23 primary schools oversubscribed by second day of Phase 2A
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Gongshang Primary School in Tampines was the most oversubscribed, with 143 children vying for 46 spots.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM GOOGLE MAPS
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SINGAPORE – A total of 23 schools received more applicants than they can take in by last Thursday, the second day of Phase 2A in the Primary 1 registration exercise.
They include Gongshang Primary School in Tampines, which was the most oversubscribed, with 143 children vying for 46 spots.
Princess Elizabeth Primary School in Bukit Batok had 84 applicants for 53 places, and Rosyth School in Serangoon had 115 applicants for 75 places.
This stage is reserved for children who have a parent or sibling who is a former pupil, or those who have a parent who is a member of the school advisory or management committee, or a staff member.
Children from Ministry of Education (MOE) kindergartens under the primary school of their choice also qualify for this phase.
Registration for Phase 2A ended last Friday, and according to the MOE website, the next update will be by 6pm on Wednesday.
By the first day of registration, 10 schools were already oversubscribed. Among them were schools in newer estates, such as Sengkang Green Primary and Punggol Green Primary, and popular schools such as Nan Hua Primary in Clementi and CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ in Ang Mo Kio.
Ms Wang Simin, 34, applied for her alma mater Rosyth School for her six-year-old daughter.
“I have fond memories of my primary school life at the scenic old campus in Parry Avenue, and I also spent a year at the new campus in Serangoon North. I remember many good teachers who taught me various subjects,” said Ms Wang, who works in the communications sector.
“My daughter loves singing and I hope she can join the choir, which is a co-curricular activity not offered in various primary schools nearer to my home.”
She added: “Looking at the statistics, it looks like I should be expecting a ballot, which is quite stressful, but I will hope for the best.”
In 2022, 33 out of a total of 181 primary schools – or close to a fifth – were oversubscribed in Phase 2A. Ballots were subsequently held for 28 primary schools at that stage.
Phase 2A was revamped in 2022 by merging the former phases 2A(1) and 2A(2), which were both set aside for children of alumni.
Phase 2A(1) was reserved for children whose parents had joined the school’s alumni association or were members of its advisory or management committee.
Phase 2A(2) was reserved for children of alumni who were not members of the association, children of staff and children in the MOE kindergarten located within the primary school.
MOE had said the change was meant to ensure that schools would not end up with few or no places left in Phase 2A(2) due to the doubling of reserved places from 20 to 40 in Phase 2C, which was also implemented in 2022.
