In Singapore’s primary and secondary education, government schools are the first choice for most parents. The main reason is that government schools are directly managed by the government and their quality is guaranteed. At the same time, Singapore international schools also play an important role in making Singapore a well-known country for basic education, and it is another choice for many parents.
In this way, Singapore government schools and international schools also play a pivotal role in Singapore’s education, which has also become a point of entanglement for many parents. When choosing a school for primary and secondary schools in Singapore, is it better to choose a government school or an international school?
1. Admission Difficulty
Government school
Except for Primary One, which can be exempted from examination, international students who want to enter government primary and secondary schools must pass the AEIS examination organized by the Singapore Ministry of Education. However, the pass rate of this exam is only between 10% and 20% over the years, and the competition is fierce and admission is difficult.
For Primary 1 at government schools, international students can apply for admission without taking the test, but government schools in Singapore are mainly open to Singapore citizens, and the quota for international students in each school generally does not exceed 10%, so the competition is more fierce than AEIS.
International school
Most international schools have their own admissions tests, but except for the upper grades (G9 and above), the admission rate is still relatively high. Especially in the kindergarten stage, even famous schools do not have entrance examinations, and the doors are open to welcome students from all over the world.
Summarize
In terms of difficulty of admission, international schools are relatively easy, while government schools have created fierce competition due to restrictions on the number of foreign students. If the child’s foundation is not good, coupled with the poor selection of remedial classes, there will be many people who fail to enter the government’s primary and secondary schools for several years, which will have a great impact on the child’s self-confidence.
Of course, although international schools are relatively good, some popular schools, even in the lower grades, will have tight places and long waiting periods.
2. Curriculum
Government school
The primary and secondary schools of the Singapore government adopt the British Commonwealth’s GCE (General Certificate of Education) education system, which is more inclined to traditional exam-oriented education.
As early as 1997, Singapore’s education began to transform from exam-oriented education to competency-based education. The Ministry of Education began to consciously reduce knowledge courses and instead emphasized the cultivation of students’ independent learning and critical thinking.
Today, both primary and secondary schools have formed half-day courses, coupled with the system of CCA (extracurricular activities).
International school
The mainstream curriculum of international schools in Singapore is the IB curriculum, and some schools will also provide courses corresponding to their home countries, such as AP (American Basic Education System), IGCSE (Commonwealth Basic Education System) and so on.
The IB curriculum emphasizes the development of students’ personalities and abilities, and empowers students to think across disciplines. The content of learning is not as deep as the O/A level of government schools, but it is very extensive, and it pays attention to the comprehensiveness and application of knowledge.
Summarize
Government schools and international schools actually focus on the cultivation of students’ abilities and knowledge application.
However, due to the differences in their respective assessment systems, government schools are relatively more test-oriented and have higher academic requirements for knowledge points, while international schools pay more attention to the development of students’ overall quality, especially in the lower grades.
3. Path to study
Government school
Government schools adopt the O-level/A-level British Commonwealth GCE education system. The biggest advantage of this admission is that it provides a way to enter the top universities in Asia, such as National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), as well as excellent public universities such as SMU and SUTD.
According to the statistics of the Ministry of Education of Singapore in 2017, if government schools are calculated based on 100% of primary school enrollment, about 34.2% of them will finally enter public universities.
International school
The mainstream of international schools in Singapore is the IB education system.
The IB curriculum has developed rapidly in the past two decades, and now universities in Europe, Australia, and the United States all accept IB scores. Students holding an IB certificate can apply directly to more than 4,000 universities in more than 130 countries.
Most importantly, IB candidates with a score of 38 or above (out of 45) meet the basic criteria for admission to Oxford University, Cambridge University in the United Kingdom and Ivy League University in the United States.
The teaching quality of Singapore’s IB courses is at the forefront of the world. In 2019, the average score of Singapore candidates was 37.99, which was 9.47 points higher than the 28.52 of global candidates!
