Children living within 1km of a primary school are given the highest distance priority during Phase 2B and 2C registration. MOE measures the distance from your home's postal address to the school's gate using their official distance checker. Being within 1km significantly improves your chances during balloting, especially for popular schools.

You can use the address search on this page — enter your home address or postal code and it will show all primary schools within 2km, with their estimated straight-line distances. For the official MOE distance, use MOE's School Information Service. Note that straight-line distance is an estimate; MOE measures from your building outline to the school boundary.

Phase 2A is for children with a sibling already in the school, or whose parent is a staff member or alumni (for affiliated schools). Phase 2B is for children whose parent has volunteered at least 40 hours at the school, is an active community leader, or is a member of the school's affiliated clan/church/temple. Phase 2C is open to all Singapore Citizens and PRs. Distance from home to school is a tiebreaker in all phases.

The most competitive schools — those that frequently ballot even in Phase 2B — include Nanyang Primary, Raffles Girls' Primary, Henry Park Primary, Nan Hua Primary, Rulang Primary, Rosyth School, Poi Ching School, and Chongfu School. These schools are popular due to their academic track record, GEP programmes, or affiliated secondary schools. Use the Phase Calculator on this page to estimate your chances.

If a school is oversubscribed in Phase 2C, a ballot is conducted. Children who are unsuccessful will be allocated a school by MOE in Phase 3, which guarantees every Singapore Citizen child a place in a primary school within reasonable distance from home. You do not need to worry about your child not having a school — MOE ensures every child gets a place.

Yes. You can register for any primary school in Singapore regardless of distance. However, children living within 1km are given priority over those in the 1–2km zone, who in turn are given priority over those living beyond 2km. If a school is oversubscribed, those living farther away are balloted out first. Distance is only a tiebreaker — it does not prevent you from applying.

Yes. Within each phase, Singapore Citizens (SC) are given priority over Permanent Residents (PR). Distance is the next tiebreaker — 1km zone first, then 1–2km, then beyond 2km. So an SC child within 1km has the highest priority, while a PR child beyond 2km has the lowest within that phase. If a ballot is still needed after applying citizenship and distance, it is done by computer ballot.

MOE typically releases the P1 registration schedule in May or June each year for children born in 2020 (registering for 2027 intake) or 2019 (for 2026 intake). Phase 2B and 2C usually take place in July–August. Check MOE's official website for exact dates. It is never too early to start planning — knowing your phase and distance now gives you time to act.