Primary 1 registration: More Phase 2C places from 2027, new two-track scheme at 12 schools

Most primary schools will set aside 60 places for Phase 2C, an increase from 40.

Students in a primary school. (File photo: TODAY)

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SINGAPORE: Most primary schools will set aside 60 places for Phase 2C from next year's Primary 1 registration exercise, up from 40 currently, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Thursday (Sep 10).

Smaller-intake schools with fewer than 180 Primary 1 places will retain 40 reserved places in Phase 2C. In this year’s registration exercise, 27 out of 179 primary schools had an intake of fewer than 180 places.

Phase 2C is open to all children regardless of prior connection to a school, so more reserved places should widen access for those without such ties, MOE said.

Phase 2B, which is for children whose parent has volunteered at the school, or who has ties to a religious or clan group affiliated with it, will keep to 20 reserved places.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less Children in Phase 2B and earlier phases continue to have priority admission ahead of Phase 2C applicants. Balloting kicks in whenever applicants exceed vacancies in any phase from 2A to 2C Supplementary. TWO-TRACK SCHEME IN 12 SCHOOLS From next year's registration, 12 schools in neighbourhoods where public housing makes up less than 40 per cent of homes within 2km will also split their Phase 2C places into two equal tracks – one for applicants living within 2km, another for those beyond it – with no home-school distance priority within either track. The 12 schools, mostly in Bukit Timah with a few in Marine Parade, are: Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) CHIJ (Katong) Primary Methodist Girls' School (Primary) Nanyang Primary School Ngee Ann Primary School Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School Raffles Girls' Primary School Singapore Chinese Girls' Primary School St. Margaret's School (Primary) Tanjong Katong Primary School Tao Nan School

Children in Phase 2B and earlier phases continue to have priority admission ahead of Phase 2C applicants. Balloting kicks in whenever applicants exceed vacancies in any phase from 2A to 2C Supplementary.

TWO-TRACK SCHEME IN 12 SCHOOLS

From next year's registration, 12 schools in neighbourhoods where public housing makes up less than 40 per cent of homes within 2km will also split their Phase 2C places into two equal tracks – one for applicants living within 2km, another for those beyond it – with no home-school distance priority within either track.

The 12 schools, mostly in Bukit Timah with a few in Marine Parade, are:

Anglo-Chinese School (Junior)

Anglo-Chinese School (Primary)

CHIJ (Katong) Primary

Methodist Girls' School (Primary)

Nanyang Primary School

Ngee Ann Primary School

Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School

Raffles Girls' Primary School

Singapore Chinese Girls' Primary School

St. Margaret's School (Primary)

Tanjong Katong Primary School

Singapore citizens continue to have priority over permanent residents, whose applications are considered only after all citizen applicants across both tracks are admitted.

Balloting will be conducted if the number of citizen applicants exceed its places in each track. If there are unfilled places in one track, they will be moved to citizen applicants in the other track.

For example, in a school with 60 reserved places split 30-30, if only 25 citizen applicants beyond 2km apply, the remaining five places go to citizen applicants within 2km.

MOE said it would periodically review the list to take into account changes to schools' surrounding housing profiles, though it does not expect frequent changes "as housing profiles do not change drastically over a short period".

Asked whether Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) would stay on the list after its move to Tengah in 2030, MOE said its housing profile would change and it would no longer be part of the scheme.

MOE said that while most primary schools draw students from a range of backgrounds, some have a narrower socio-economic mix reflecting their immediate neighbourhoods.

“This is partly due to the current home-school distance priority in the P1 registration framework, where priority is determined by citizenship, followed by home-school distance, when balloting is required.”

"We want our schools to remain open and inclusive, where our children learn and form friendships beyond their immediate social circles," said Minister for Education Desmond Lee, speaking to reporters at Parliament House.

"They will encounter different perspectives, they will learn to bridge differences, and they will build mutual understanding."

BALANCING DIFFERENT VIEWS

MOE said the changes are part of its ongoing review of policies to improve access and support inclusivity in primary schools, shaped by feedback from parents, school leaders and alumni.

Mr Lee said there was broad agreement that primary schools should stay open and accessible to families of different backgrounds, even as views differed on how to achieve this.

Education Minister Desmond Lee speaking to the media at Parliament House on Sep 10, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Lim Li Ting)

Some wanted more places reserved for families without prior connections; others favoured reducing or removing the weight given to home-school distance, he said.

"There are different considerations that we have to balance with every change that we make," he added. "For example, we know that parents value a school that's near to home, particularly for young children, and it's more convenient for siblings to attend the same school together."

MOE will continue investing in every school to ensure quality education for all students, Mr Lee said, and will track registration outcomes to inform further changes.

"We will continue to seek to balance the different considerations involved, including sibling priority, proximity between home and school, alumni ties, as well as contributions to community," he said.

