Singapore Expats

hi there,

My family and I will be moving from Ireland to Singapore within the next 2 to 3 months. we are wondering if you might know a nice and well located public school for our 5 year old son and if the admission is difficult or not. thanks in advance for your help.

Formal educatoin starts at 7. You are referring to Kindy right ?

yes, i refer to kindy. he is about to finish his first year here and we would like to find a good one for him in SG.

There are government subsidise ones for local and PRs. Not sure for EP holders able to apply though . Alternatively private ones like Montessori, Cherie Hearts etc are good too but will cost an arm and a leg

yeah...this is what i thought !!! thanks a lot for your help

Yes, kindies are mostly private. If you stay long enough for your child to be school age, keep in mind that it is unlikely you will be able to get a primary school place as a foreigner unless you become a PR by then.

Hi Sebba,
We will be moving from Ireland to Singapore also in the next few months with a 6 and 4 year old, so have the same issues as yourself. Can`t pm you as I am a newbie on the forum. If you can pm me, please do so.

The only true "public" kindergartens here are the PAP kindergartens which are located all over the island, but even those have a cost to them, a sliding scale based on income - however, being a foreigner you'll probably not get any subsidy. The next step up are the church affiliated kindergartens which generally cost around $300 per month regardless of whether you are local or a foreigner. Then there are the private "expat" kindergartens which range $600-1,200 per month. Most International Schools have expensive kindergarten programs as well.

Please note that if you intend to send your child to local primary school, you will most certainly want to send them to a local kindergarten so they are better prepared. I recommend the church affiliated kindergartens which tend to be stronger in English and they almost all teach Chinese as a second language.

After trying many kindergartens here we eventually stuck with Barker Road Methodist. My daughter did 3 years there and my son is doing his second year there. Although no school is perfect, Barker Road is less rigid (by local standards), and our kids have been happy there. My daughter had an easy transition to local primary school this year.

Good Luck!

thanks a lot all for your precious help and tips. we are going there because my wife's company send her there for a good while and i will have to quit my Job here in Dublin. we will have to plan a budget with one salary. I've read a lot from different sites the cost of living there. the gross salary per month should be around 8000SGD, i do believe this is enough until i find a job myself.

the most important will be to find a place for our son.

To daveco, I cant PM you either...sorry...

I hope you found some information as well. school appear to be expensive there and I do hope I'll find a job soon enough to not rely on my wifes.

sebba wrote:thanks a lot all for your precious help and tips. we are going there because my wife's company send her there for a good while and i will have to quit my Job here in Dublin. we will have to plan a budget with one salary. I've read a lot from different sites the cost of living there. the gross salary per month should be around 8000SGD, i do believe this is enough until i find a job myself.

the most important will be to find a place for our son.

Is her company paying for accommodation? Housing is pretty expensive in Singapore and could take up a big part of the budget.

Despite what many expats say, S$8k per month is not that bad, almost double the average income here. That said, a local person may be able to eek out as good a lifestyle as you, simply because they would have access to subsidized housing, often with grants plus a big chunk of tax deductible savings matched by their employer called CPF which they can use for housing. Still, it is possible to rent a smaller condo unit in the outskirts of town for $2.5-3k per month. Housing is typically the biggest expense. If you take public transport and embrace local food & schooling, you'll do just fine. Like living anywhere, a lot depends on what you make of it.

+1 ^^^^

Hi Sebba,
I`m the Irish guy from a few posts above. Moving out to SG in two weeks, with family following me out in october.
Have you moved yet?
drop me a line at [email protected] if you want to get in touch.
Thanks.

i have moved to Singapore this week, i am in the process of moving into an apartment in district 21. I have a son who is 7 yr old in November. I am wondering if public schooling is as good as private schooling. Any thoughts would be welcome.

Thanks