Singapore Expats

Hello local schoolers,

We are getting ready to move to Singapore next year with our two kiddos, the eldest is eligible to start P1 in 2015, so we have a bit of time.

Can anyone please share with me their experience of getting their little one into P1 for next year, 2013?

I'm curious whether and how the introduction of balloting for Phase 3 has affected the overall experience, and how hard it is to get into a neighbourhood school.

I understand the dynamic with regard to the preferencing of the "best" schools for SCs and PRs, with EPs getting the last draw.

But how easy is it for expats to get into a local school -- not necessarily the best -- within a reasonable distance of your home? If we are staring at a commute across the island for pick up and drop off, we might just have to bite the bullet on private school.

Also, on Kindergarten. For those of you who opted for the local school route, what did you do for Kindy?

Thanks!

IME it depends very much on the Chinese birth year of the child - Dragons year kids (1964 onwards in 12 year leaps) are big groups that need balloting in pretty much every school.... others like rat less so.

I have a question on expat parent volunteers for P1 admition for local schools.

If expat parent will volunteer in the local school of the choice over 40 hours per year, does it bring the application of their kids to Phase 2B?

I did not find any info on this...