Singapore school experiences?

[CeliaChettam]

I'm visiting next week and we'd be moving in August with dss of 3 and 7. One ds has Asperger's and I've been in touch with the support group out there (thank you, slim22), but I'd be very grateful for any more general experiences that anyone's willing to share - I need some way of choosing which schools to visit because I won't have time to see them all!

Thanks in advance.

We thought we were going to move to Singapore and I investigated schools for our dd. New world college and another one whose name I forgot were my two of choice. Unfortunatley the waiting lists were horrendous.
Good luck.

United World College is very good but as Kreecher says check the waiting lists. There's no point setting your heart on a school and then finding you can't get them in for two years. Find something for now and look at the options carefully once you are here.

I have known many students move on from GESS (German school but with a stream for non German speakers), Dover Court and Chatsworth to Tanglin or UWC after a bit. They seem to be easier to get into. SJI has a good reputation too and might have places.

Good luck!

UWCSE & TTS remain firmly on top with fairly long waitlists.

That said, there is a reasonnable chance you can get DD into nursery and then DS would have sibling priority and a good place on the waitlist for next year.

I prefer TTS to UWC for infant school. Just feels like they are a bit more sheltered from the big school. Our experience is that it is a very nurturing environment.
And they seem to be really improving with support for SN children.

That said, maybe you want to avoid too much disruption for DS if you are not going to be in singapore for more than 2-3 years.

I think Chatsworth is not great for children with SN. No real feedback on that particular front but generally, parents have mixed experiences depending on the teacher. And complaints/comments to the principal/management are not handled to their satisfaction from what I hear.

SJI's reputation is very good and growing. Probably the best mix of local/expat. It's a catholic school. The only international school with a strong and unambiguous moto of "prayer and work". So go see for yourself to get a feel of it.

Dover sounds like a lovely very proper little school. My impression when I toured it (4 years ago) is that it looked a tad rigid?

Forgot to mention the Australian school. Have only ever heard good things about it.
Same for Avondale (australian stream) with a nice new little campus "in town" off Tanglin road.

Yep, Tanglin. Both looked good, pricey but good and both had horribly long waiting lists.

That's all really useful, thanks! Cost isn't an issue because the company will be paying but waiting lists are, and you're right, slim, we don't like the idea of a 'holding school' and then 'the real thing' because enough in life is going to be provisional and the 'holding' is still a significant part of a child's life. We could postpone for a year if need be and I can see the waiting list issue being what swings that one. I e-mailed Chatsworth and they said they don't really do SN (usefully frank, anyway). Avondale looks nice but having the long break around Christmas is a deal-breaker. Will investigate Dover and SJI - 'rigid' can suit Asperger's kids rather well... I was wondering also about the American School? They seem to have good SEN provision and it would be the right end of town for us. Though the waiting list problem is the same.

SAS is a great school. Was not sure you would consider since it's an american curriculum. Not that it makes such a difference in primary years...

Now if cost is no issue then you might want to ask TTS about debentures. I know its still all very hush hush and not politically correct but the system is very much in place now. A friend applied from London in January and got not 1 but 3 kids of various ages enrolled for this 3rd term. All in. The company paid debentures.

So yes, if you can pull that string, by all means do, everyone else who can, will.
Be upfront and ask about the chances of DD being registered in nursery for the september intake + paying a debenture for DS to get in at the same time.
The admissions lady is a bit of a dragon (aren't they all?), be persistent, it pays.

For Dover, I thoroughly agree that rigid is good in your case and they do have SN children. So definitely could be a good fit.

He's in a broadly American international school at the moment so that's not a problem - I suppose it might become an issue if/when we move back to the UK but I'm not sure we can look that far ahead at this stage, and anyway the plan is to save enough for private schools (and a big house!) when we come back. I'm not sure the company would go as far as a debenture - I think there's a fairly standard package, which seems pretty generous already to me - but they will hold over for a year if we want them to. TTS is also way over the wrong side of town for where we'll be. I will investigate Dover, though, thanks!

Good luck!