If you want to send your child to a prestigious university in Europe and the United States, the international school in Singapore is a good springboard.
Summarize
To sum up, if you want your children to stay in Singapore in the future, especially if you want to study in a public university in Singapore, government schools are a good choice in terms of further study paths. At the same time, as long as you pass one of the national examinations and live in Singapore for two consecutive years, you will have the opportunity to apply for a green card.
If you and your children yearn for famous universities in Europe and America, Singapore is just a springboard. From the perspective of further studies, international schools will be a better choice.
4. Difficulty of adapting
Regarding the difficulty of children’s adaptation to school, we will explain from the perspectives of humanistic environment and personality adaptation.
Government school
In Singapore government schools, about 90% of the students are Singaporeans due to the restriction on the number of foreigners.
In this humanistic environment dominated by local people, if the international students enter the class by transfer, and their English is not good enough, it will be difficult to integrate.
In addition, government schools are very strict in terms of discipline, and there are relatively many exams.
International school
The other type is schools with no obvious national background, recruiting students from all over the world, focusing on international vision and cultural diversity, such as UWC World United College, CIS Canada International, SAIS Stanford American International, ISS Singapore International, etc.
For children who have just arrived in Singapore, we recommend the second type of “Little United Nations” type school. In a diverse cultural atmosphere, the children’s home culture will be more respected, and the differences in students’ English proficiency will not be too large. This makes it easier to adapt.
In terms of personality, based on the fact that international schools pay more attention to the development of comprehensive quality and the personality of students, it is more suitable for students who have divergent thinking, lively and outgoing, and like to cooperate and communicate with others.
Summarize
From the perspective of humanistic environment, international schools, especially “Little United Nations” schools, are easier for international students to adapt to.
From the perspective of personality, if students like to specialize in academic research and have a rigorous personality, government schools are relatively suitable. For academics who are lively and outgoing and like to communicate with others, the environment of an international school is more suitable.
5. Application process
Government school
As mentioned earlier, if you want to enroll in government primary and secondary schools in Singapore, you must first pass the AEIS exam, and then arrange admission according to the vacant places in each school.
AEIS (Admissions Exercise for International Students) is a unified entrance examination organized and arranged by the Ministry of Education of Singapore for international students who intend to apply to study in Singapore government primary and secondary schools.
S-AEIS is a supplementary examination to AEIS. International students who fail to pass the AEIS exam to study in government primary and secondary schools can apply to register for the S-AEIS in February of the next year.
Like the AEIS exam, the S-AEIS exam will also be organized and organized by the Singapore Ministry of Education, and selected for admission. Candidates who are successfully admitted through the S-AEIS exam will start attending government primary and secondary schools in April of that year.
For international students, Singapore’s government primary schools have a policy of exempting entry from the first grade, but there are fewer places each year and there are strict age restrictions. It is required to be 7 years old on January 1 of the next year’s enrollment, which can be submitted in June each year.
The Ministry of Education of Singapore also stipulates that the sixth grade of government primary schools and the fourth grade of government secondary schools are not open to international students. In addition to this, other grades can only take the AEIS and S-AEIS examinations to enter government schools in Singapore.
International school
Singapore International School has the right to self-enroll students. Students do not need to take the government’s unified AEIS test, but only need to pass the school’s entrance test, but the English requirements for students will be relatively high.
Summarize
The application process for primary and secondary schools in the Singapore government will be relatively complicated. On the one hand, it is necessary to select admission through AIES, while the pass rate of AEIS is low.
In addition, the government randomly assigns schools according to the remaining places in each school, and international students do not have the right to choose schools.
In contrast, the application process for international schools in Singapore will be relatively simple. After passing the initial screening, you will participate in the school’s examinations and interviews, wait for a degree, and then pay the admission fee.
Compared with government schools, which mainly provide places for Singapore citizens, international schools are more inclined to recruit international students to ensure international diversity of students. This also means that international students have more places and the competition is relatively small, so the application process is relatively simple.
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