School Admission

8 Commonly Asked Questions

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In Singapore, there are two main educational systems:

• Local School System
  
• Foreign School System
  

In the Local School System, students undergo 6 years of primary education followed by the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). The PSLE results determine whether students proceed to a secondary school offering either a 6-year Integrated Programme (IP) or a 4-year Subject Based Banding (SBB) curriculum. IP students study for 6 years before taking the "A" level exams, while SBB students spend 4 years in secondary school before taking the Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level (SEC) exams. Further education options include junior college for "A" levels, polytechnics, or Institute of Technical Education (ITE).

In the Foreign School System, students can opt for schools offering foreign curriculums such as International Baccalaureate (IB), Advanced Placement (AP), and IGCSE. These schools cater primarily to foreign students in Singapore. Upon graduation, students can apply to universities worldwide based on their grades.

Singapore citizens or children of at least one Singapore citizen can attend international schools without exemption until age 7. Beyond this age, they require a special waiver from the Ministry of Education to continue studying in a foreign school system.

We believe that every child has different strength and weaknesses and do not advocate a one-size-fit-all approach for any individual child.

Our philosophy is to first understand both the child’s and parent’s short and long-term goals in Singapore as the educational route that a child chooses in Singapore may have long term implications beyond academics as the child grows up.

At TAP, we provide tests during our consultation sessions with the child to analyse and better advise both the parents and child on the necessary and recommended steps that they can choose to maximise their chances of realistically attaining their long-term educational goals.

For any child who is a Singaporean citizen or who at least one of their parents is a Singaporean citizen, they are allowed to attend an international school until they reach the age of 7 without the need for an exemption from the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Singapore. However, if they wish to continue their studies at an international school beyond the age of 7, they must obtain a special dispensation and waiver from MOE to be enrolled into any school that is teaching a foreign school system.

The only 3 local government international schools that are the exception and offers the IB curriculum are: ACS International, Hwa Chong International and SJI International.

For foreign students, they are only allowed to be enrolled into a local government school either through the primary 1 registration exercise or via the Admissions Exercise for International Students (AEIS) that is held on every September and February.

Certain international schools are also only allowed to accept students with certain pass statuses (eg, only accepts students with at least a dependent pass)

Foreign students who are enrolled into Private Education Institutes (PEI) must have a valid student pass status to attend lessons and legally remain in the country.

• Lodging costs (rental, boarding school)
• Application Fees (differs for each school)
• Tuition fees (if needed)
• Food & Transportation fees
• Insurance
• Onboarding fees (for international school)
• Miscellaneous fees (eg, uniforms, lunch meals, activities, etc.)

The above mentioned are just some of the common (but not limited to) fees and costs that parents may tend to overlook when sending their child abroad to Singapore to study.

Besides the fees, while Singapore is a multi-cultural and international city where it is generally considered to be easy to adapt to, students and parents should still be mindful of the local culture and norms as well as relatively strict laws when it comes to certain issues.

But in general, so long as an individual is law-abiding and disciplined, there should be no issues for both students and parents living and studying in Singapore as Singaporeans are largely accepting of the presence of international students in Singapore.

Again, there isn’t a fixed or right answer to this question as the required documents or documents that may help in a child’s application to different school would differ from school to school.

That being said, there are a few documents that in general may help in a student’s application to an international school, they are:

• Transcripts and Academic Certificate
• Non-academic achievements
• Hobbies/activities pursued outside of the academic realms
• Recording and profiling of social activities
• Contribution to society at large (activities, events, work done)
• Representation in any competition for any sports or activities at a competitive level (For school, club, city, state, nation, etc.)
• Showcase of non-academic talents (eg. Arts, dance, music, etc.)

The list above is non-exhaustive and there can be other documents that an individual applicant may submit in order to help their chances.

At TAP, we believe that every child is unique with their own individual strength and weaknesses. What may have worked for one student in the past may not necessarily work for another student.

While we understand the emotions and desire of some parents to let the child take the same educational journey as they did, or for the child to take the same path as their parents, seniors or peers did or are taking, we advocate looking holistically at the profile and current levels of the child before making a decision on their education journey which may have huge implications in their future development.

We offer in-depth consultation, tests and analysis which would give the child a much better understanding about their current levels and future potential. In addition, we would also tailor suggested educational paths best suited to the child based on the child’s abilities and goals.

Do reach out to us for an in-depth consultation and analysis and find out which options best suits you.

• Just answering the bare minimum to the question (1-2 short sentences)
• Relying on the opinions of friends/relatives (May be incorrect, unprofessional)
  
• Not entering accurate or entering wrong details
  
• Entering information which are ambiguous (Not going straight to the point in the answers, incomplete information)
  
• Lying on the application form (a big no-no)
  
• Being too direct in answering certain questions, even on topics that may be detrimental to their application chances
  
• Submitting only the bare minimum required documents for the application
  
• Doing the submission without doing any other prep work, thinking that is all there is to be done
  
• Not following up on the application after submission
  

The follow up actions and efforts needed depends on the school the applicant is applying to.

For certain schools, after submission procedures are more relaxed and the applicant will generally just need to keep a look out for any emails or notification from the school. The schools will usually request for any supporting or missing documents required in the application and expect the applicant to provide them before a certain deadline.

Some schools, however, may have more stringent requirements and in addition to requesting for additional documents, may require the applicant to do a series of tests, interviews, and submission of other documents such as a personal profile or portfolio to be showcased in a deck. This would require quite a bit of preparatory work on the part of the applicant and must be done in a professional manner to effectively boost the chances of the applicant and allow him/her to stand out amongst the crowd, especially to schools where places are very limited, and competition is extremely keen.

If you have are unsure of the entire process or require assistance with this, do reach out to us and we would be able to assist you on this process.

10 Anson Road, #32-01 International Plaza, Singapore 079903

(+65) 6240 6995

hello@theacademicpeople.com

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