapore’s National Childhood Immunisation Schedule, all children (Singapore Citizen and Non-Singapore Citizen) should have completed immunisation for BCG, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, poliomyelitis, measles, mumps, rubella and hepatitis B (list of immunisation requirements) before entry into Primary One. Parents should therefore ensure that their children have these immunisations before admission to school. Immunisation can be done at any polyclinic or at any private clinic. Documentary evidence of immunisation should be produced for inspection at the time of registration.
- Statutory Declaration
Statutory declarations are required where parents may enroll their child in a school within 2 kilometres from the place of residence of either of the child’s grandparent or parent’s sibling. The eligibility criteria (s) are as follows:
Both parents are working full-time at the time the statutory declaration was made; and
The child is under the full time care of a grandparent or a sibling of either of the child’s parents; and
The child’s grandparent or parent’s sibling is not employed.
For the purpose of registration, the child’s grandparent or parent’s sibling and one of the child’s parents are required to make a statutory declaration at the MOE Customer Service Centre. The statutory declaration can be made from 8 am to 4 pm, Mondays to Fridays and from 8 am to 12 noon on Saturdays, from Tuesday, 07 July 2009 to Friday, 14 August 2009. They should bring along with them the originals of the required documents:
- identity card of both parents
- identity card of the child’s grandparent or parent’s sibling
- birth certificate of the child to be registered for admission to school
- documents to prove the relationship between parent and the child’s grandparent or parent’s sibling
- for parents who are self-employed, please bring along supporting documents to prove their employment e.g. bizfile, CPF statements and Income Tax
- photostated copies of passport/NRIC/overseas employment letter is required for parent/s who are currently overseas
- employment letters to show full-time employment where available
Note: If statutory declaration is used, children who are registered using either of the grandparent or parent’s sibling address and residing within 1 km or between 1 km and 2 km of the school of choice are balloted together with other children residing between 1 and 2 km.
How do I estimate my chances of getting a place in the school of choice?
This depends on how which phase(s) you are eligible for, and how popular the school is. Theoretically, there are no limits to the number of places a school may offer for Phase 1, 2A1 and 2A2. Usually, in a very popular school, up to 75% of the places could be taken up by the time Phase 2B takes place, compared to perhaps 45% of places taken up in a less popular school. All remaining places after Phase 2A2 would be distributed between Phase 2B and Phase 2C. If the number of applicants exceeds the number of places for these two phases, then priority will be given to those students whose homes are nearer to the school, and if necessary, balloting will take place.Therefore, should you select a popular school but only qualify for Phase 2C, and stay more than 2 km away from the school, the chances of your child obtaining a place in the school would be very slim. After each completed phase, every school will issue details of the number of places taken up and ballot-related information - monitor these closely and weigh your chances accordingly.
Note: From this year Singapore citizens will also be given two ballot skips for each child, while permanent residents (PRs) will continue to get one ballot slip per child.
How do I find out the distance of various schools from my home?
There are a number of websites with tools that will help you get the relevant information. Try:
- SLA's INLIS. The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) provides the home-school distances to MOE every year, at a cost of abotu $2.10 per computation. Parents can enter a postal code or address of their residence and then select the Primary school which they wish to calculate the distance from their property.
- StreetDirectory. StreetDirectory.com charges about $0.54 per home-school distance request.
- GoogleMaps. You can use this free service to estimate the distance between your prospective schools and your home.
What factors should I consider in selecting a suitable school for my child?
This is probably the most important question you should ask yourself. Singapore's standard of education is highly regarded worldwide, and every primary school prides itself on doing the best to produce students with exemplary results. You may want to consider these:
Top school vs neighbourhood school
By and large, all schools in Singapore possess excellent facilities and well-qualified teachers. So what makes the difference between a very popular school whose students consistently produce top scorers and others? Some argue that going to an 'established' school means that:
- Your child will be in the good hands of teachers who have a track record of 'delivering' results
- Your child would be able to start 'networking' at an early age
- Your child will have the pride and motivation to do well and upkeep the school's reputation
However, another point of view is that:
- In a top school, you child will be under great pressure to perform so as to maintain the school's 'standard'
- Top schools are not the only ones which produce top scorers; neighbourhood schools do produce 'stars' as well
You may wish to find out more about the school, talk to members of its staff, and speak to existing students and their parents too.
Distance and time
Remember that the nearer to your home the school is, the more time your child will have to rest, do homework and destress. Spending a lot of time travelling to and from school often takes its toll on children, who may be left with less time and energy to complete other tasks.
Co-curricular strengths
You may wish to choose a school that indicates certain sports or aesthetic programmes as its co-curricular strengths, if your child has shown an interest or inclination in such areas. The school would be in a good position to groom your child's skill or talent in these areas. This could come in useful in Primary 6, so as to give your child the option to use his or her talents in art, music, sports etc. to qualify for the Direct School Registration Exercise.
How do I get more information on the Primary School Registration Exercise?
The Ministry of Education website at www.moe.edu.sg has a lot of valuable information on the Primary School Registration Exercise. You may wish to refer to this Primary One Registration Info Sheet.
Note: Some parents are worried that higher-income parents may secure places for their children in sought-after schools by making a donation to the school. According to the MOE, the "buying of school places is not allowed. All school principals are aware that under no circumstances are they to solicit or accept donations in exchange for school places. All school principals are aware that under no circumstances are they to solicit or accept donations in exchange for school places." (see full statement)
Are you registering your child under Phase 2C? Check out more school-selection tips here.
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You can also enter your address or postal code to check if you are located within 1 - 2 km from the school.
Listing of Singapore Primary School 1-2 km Radius Map