{"id":67853,"date":"2023-08-07T13:43:33","date_gmt":"2023-08-07T05:43:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/singapore\/insider\/?p=67853"},"modified":"2024-11-01T14:17:50","modified_gmt":"2024-11-01T06:17:50","slug":"where-buy-house-increase-chances-popular-primary-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/singapore\/insider\/where-buy-house-increase-chances-popular-primary-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Where to buy a house to maximise your kid\u2019s chances of getting into a popular primary school?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Many parents pay top dollar to buy a home near a popular primary school, hoping that it will increase their children\u2019s chances of enrolling in the school. This is because those living closer to the school will be prioritised for enrolment.<\/p>\n

Why living within 1km of a primary school matters<\/h2>\n

For those who do not have any prior connection or affiliation to the school, they can only apply from Phase 2C onwards during the yearly Primary 1 registration.<\/p>\n

Based on the home-school distance (HSD)<\/a>, those living closer to the school will be given priority admission in this order:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Singapore Citizens (SC) living within 1km of the school<\/li>\n
  2. SCs living between 1km and 2km of the school<\/li>\n
  3. SCs living outside 2km of the school<\/li>\n
  4. Permanent Residents (PR) living within 1km of the school<\/li>\n
  5. PRs living between 1km and 2km of the school<\/li>\n
  6. PRs living outside 2km of the school<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Therefore, parents keen on enrolling their children in a specific school will buy a home located within a 1km radius of the school<\/a>. But for these parents, distance relative to the school and past application rates should not be the only considerations.<\/p>\n

    Application rates and population density<\/h2>\n

    Despite the \u201cevery school a good school\u201d tagline some schools are more popular than others.<\/p>\n

    If the number of applicants exceeds the number of vacancies in a school, balloting will be conducted.<\/p>\n

    For instance, half of all primary schools were oversubscribed<\/a> in Phase 2C of last year\u2019s P1 registration. 88 of 181 primary schools received more applications than they had vacancies.<\/p>\n

    With that in mind, one way of increasing a child\u2019s chances of securing a seat in a popular primary school would be to consider schools in less densely populated areas. With fewer children living in the area, it is only natural that there will be less competition for a place in the school.<\/p>\n