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| P1 Registration - Strategies for Phase 2C |
 Is your child going to be in Primary One next year and for various reasons, can only register under Phase 2C? This is the main admission period during the Primary One Registration Exercise. It is also where the real 'battle' begins, for it is in this phase that all parents are on an equal footing as they have no prior association to their school of choice (save for home-school distance), and hence will be competing for places with other parents for the limited places left. These pointers below can help you shortlist one or more schools where your chances of successful entry would be higher. Do note that the suggestions below would not help you get into ONE particular school if you have already decided on that school for your child, especially if your school of choice is an established or very popular school. 1. Identify the schools nearest to your home When there is overwhelming demand for places, schools will conduct a ballot based on home-distance priority, beginning with applicants living within 1 km. In some cases, the number of applicants living within 1 km could be well over the number of places left - in which case, those living more than 1 km away from school are better-off applying elsewhere. This means that if there is a good school literally at your doorstep, that alone would not guarantee you a place in the school during Phase 2C. You can check with your schools of choice with regard to their previous balloting history, so as to give you an idea of whether the school is likely to conduct a ballot for Phase 2C again. MOE also releases the details of take-up rates after each completed phase, so this will help you estimate your chances of success (see http://www.moe.edu.sg/education/admissions/primary-one-registration/vacancies/#ang-mo-kio) If the number of places left for Phase 2C is very low and the school has a history of balloting even for those staying within 1 km, this means your chances would be relatively slim, compared to another school within comparable distance and with more places available. 2. Compare the features and strengths of the schools in your shortlist If you're not planning to try your luck with a very popular school, this makes your job a little easier. However, you would still want to ensure that you choose a school suitable for your child. If you've narrowed your choices down to schools which are relatively on par in terms of distance from your home and popularity (based on take-up rates and balloting histories), then do a comparison of their strengths and achievements. You can get detailed information on CCA offerings and awards obtained by each school (and even generate comparison tables) from MOE's School Information Service at http://app.sis.moe.gov.sg/schinfo/SIS_index.asp. Most schools also display such information plus more details at their individual websites. Some questions you may want to ask yourself when checking out these details are as follows: - Does the school offer CCAs that my child is interested in? If your child is already involved in a sport or art form that he or she likes e.g. soccer, ballet etc., going to a school with a good track record in this CCA will help ensure that your child will receive good support and training in this area. This would come in handy in Primary Six, and give your child the additional option of taking part in the Secondary School Direct School Admission Exercise. If there is no particular area that your child is interested in yet, you may wish to choose a choose a school with a good range of CCAs and with varied strengths in several areas, so as to give your child more options to choose from. Note: When checking out the ratings and rankings listed in the School Information Service, do note these do not necessarily correlate to the school's performance in the PSLE. A school with 'stars' in many areas may not necessarily do as well in PSLE results compared to another school with fewer stars but higher PSLE pass rates, and vice versa. Do note that many of these school excellence awards take years to achieve, so a relatively new school that has been producing excellent PSLE results may have very few such awards to show, compared to a 30-year-old school. - Does the school offer any support for special needs children? More and more schools have teachers who are specially trained to work with children with special learning needs e.g. dyslexia and Attention-Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder. If you have a child who needs specialised attention and guidance, do visit the schools personally to understand more about their approach to helping such children, and have a feel of the school environment. 3. Have more than 1 child? Plan ahead If your first child has siblings of the same gender, your job is 'done' after you've gone through your first P1 Registration Exercise! They would receive top priority when their turns come. However, if you've registered a boy in an all-boys school but no 2 is a girl, then your headache starts all over again. While there are parents who believe that all-boys or all-girls schools are best at this young age, don't discount the merits of co-ed schools. If you have an only child, this also gives more opportunities for him or her to interact with other children of the opposite gender as part of social development. For more info on P1 Registration, see our Guide to P1 Registration
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