Info on relocating to Singapore!

[DubaiTrace]

Hi All,
I just need info firstly on schools I have 2 children a daughter (13 years old) she is in Yr8 & son (11years old) he is in Yr 6 they both in a British Curricumlam school in Dubai.
My son is dyslexic and is well catered for in the Primary school he attends & he will be when he moves to the High School in September! He is also sport mad, he is in every squad at school Rugby, basketball, swimming, athletics, table tennis, tennis......He is my main worry I would like him to feel happy with the move as he has only ever known living in Dubai! My daughter is very accedemic but loves drama, dance & music! We would probably move after this school year so we would be in Singapore in September to start Yr 9 & Yr 7!
How differicult is it to find a excellent British Curricumlam school? Are there long waiting lists like here in Dubai? I want them to both be catered for especially with a Dyslexic Unit for my son!
We also have 2 dogs, what is it like for them, are they welcome? as they are apart of the family and leaving them here isn't an option!
Is it easy to drive around, I am use to Dubai traffic and I like to be independent?
That's enough for now! I want our children to be happy as they are not young, but this is a good time to move before my daughter starts her GCSEs she can have a year to settle! Thanks any advice appreciated.

Tanglin & dulwich are the best uk curicullum schools.
Long waiting lists in TTS but a very reasonnable chance in those year groups. Still time to apply but act now! It's a great school tgat also runs an IB program with great success. Very well rated among international schools in Asia.
Driving is very easy but cars very expensive.
Housing is very varied, there lots of houses, deatched or in gated communities. And many older, bigger appartment blocks with outside space.
Public transport is safe and efficient and they can use it independently. School buses run all over the island if you opt for dulwich but a long drive out of town.
Which could be a challenge for after school activities if you live far from school.

No experience of dulwich but i'm sure they have great sports facilities.
Tanglin has many teams. Rugby is BIG! The tram travel to HK, bagkok, KL etc....regularly for tournaments.
There is a good basketball league too but outside of school. Drama dance and music are well catered for too at Tanglin.
They have a proper pool and strong swimming squads.
Tennis courts too.
Ask the school for learning support. They offer it but not sure to which extent after primary.
Good luck!

Be aware that learning support may be an issue and if I were you I would look into this asap. It's not well provided for in Singapore generally although as Laptop says, Tanglin and Dulwich are probably your best bets. Isn't Dover Court good in this regard too? I know they've gone through quite a bit of change lately though.

At their ages, I would have thought it would be quite easy to get into Dulwich as it is a new school, not many secondary students as yet. I think Tanglin would be a better bet at this stage - more peers etc. Yes, Dover Court is British curriculum and excellent with additional learning needs but again I think they have a lot fewer students in secondary school (than they have in primary) so you might want to check numbers there too.

Dover is a lovely primary but does not offer the same opportunities at all for extra curricular activities and whole athlete coaching.

Ive just been offered a job in Dover in the secondary! there are only c. 200 children in the secondary part- it has a better reputation for its primary. However, the head is working hard to build up the secondary and if you are looking for a small caring environment then this would be a good choice. They are offering a full programme of IGCSE in line with Tanglin and Dulwich. These two have better reputations at the moment and are excellent schools as far as I'm told

Thank you all for all the info. I will start looking at all the schools & also the expat sites recommended.
Just a quick one! Do families have dogs there? Also are there places to take dogs as here there are a lot of no go areas like the parks & beaches for dogs! Thanks again

Absolutely! Tanjong beach and botanic gardens allow unleased dogs. Many other places are fine unleashed on designated paths.
If you live in a low rise or detached house area like bukit timah/clementi/holland or further you will have good company on your neighbourhood walks.
It is not common to see dogs in enclosed areas ( ie: shopingmalls)

Do be wary Dubai. There's a lot of money to be made from ex-pats re special educational needs. Do your research.

There is a useful group on Facebook called SSNAP which stands for Singapore Special Needs and Parents or something similar. That might be a helpful resource for you in terms of finding a tutor/any additional help your son may need.

We are aiming to move to Singapore around Easter. We have had our children, aged 9, 6 and 4 down for Dover Court since September last year. We are not moving on an expat package and so Tanglin & Dulwich are way our of our price range for 3 children!! We live in Jersey at the moment where the children attend a fantastic prep school - Dover Court has all and more of what we love about our current school.