Primary 1 registration: 31 schools to conduct balloting in Phase 2A

SINGAPORE - Parents hoping to secure spots for their children at 31 primary schools will face a ballot during Phase 2A of the Primary 1 registration exercise in 2026.

The most oversubscribed school during the second phase of the exercise is Red Swastika School in Bedok, with 88 applicants vying for 24 spots.

It is followed by Princess Elizabeth Primary School in Bukit Batok, with 137 applicants applying for 47 spots, and Shuqun Primary in Jurong West, with 93 applicants for 32 spots.

The three schools will be conducting balloting for children who are Singapore citizens and residing within 1km of the school.

The results for all schools undergoing balloting will be out on July 17.

Phase 2A of the Primary 1 registration exercise took place from 9am on July 9, to 4.30pm on July 10. This phase is reserved for children with a parent or sibling who is a former pupil, or those with a parent who is a member of the school advisory or management committee, or is a staff member.

Children from Ministry of Education (MOE) kindergartens under the primary school of their choice also qualify for this phase.

At this stage in 2025, 38 primary schools went through a ballot. The top three most oversubscribed schools then were Gongshang Primary in Tampines, South View Primary in Choa Chu Kang, and Princess Elizabeth Primary in Bukit Batok.

MOE said on its website on July 15 that 143 schools, or 80.3 per cent of schools with vacancies for Phase 2A, will not be conducting balloting and have enough vacancies to admit all Phase 2A applicants.

Canossa Catholic Primary School has no vacancies for Phase 2A.

Balloting takes place when the number of applicants exceeds the number of vacancies at a school.

Priority admission is given first to Singaporeans living within 1km of the school, followed by those living between 1km and 2km away, and those living farther than 2km away. This is followed by permanent residents, in the same order of distance from the school.

Schools conducting a ballot for Singapore citizen children residing outside 2km of their locations include Tao Nan School, which had 129 applicants for 108 vacancies, and Nanyang Primary School, which had 176 applicants for 125 vacancies.

There were also schools conducting ballots for Singapore citizen children residing between 1km and 2km of their locations, such as Pasir Ris Primary and Sengkang Green Primary.

Four schools – Jing Shan Primary, Nan Hua Primary, Valour Primary and Zhenghua Primary – are oversubscribed but will not be conducting a ballot.

Jing Shan Primary has 47 applicants vying for 40 spots, but it has places only for Singapore citizen children.

For Nan Hua, Valour and Zhenghua primary schools, they have places only for Singapore citizen children residing within 1km of the school.

There are 182 primary schools in Singapore, with 179 open for registration in 2026.

Kranji Primary School will not be admitting Primary 1 pupils from 2024 to 2026 ahead of its planned move to Tengah in 2028.

Townsville Primary and Damai Primary will also stop Primary 1 admissions from 2025 to 2027, as they prepare to relocate in 2029 to Sembawang and Tampines North, respectively.

All 179 schools will have vacancies in Phase 2B, said MOE. The number of vacancies will be updated by 1pm on July 17.

Registration for Phase 2B starts on July 20 at 9am, and ends on July 21 at 4.30pm. The results will be out on July 27.

This phase is reserved for children who have a parent who volunteered at the school, or is endorsed by the church or clan directly connected with the primary school, or is an active community leader.