How will the P1 registration changes affect children applying for primary school?

SINGAPORE – Starting from the 2027 Primary 1 registration exercise, almost all schools in Singapore will open up more reserved places for children without prior connections.

For 12 schools in areas such as Bukit Timah and Marine Parade, places will also be reserved for children who live more than 2km away.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) said the moves are intended to widen access to the schools and encourage greater mixing among pupils from different backgrounds.

What are the latest changes announced on Sept 10, and how will they affect school applicants? The Straits Times explains.

Q: How will the 2027 P1 registration exercise change?

The changes will apply to Phase 2C, which is for children without prior ties to the school and where home-school distance plays a role in admission.

The number of places reserved for this phase will increase to 60 from 40 for almost all schools.

This change will not be applied to schools with smaller intakes of fewer than 180 pupils.

In the 2026 P1 registration exercise, there were 27 such schools out of 179 that were open for registration in 2026.

For 12 schools in areas such as Bukit Timah and Marine Parade where the proportion of public housing is significantly lower than the national average, the 60 reserved places in Phase 2C will be split into two tracks.

Thirty spots will be reserved for those who live within 2km of the school and the remaining 30 will be for those who live farther away. Within each of these two tracks, home-school distance priority will not apply.

“Some schools have a narrower socio-economic mix of students, reflecting the profile of their immediate neighbourhoods,” said MOE on Sept 10. “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.”

The other phases of registration – Phase 1, 2A and 2B – will remain unchanged.

Q: Which are the 12 schools that will have two tracks for Phase 2C?

Q: How were the 12 schools selected?

The 12 schools are located in neighbourhoods where public housing makes up less than 40 per cent of homes within 2km of the school.

This is significantly lower than the national average, in which about four in five of Singapore’s resident population live in public housing. So far, only these 12 schools are located in such neighbourhoods, MOE said.

When Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) moves from its current Barker Road campus in Newton to Tengah in 2030, it will be removed from the list.

MOE will periodically review the list of schools under the Phase 2C two-track scheme. But the ministry said it does not expect frequent changes to the list as housing profiles do not change drastically over a short period.

Q: How will the 60 places in Phase 2C be allocated for the 12 affected schools?

The 60 places reserved for Phase 2C, along with any spots left over from earlier phases, will be split equally between two tracks: children who live within 2km of the school and those who live more than 2km away.

There will be no home-school distance priority within either track. This means that a child who lives within 1km of the school, for instance, will not be given priority over one who lives between 1km and 2km away.

There is also no upper limit to the home-school distance under Phase 2C.

Applications for all 60 places will open at the same time.

If there are more Singaporean applicants than places in either track, places will be allocated through balloting.

Excess places in one track will be offered to applicants on the other track within Phase 2C.

Q: Will there be fewer places in the earlier phases?

The increase in reserved Phase 2C places will come from the earlier registration phases – Phase 2A and Phase 2B.

Phase 2A is for children with a parent or sibling who is a former pupil; a parent who is a member of the school advisory or management committee; or a parent who is a school staff member. Children from MOE kindergartens that are under the purview of their chosen primary school also qualify for this phase.

Phase 2B is for children whose parent has volunteered at the school, whose parent is endorsed by a church or clan directly connected with the school, or whose parent is an active community leader.

Admission in Phase 2A is based on the number of places left after Phase 1 (no cap), and what has been set aside for Phase 2B (20) and 2C (60).

Phase 1 is for children who have an older sibling already enrolled in the school.

Even so, eligible families under earlier phases will continue to have priority over Phase 2C applicants.

The change seeks to balance MOE’s objectives of improving access for children without prior connections to the school, while continuing to recognise the contributions of alumni members and others who have supported the school and community.

Q: Will the two-track scheme reduce the admission chances of children living near the 12 schools?

The two-track scheme is intended to preserve access for children living near the school, while opening the 12 schools to a more diverse socio-economic mix of families.

Families living within 2km of the school will continue to have places set aside for them under the Phase 2C (≤2km) track. At the same time, the Phase 2C (>2km) track creates opportunities for these schools to enable their student profiles to better reflect Singapore’s diversity, said MOE.

MOE said it regularly reviews the provision of P1 places, taking into account factors including demographic trends and upcoming housing developments. While demand varies across schools depending on parents’ preferences, MOE said it plans sufficient P1 places for children in the different neighbourhoods to enable children to be able to attend a school relatively near their homes.

Changes to the Primary 1 registration exercise over the years

April 2026: MOE says it will begin to gradually reduce the P1 intake at many schools because of falling birth cohorts. For the 2026 registration exercise (for the 2027 P1 cohort), 61 of 179 primary schools reduced their intake, while 12 increased places. MOE says this is intended to maintain a good geographical spread of schools and avoid unnecessary mergers or relocations.

2022

– Phases 2A1 and 2A2 are merged into Phase 2A. Alumni priority remains, but former students no longer have a separate earlier phase. Phase 2A also covers children whose parents or siblings had studied in the school, children of school staff, MOE Kindergarten children from the school and children of School Advisory/Management Committee members.

– Phase 2C reserved places doubles to 40 from 20 per school. Phase 2B retains its 20 reserved places, meaning 60 places in total are reserved at the start of the exercise – 20 for 2B and 40 for 2C.

– Remaining vacancies are redistributed between Phases 2B and 2C: one-third of vacancies remaining after Phase 2A is allocated to 2B and two-thirds to 2C.

– The way home-school distance is calculated changed. Instead of measuring from a single reference point based on the school’s original building layout, MOE begins measuring from the school land boundary. This slightly expanded the number of homes falling within the 1km and 2km radius of most schools.

– The revised framework is implemented against the backdrop of increasing competition in Phase 2C: in 2021, about one in three schools required balloting among Singapore Citizen applicants living within 1km, up from about one in four in 2014.

2021

MOE announces a major review of the system, with changes taking effect from the 2022 P1 registration exercise (for children starting P1 in 2023). The changes are aimed partly at helping more children secure places in schools near their homes.

2018

MOE Kindergarten children become eligible for Phase 2A2 if their MOE Kindergarten is under the purview of and co-located with the primary school. This gives them priority admission to support their transition to P1.

2014

Twenty places are reserved for Phase 2C in every primary school. Phase 2C is for children with no prior connection to the school. The measure is intended to ensure that some places remain available to such children after earlier phases.

1999

Phase 2A1 priority for alumni is introduced. Children whose parents are former students and have joined the school’s alumni association can register ahead of other groups. MOE says this is intended to strengthen alumni and community support for schools.