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大多数小学将为 2C 阶段预留 60 个名额，比之前的 40 个名额有所增加。

小学里的学生们。（资料图片：TODAY）

这段音频是由人工智能工具生成的。

新加坡：教育部周四（9月10日）表示，大多数小学将在明年的小学一年级入学登记中，为第二阶段C期预留60个名额，高于目前的40个。

招生人数少于180人的小学一年级招生名额较少的学校，将在第二阶段C期保留40个预留名额。在今年的招生登记中，179所小学中有27所的招生名额少于180人。

教育部表示，第二阶段C期面向所有儿童开放，无论他们之前是否与学校有联系，因此预留更多名额应该能扩大那些没有此类联系的人的入学机会。

第二阶段 B 部分面向父母在该校担任志愿者或与该校有联系的宗教或宗族团体有关系的儿童，将保留 20 个名额。

CNA游戏 猜词游戏 逐行破解单词 流行词游戏 用给定的字母组成单词 迷你数独 小谜题，脑力挑战 迷你填字游戏 小方格，大挑战 单词搜索 尽可能多地找出单词 显示更多 显示更少 第二阶段B及更早阶段的儿童将继续优先于第二阶段C的申请者入学。当第二阶段A至第二阶段C的申请人数超过空缺名额时，将启动抽签程序。补充入学。12所学校实行双轨制 从明年的注册开始，12所位于公共住房占2公里范围内房屋比例低于40%的社区的学校，也将把第二阶段C的入学名额分成两个均等的轨道——一个轨道面向居住在2公里范围内的申请者，另一个轨道面向居住在2公里范围之外的申请者——两个轨道内均不考虑家庭住址与学校之间的距离。这12所学校，大部分位于武吉知马，少数位于马林百列，分别是：英华小学、英华中学、加东圣婴小学、卫理公会女校小学、南洋小学、义安小学、培华长老会小学、莱佛士女子小学、新加坡女子小学、圣玛格丽特小学、丹戎加东小学和道南小学。

第二阶段B及之前各阶段的儿童继续享有优先录取权，优先于第二阶段C的申请者。从第二阶段A到第二阶段C补充入学，任何阶段的申请人数超过空缺名额时，均会启动抽签程序。

12所学校实行双轨制教学方案

从明年的注册开始，在公屋占比低于 40% 的社区（方圆 2 公里内）的 12 所学校也将把第二阶段 C 名额分成两个相等的通道——一个通道面向居住在 2 公里内的申请人，另一个通道面向居住在 2 公里以外的申请人——两个通道内均不考虑家庭与学校之间的距离。

这12所学校，大部分位于武吉知马，少数位于马林百列，分别是：

英华中学（初级）

英华小学

圣婴女校（加东）小学

卫理公会女子小学

南洋小学

义安小学

培华长老会小学

莱佛士女子小学

新加坡女子小学

圣玛格丽特小学

丹戎加东小学

新加坡公民的申请优先于永久居民的申请，永久居民的申请只有在所有公民申请人（无论通过哪种途径）都被录取后才会予以考虑。

如果各类别申请人数超过名额，则将进行抽签。如果某一类别有空缺名额，则这些名额将分配给其他类别的申请人。

例如，在一所预留了 60 个名额，按 30:30 比例分配的学校中，如果只有 25 名居住在 2 公里以外的公民申请人申请，则剩余的 5 个名额将分配给居住在 2 公里以内的公民申请人。

教育部表示，将定期审查该名单，以考虑学校周边住房情况的变化，但预计不会频繁更改，“因为住房情况不会在短期内发生剧烈变化”。

当被问及英华小学在 2030 年迁至登加后是否会继续留在名单上时，教育部表示，该校的住房情况将会改变，将不再是该计划的一部分。

教育部表示，虽然大多数小学招收来自不同背景的学生，但有些小学的社会经济构成较为单一，反映了其所在社区的情况。

“这部分是由于目前小学一年级注册框架中以家庭与学校距离为优先原则，在需要抽签的情况下，优先考虑的是公民身份，其次是家庭与学校距离。”

教育部长李智陞在国会大厦对记者说：“我们希望我们的学校保持开放和包容，让我们的孩子在学校里学习，并在他们直接的社交圈之外建立友谊。”

“他们会遇到不同的观点，他们会学会弥合分歧，他们会建立相互理解。”

平衡不同观点

教育部表示，这些改变是其持续审查政策的一部分，旨在改善小学入学机会并支持包容性，并采纳了家长、学校领导和校友的反馈意见。

李先生表示，人们普遍同意小学应该保持开放，让不同背景的家庭都能入学，尽管对于如何实现这一点存在不同的看法。

教育部长李智陞于2026年9月10日在国会大厦向媒体发表讲话。（图片：CNA/林丽婷）

他说，有些人希望为没有先前关系的家庭保留更多名额；另一些人则倾向于减少或取消对家庭学校距离的重视程度。

他补充说：“我们每次做出改变都需要权衡各种因素。例如，我们知道家长们重视学校离家近，尤其是对于年幼的孩子来说，而且兄弟姐妹一起上同一所学校也更方便。”

李先生表示，教育部将继续投资于每一所学校，以确保所有学生都能获得优质教育，并将跟踪注册结果，以便为进一步的改革提供依据。

他说：“我们将继续努力平衡各种相关因素，包括兄弟姐妹优先权、家校距离、校友关系以及对社区的贡献。”

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