P1 registration for 2026 to start on July 1; Townsville and Damai primary schools to move

SINGAPORE - The majority of the 180 primary schools here did not have to conduct balloting across the various phases in the Primary 1 registration exercise in 2024, said the Ministry of Education (MOE) on May 14.

Most of the schools had enough vacancies for all applicants who entered primary school in 2025, it said.

The 2025 exercise for children entering primary schools in 2026 runs from July 1 to Oct 31, said MOE.

The list of schools and their vacancies will be available by June 24 at

https://www.moe.gov.sg/primary/p1-registration/vacancies-and-balloting

The ministry provided balloting figures for the first time for the Primary 1 registration exercise in 2024.

For instance, 78.9 per cent of all schools did not require balloting in Phase 2A.

This is the second phase in the exercise, which is reserved for pupils whose parents or siblings are alumni, or whose parents are staff, or members of the school advisory or management committee.

Pupils from the MOE Kindergarten (MK) located within the primary school can also apply during this phase.

The first phase, Phase 1, is for children with siblings studying in the primary school. No balloting was required at this stage.

For Phase 2B, the third stage of the exercise, 83.3 per cent of schools did not go through a ballot.

This phase is for children whose parents have other ties to the school, such as by being parent volunteers or being endorsed by a church or clan directly connected to the school.

And in Phase 2C, 51.1 per cent of schools did not conduct balloting.

Typically the most competitive out of all the five phases, Phase 2C is for applicants who have yet to be registered in a primary school after the first three phases.

All primary schools have at least 20 and 40 reserved vacancies in Phases 2B and 2C, respectively.

MOE provided these figures along with the registration dates and details for children entering Primary 1 in 2026.

“Parents can view a list of schools within 2km of their residence, and check which of these schools were oversubscribed in specific phases during the previous year’s exercise,” it said.

“We encourage parents to consider a range of schools and explore how these schools’ distinctive programmes and offerings can best meet their child’s learning needs, interests and strengths,” said MOE.

It added that parents should also consider schools that are reasonably close to home to reduce their child’s commuting time.

Dr Jason Tan, an associate professor at the National Institute of Education, told The Straits Times that while these balloting figures may help to reassure some parents that there are enough places in primary schools for their children, it depends on the individual parent’s attitudes towards school choice.

“If you are dead set on a particular school, then there is still that anxiety about the competitiveness of places in that school,” he said.

Primary school movements

Two primary schools will be relocated in 2029 to meet the growing demand for places in East Canberra and Tampines North, MOE said.

Townsville Primary School will be relocated from Ang Mo Kio to East Canberra in Sembawang.

Damai Primary School will move from Bedok to Tampines North.

Both schools will not be part of the Primary 1 registration exercise from 2025 to 2027. They will admit their first batch of Primary 1 pupils for 2029 at their new campuses through the admissions exercise in 2028.

To minimise disruption for existing pupils in both schools, their campuses at Ang Mo Kio and Bedok will remain operational until 2030.

This means that both schools will operate from their current and new campuses in 2029 and 2030, so that existing pupils can complete their studies at their current locations.

Plans announced in 2022 to open an MOE Kindergarten at Townsville Primary School’s current Ang Mo Kio campus will not proceed owing to the school’s relocation in 2029.

MOE said there is a steady supply of pre-school places in the Sembawang area.

As part of MOE’s previously announced plans for a new MOE Kindergarten in Tampines North, it will open MK@Damai at Damai Primary School’s new site in Tampines North in 2029.

In addition, two new primary schools will be set up in Chencharu, in Yishun, and North Coast, in Woodlands, by 2031 to support families moving into these estates in the coming years.

MOE said more details will be given in time.