About 250 people turned up for a talk yesterday to get the advice of Straits Times Senior Education Correspondent Sandra Davie on how to choose the most suitable school for their children.
The talk was the third in a series of 12 talks held at the library@orchard under the askST initiative, where readers can engage ST correspondents on topics from healthcare to education.
The turnout yesterday was the largest so far and consisted mainly of parents who have young children.
Ms Davie told parents that, apart from looking at a school's academic achievements, it is important to consider other factors such as location and special programmes that different schools might run for different talents, as well as the child's abilities and interests.
Sit down with your children and find out what areas they are developing an interest in, she said.
"Talk to the principal and find out the school's philosophy. School leaders are quite important as they set the tone for the school. Talk to the teachers as well," she said.
The series is the result of a collaboration between The Straits Times and the National Library Board.
Mr Joseph Ting, 45, a senior associate engineer at a bank who has two young children, said: "What she said about the selection of primary schools and the new PSLE scoring system was very useful as my kids will definitely be affected."
The next free talk will also be held at the library@orchard, on Aug 26. ST Senior Correspondent Goh Eng Yeow will talk about where investors can put their money in the stock market.
Readers can e-mail questions to askst@sph.com.sg or submit them at www.straitstimes.com/askst.
