The 10 most popular schools in Singapore
As a nation that prides itself on meritocractic values, it is unsurprising that getting your children enrolled into the best primary school possible has become a national sport of sorts.
In fact, many parents have no qualms moving their entire families nearer in order to be considered for the primary school registration. There are also the parent volunteer programs that parents can dedicate their time for to increase their chances.
Primary School Ranking: 10 Most Popular Primary Schools in Singapore
Now let us get into why you clicked into this story in the first place. Here is the ranking of the most popular primary schools in Singapore based on their respective Google searches popularity.
| Primary School Ranking | Monthly Google Searches |
| Nanyang Primary School | 2,500 |
| Punggol Primary School | 1,400 |
| St. Margaret’s Primary School | 1,100 |
| Fern Green Primary School | 1,100 |
| Pioneer Primary School | 900 |
| Concord Primary School | 900 |
| Greendale Primary School | 800 |
| Eunos Primary School | 800 |
| Stamford Primary School | 800 |
| Springdale Primary School | 700 |
Nanyang Primary School
District No: 10
HDB within 1km radius: Along Queen’s Road and Farrer Road as well as Farrer Gardens.
Condo within 1km radius: Newer releases in the vicinity are Leedon Green and Wilshire Residences. There are older builds such as The Asana, D’leedon and Sommerville Park.
Landed houses within 1km radius: There are many landed properties nearby, so take your pick from streets such as King’s Road, King’s Drive and Kingsmead Road.
Nanyang Primary School is a government-aided, co-ed school at King’s Road that offers the Special Assistance Plan (SAP) and Gifted Education Programme. In 2023, there were 76 applicants for 44 spots during Phase 2C.
Nanyang Primary School instructs Chinese as the sole Mother Tongue subject, alongside related Chinese cultural CCAs as such the Chinese Calligraphy Club and Wushu. The Applied Learning Programme (ALP) and the Learning for Life Programme (LLP) are dubbed Problem-Solving Through Maker Education and Building Culture Quotient through Dance respectively.
Nanyang Primary School is also affiliated with Nanyang Girls’ High while being near schools such as Hwa Chong Institution and National Junior College. MRT stations nearby are Farrer Road (CC20), Tan Kah Kee (DT8) and Botanic Gardens (CC19, DT9).
Punggol Primary School
District No: 19
HDB within 1km radius: Hougang Ave 8, Compassvale Drive, Hougang Street 51, Hougang Street 61, Upper Serangoon Crescent and more.
Condo within 1km radius: The Quartz, Riverfront Residences, Heron Bay, Austville Residences, Esparina Residences and more.
Landed houses within 1km radius: Along Jalan Lye Kwee and Lorong Batawi.
Punggol Primary School is a government, co-ed school at Hougang Avenue 8. In 2023, there were 106 applicants for 86 spots during Phase 2C.
Punggol Primary School offers GreeNovation as its ALP and Social-emotional learning and character development Through Active paRticipation in Sports (S.T.A.R.S.) to equip students with life skills, social-emotional competency and applied learning.
Punggol Primary School is near North Vista Secondary, Holy Innocents’ High and Montfort Secondary School. MRT stations nearby are Buangkok (NE15) and Hougang (NE14) as well as Ranggung LRT (SE5).
St. Margaret’s Primary School
District No: 9
HDB within 1km radius: Selegie Road, Queen Street and more.
Condo within 1km radius: Sophia Hills, Haus on Handy, Cairnhill Nine, Mount Sohpia Suites and more.
Landed houses within 1km radius: Niven Road, Upper Wilkie Road and more.
St. Margaret’s Primary School is a government-aided, girls’ school. It was originally located at Sophia Road but is currently held at Mattar Road due to upgrading until December 2024. In 2023, there were 78 applicants for 122 spots and 46 applications for 44 spots during Phase 2C and 2C Supplementary.
St. Margaret’s Primary School offers H.E.A.R.T of Communication as its ALP and Sports A. C². E for its sports and outdoor education.
St. Margaret’s Primary School (at Sophia Road) is near the School of the Arts (SOTA). It is also affiliated with St. Margaret’s School (Secondary). MRT stations near its Matter location are Mattar (DT25) and Aljunied (EW9) or Little India (NE7, DT12), Dhoby Ghaut (CC1, NE6, NS24), Rochor (DT13) and Bencoolen (DT21) for its Sophia Road location.
Fern Green Primary School
District No: 28
HDB within 1km radius: Along Fernvale Link, Fernvale Road, Sengkang West Way and more.
Condo within 1km radius: Riverbank @ Fernvale, Lush Acres, Rivertree Residences and more.
Landed houses within 1km radius: Jalan Kayu estate.
Fern Green Primary School is a government, co-ed school at Fernvale Link. In 2023, there were 73 applicants for 61 spots during Phase 2C.
Fern Green Primary School offers the FGPS Maker Education and Get REAL!@FGPS – the former to inculcate STEM and critical thinking skills and the latter as its sports and outdoor education.
Fern Green Primary School is near Pei Hwa Secondary and Nan Chiau High School. LRT stations nearby are Kupang (SW3), Thanggam (SW4) and Layar (SW6).
Pioneer Primary School
Pioneer Primary School is a government, co-ed school at Jurong West Street 91. Pioneer Primary was merged with Juying Primary School at the start of 2022. The school will tentatively move to the Tengah district in 2026 and only admit new students via the 2025 P1 Registration Exercise.
Concord Primary School
District No: 23
HDB within 1km radius: Along Choa Chu Kang Ave 2, 3, 4 and 5 as well as Keat Hong Close.
Condo within 1km radius: The Warren.
Landed houses within 1km radius: Comfort Garden.
