Two new primary schools in Punggol are set to open in 2020, as per the MOE’s latest press release on 13 September 2018.
Also, from 2021, Yusof Ishak Secondary School will relocate from Bukit Batok to Punggol.
Opening of 2 New Primary Schools in Punggol
In 2020, Valour Primary School and Northshore Primary School in Punggol will begin operations and admit its first Primary 1 cohort. This will “meet the high demand for primary school places in Punggol,” said MOE.
Yusof Ishak Secondary School: The Move from Bukit Batok to Punggol
The school is in a part of Bukit Batok with falling demand for school places. | Photo: Lianne Chia
Yusof Ishak Secondary School is in a part of Bukit Batok with falling demand for school places.
To provide students with an optimal experience, MOE’s “key consideration” is to be “responsive to changing demographics and community needs”. This affects its decision on whether to relocate or open schools.
How It Will Affect Current and Future Students of Yusof Ishak Secondary School
MOE says that it will work with the school to ensure that the transition to its new campus goes smoothly. (Photo: Lianne Chia)
Here are some key facts on the move:
- Current Yusof Ishak Secondary School students do not have to move to the new Punggol campus.
- There will be no intake of new Secondary 1 students to the current campus in Bukit Batok in the next two years (2019 and 2020) — to minimise disruption to students’ learning.
- In 2021, the new Punggol campus will take in the first Secondary 1 cohort.
- The school will continue operation at the old Bukit Batok campus for a year (for last Secondary 4 cohort). This will be concurrent with the first batch of Secondary 1 students at Punggol campus.
The ministry said it will facilitate the transfer of “a small number” of Secondary 5 Normal (Academic) students in 2022, admitted this year, to other secondary schools in the Bukit Batok area.
Preservation of History and Culture
The school will continue to host the Centre for Teaching and Learning Excellence that was set up in September 2015 to help boost the professional development of teachers in Singapore.
The school’s new Punggol site will see an improvement in facilities. It will have everything from an interactive learning centre with video streaming capabilities to a learning lab with an attached observation room. The school will also enlarge classrooms with additional space for observers. And finally, they will build a covered area for outdoor learning activities.
Source: Ministry of Education
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