Singapore Expats

Hi All, Thank you for all of the great info on this forum.

I have searched but have not found the answer to this question anywhere:

My husband and I are finalizing the details on a move to Singapore. We will need to be there fairly quickly (probably August) so I am getting very nervous about school. I have a son that just completed US kindergarten and a son that should be starting pre-K or junior Kindergarten this Fall (he is 4). In other cities with challenging private school admissions, we have known admissions consultants that help navigate the system and application process. Because we are so far away, I would love to engage someone to help us narrow down a school for both boys to start this Fall.

Has anyone worked with a admissions consultant in Singapore?

Also, are schools usually willing to tell you if they have openings before you send them $2-3000 application fee? If not, that can add up really quickly! yikes!

Thank you in advance for any insight!

Don't know about admission consultant

There are some good kindies here and the norm is going to door to door and it again depends on where you will be putting up.

Try Montessori. Local kindies is pratically available in all corners of SG but I am not sure about the waiting list.

Waiting list is listed for school going age children on the public schools system . You can go to this website for more info. www.moe.gov.sg

You can find out a lot by visiting the websites. Secondly, consider where you may be living to avoid a long commute for a young child. Thirdly, consider that the PS-Grade 12 International Schools are all full for August so you will be looking for an independent Kindy for a year.

Hi there,

I am almost in the same situation as you. We are moving in July. I don't know about a school consultant but I contacted all of the schools we were interested in directly via their websites and they all told me their waiting list situation without us having to pay anything. Warning though, almost all are full until at least January so now, we are in a position of having finding somewhere to send our five year old and three year old until January.

Good luck!

Anyone find an answer? I will be there in January with my 6 year old who is in K. I have tried 14 international private schools- all said "No spot".

Home Schooling until something arrives? It's pretty big here now. Do a search here for "Home Schooling" as I think there were a couple of recent threads with contact for groups/forums for that.

Yes, of course there are orientations counselors here that help with school admissions. This is the one our company provided:

http://www.orientations.com/singapore.html

I found them enormously helpful in finding a school and neighborhood to live in. I have no idea about their fees as we didn't pay them, but they helped me narrow my list for schools, set up tours for me, helped me with applications, dealt with the admissions office for me, etc. It really took some of the stress off, as we got notice of our move and arrived here in three weeks, and had to get the kids in school. We found a school we loved, got the kids accepted, had a tour on our first day in Singapore to make sure it was the right one (we had to go blind without an initial visit and typical tour type thing), and the kids started two days later.

Brooklynjenn wrote:Yes, of course there are orientations counselors here that help with school admissions. This is the one our company provided:

http://www.orientations.com/singapore.html

I found them enormously helpful in finding a school and neighborhood to live in. I have no idea about their fees as we didn't pay them, but they helped me narrow my list for schools, set up tours for me, helped me with applications, dealt with the admissions office for me, etc. It really took some of the stress off, as we got notice of our move and arrived here in three weeks, and had to get the kids in school. We found a school we loved, got the kids accepted, had a tour on our first day in Singapore to make sure it was the right one (we had to go blind without an initial visit and typical tour type thing), and the kids started two days later.

Pardon me, never had the need to use the above company, but I was told that they 'lock' the person in with contracts .. is that true ?

And Singapore brings up a nice # US # ???

Tel: +1 724-935-7164
Mobile: +1 724-309-3123
Fax: +1 724-935-4831

I have no idea about their billing policies, I am sure they could answer that better. Mine was paid through the corporate relo package. It is interesting that there is a US number listed. I didn't notice that. I was assigned a local person who has been in Singapore 7 years, and she met me the day after I arrived, in person, on a Sunday, in my Serviced Apartment that she had arranged. Before I arrived, for two and a half weeks while I was in the US, she communicated with me mostly through email due to the time difference, and she helped me get the kids into school in two weeks flat. She has two children of her own in school here, at a different school, and she was the one who initially suggested the school the kids attend now.

Maybe they are based in the US but have local people on the ground here.

I believe that some sort of company name change has taken place in recent months. The company that used to operate as Orientations in Singapore (with locations at Tanglin Shopping Centre and The Riverwalk) seems to have been renamed NCompass Mobility at some point in past few months. Their website is www.ncompassmobility.com.

So perhaps Orientations lists a US number for its Singapore office because it no longer has a physical operation here?

Perhaps, but I used their services up until mid October this year, so unless it happened in the last three weeks then it is not the same company. The person's name on the link I gave, Berverly, I recognize as being cc'd on some emails we exchanged, so I am certain the link I gave is the right one.

Try considering Home school,

During my 1st year in singapore, I had my children home school. You can find good home school tutor. ( I got mine and she's been with me for 4 years now) I can passed you, her number if you need them.

Home schooling adds fun to learning, parents and home tutor have to make it interesting. My children continue with home tuition even after they were enroll in AIS.

Maybe you should try this method.No harm in trying.