Concord Primary School is a government, co-ed school at Choa Chu Kang Ave 4. In 2023, there were 76 applicants for 108 spots and 54 applicants for 32 spots during Phase 2C and Phase 2C Supplementary.
Concord Primary School offers the E3 (Enable, Enrich and Empower) Reasoning and Outdoor Education to teach students critical, inventive skills and sports education respectively.
Concord Primary School is near Bukit Panjang Government High School. The LRT nearby is South View (BP2).
Greendale Primary School
District No: 19
HDB within 1km radius: Along Edgedale Plains, Punggol Central, Punggol Field Walk and more.
Condo within 1km radius: River Isles, The Amore, The Terrace and more.
Greendale Primary School is a government, co-ed school at Edgedale Plains. In 2023, there were 23 applicants for 190 spots and 17 applicants for 167 spots during Phase 2C and Phase 2C Supplementary.
Greendale Primary School’s ALP is called Toy Story that uses toy designing projects to develop critical and creative thinking skills. The sports and outdoor education is titled Developing 21st Century Lifelong Learners through Outdoor Education.
Greendale Primary School is near Greendale Secondary and Punggol Secondary School. LRT stations nearby are Coral Edge (PE3), Meridian (PE2) and Riviera (PE4).
Eunos Primary School
Eunos Primary School was a government school at Eunos. It was founded in 1984 before being merged with Telok Kurau Primary School in January 2023. The combined school bears the name of the latter and is located at its site.
Stamford Primary School
Stamford Primary School was a government school at Victoria Lane. It was founded in 1951 before being merged with Farrer Park Primary School in January 2023. Similarly, the new school follows the latter and is located at its site.
Springdale Primary School
District No: 19
HDB within 1km radius: Along Anchorvale Link, Sengkang East Way, Anchorvale Road and more.
Condo within 1km radius: Ola, La Fiesta, Compass Heights and more.
Springdale Primary School is a government, co-ed school at Anchorvale Link. In 2023, there were 68 applicants for 121 spots and 68 applicants for 53 slots for Phase 2C and Phase 2C Supplementary.
Springdale Primary School’s ALP is called Nurturing Empathetic Change Makers. It also has a community service and student leadership programme titled Nurturing Leaders with a Heart.
Springdale Primary School is near Nan Chiau High School. LRT stations nearby are Farmway (SW2), Cheng Lim (SW1) and Tongkang (SW7) as well as Sengkang (NE16, STC) MRT station.
Primary School Registration
While the primary school registration for 2024 is over, this serves as a rough timeline as a reference for parents with prospective children entering primary school in 2025 and beyond.
The registration for Primary One admission in 2024 opened from July 4 to October 31, 2023. Parents registered their children in their chosen school at the P1 Registration Portal that can be accessed via the MOE P1 Registration website.
There are six phases to the primary school registration.
| Primary School Registration | Child’s Eligbility |
| Phase 1 | – For a child who has a sibling studying in the primary school |
| Phase 2A | – For a child whose parent or sibling is a former student of the primary school, including those who have joined the alumni association of the primary school as a member – For a child whose parent is a member of the School Advisory/Management Committee – For a child whose parent is a staff member of the primary school – For a child from the MOE Kindergarten under the purview of and located within the primary school |
| Phase 2B | – For a child whose parent has joined the primary school as a parent volunteer not later than July 1 of the year before P1 registration and has given at least 40 hours of voluntary service to the school by June 30 of the year of P1 registration – For a child whose parent is a member endorsed by the church/clan directly connected with the primary school – For a child whose parent is endorsed as an active community leader |
| Phase 2C | – For a child who is not yet registered in a primary school |
| Phase 2C Supplementary | – For a child who is not yet registered in a primary school after Phase 2C |
| Phase 3 | – International students |
Primary School Holidays 2024
By the way, here are the primary school dates and holidays in 2024.
School Calendar 2024
| Term 1 | Tueday, 3 January to Friday, 8 March (Primary 2 to 6 will start on Wedneday, 3 Jan) |
| Term 2 | Monday, 18 March to Friday, 24 May |
| Term 3 | Monday, 24 June to Friday, 30 August |
| Term 4 | Monday, 9 September to Friday, 15 November |
School Vacation 2024
| Term 1 Break | Saturday, 9 March to Sunday, 17 March |
| Term 2 Break | Saturday, 25 May to Sunday, 23 June |
| Term 3 Break | Saturday, 31 August to Sunday, 8 September |
| Year-end Break | Saturday, 16 November to Tuesday, 31 December |
Scheduled School Holidays 2024
| Youth Day | Sunday, 30 June (Monday, 1 July will be a school holiday) |
| Teachers’ Day | Friday, 30 August |
| Children’s Day | Friday, 4 October |
Public Holidays 2024
Singapore has 11 official public holidays. These include: New Year’s Day, Chinese New Year, Good Friday, Labour Day, Vesak Day, Hari Raya Puasa, National Day, Hari Raya Haji, Deepavali, and Christmas Day.
| Public Holidays | 2024 Dates |
| New Year’s Day | Monday, 1 January |
| Chinese New Year | Saturday, 10 February to Sunday, 11 February |
| Good Friday | Friday, 29 March |
| Hari Raya Puasa | Wednesday, 10 April |
| Labour Day | Wednesday, 1 May |
| Vesak Day | Wednesday, 22 May |
| Hari Raya Haji | Monday, 17 June |
| National Day | Friday, 9 August |
| Deepavali | Thursday, 31 October |
| Christmas Day | Wednesday, 25 December |
There are 5 potential long weekends in 2024. Book your holidays in advance!
Sources from: https://www.homeanddecor.com.sg/property-tips/primary-school-rank