Every Singaporean parent will inevitably know the headache that is the P1 Registration Exercise. As if balloting for a BTO isn’t unnerving enough, balloting for a slot in a primary school can be even more stressful, given the limited timeframe to secure a P1 slot and the potentially high competition that you can face for popular schools.
Of course, that has rarely fazed super kiasu parents over the years, and many often resort to…certain measures to increase their chances in securing a place in a school. For instance, some look to serve as a parent volunteer. And others go as far as intentionally buying a property to stay near a particular school.
If you’re a parent planning for P1 registration, here are four neighbourhoods that have popular primary schools near them, alongside with their property options.
What to know about the Home-School Distance Criteria for P1 registration
First, here’s a quick recap of what the MOE’s Home-School Distance criteria under the P1 Registration Exercise is all about.
In short, the impetus for such a criteria is so that children living near their preferred school will be given a higher chance of being admitted. This is so that the child will not have to deal with the hassle of long commuting time, and instead focus on their studies and other activities. The priority is given to Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents who live within two tiers of radius distances (1km and 2km) from the school.
To find out which schools are located within the 1km or 2km radius of your home, you can always use tools like the Government’s OneMap tool or the MOE’s School Finder tool.
Bukit Timah Area
Nanyang Primary School (Co-Ed; SAP; GEP)
Source: Google Maps
If you are gunning for Nanyang Primary School, the sole HDB option would be Farrer Gardens, which is located along Farrer Road. Having TOPed in 1974, it is a fairly old HDB development with less than 50 years less to its 99-year lease. While this may present concerns in terms of costs for renovation and repairs as well as future profit when you choose to sell eventually, the good news is that prices of units are fairly affordable. A check on property listing websites shows a couple of units up for sale, with a range of around $690 psf.
Image credit: 99.co
Raffles Girls’ Primary School (All-girls; GEP)
If you were instead targeting Raffles Girls’ Primary or Anglo-Chinese Primary, then the only option would either be landed property or condos. And because this is the Bukit Timah area that we’re talking about, don’t expect prices to be that affordable due to the premium that you’re paying for the prime location.
One of the more affordable condo options in the area would be Fourth Avenue Residences, a 99-year leasehold condo that TOPed in 2022. At launch, prices hovered around the $23xx – $24xx pdf mark, which is arguably one of the lower price ranges in the Bukit Timah area. This translates to around $1.1M for a 1-bedder unit, $1.7M for a 2-bedder, and $2.6M for a 3-bedder unit. Another highlight of the condo is that it is directly next to Sixth Avenue MRT station, which is always a plus.
Image credit: Fourth Avenue Residences
A check on property listing platforms shows quite a number of units at Fourth Avenue Residences available for sale, at an average price of around $25xx psf. That said, most of them seem to be just 1-bedder and 2-bedder units, not exactly ideal for families with children.
Image credit: PropertyGuru
We did come across one 4-bedder unit that was listed very recently on 18 April 2025, for $3.1M ($ 2,795 psf). The price history of units shows a few other 4-bedder units that were sold for between $3.7M – $3.8M, so this unit can be considered a pretty good deal.
Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) (All-boys)
Further down the road, Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) which is located at Barker Road is close to quite a number of landed properties and older condominiums in the vicinity. And so, there are plenty of options, so long as you have deep pockets.
Otherwise, a slightly more affordable option might be The Atelier, which is a relatively new freehold condo that TOPed just last year. While it’s a small development with only 120 units across 22 floors in a single tower block, there’s the usual mix of 1- to 4-bedroom units, with one-bedders measuring roughly 549 sq ft and 1,496 sq ft for the largest 4-bedder apartments. A key selling point of The Atelier is that Newton MRT station is just a short 5 to 10 min walk away, giving access to the North-South Line and Downtown Line.
Image credit: New Launch Properties
The good news is that there are a few units currently being listed for sale, though the majority of them are the smaller one and two bedroom units which won’t exactly be ideal for families with young children. We did come across a 4-bedroom 1,173 sqft unit being listed for $3.6M, which translates to a pretty hefty price tag of $3,069 psf.
Tampines Area
St Hilda’s Primary School (Co-Ed)
A pretty popular school in the East is St Hilda’s Primary School, located along Tampines St 82 which is on the Western side of Tampines. Unlike the Bukit Timah area, Tampines is quite a densely populated residential estate with plenty of HDB options around. In fact, within the 1km and 2km radius of St Hilda’s Primary, most of the residential properties are HDBs, and so really there are plenty of options available.
Image credit: 99.co
If you’re looking for something fairly affordable but not too old where wear and tear becomes an issue, then you can consider HDB projects like Tampines Polyview, Tampines GreenTopaz, or the slightly newer Tampines Arcadia. These HDB projects are within a short 5 – 10 min walk from St Hilda’s Primary, and flats can go for as low as $550 psf! However, newer and larger flats would tend to go for much higher than that (around $800 psf and up).
Image credit: LushHomeMedia
If you prefer something more luxurious, then The Tapestry condominium might be right up your alley. Completed in 2021, The Tapestry is located along Tampines St 85 which isn’t exactly walking distance to St Hilda’s Primary per se, but still a reasonable 15 min bus drive or 10 min drive away. And yes, it is under the all-important 2km radius!
Marine Parade
Tao Nan School (Co-Ed)
Similar to Tampines, Marine Parade is home to many HDB blocks, and so there certainly is no short supply of property options to move into if you’re looking to stay within the 2km radius of popular schools in the East like Tao Nan School. That said, Marine Parade is generally a more expensive estate in the East compared to the likes of Tampines or even Bedok, so you’ll have to bear that in mind.
Image credit: PropertyGuru
From our checks, the cheapest property available is a $450,000 3-bedroom HDB flat located at Blk 64 Marine Drive which is about a 15 min walk or 5 min drive away from Tao Nan School. Bear in mind that the low price tag is probably due to significant lease decay, meaning that the flat is considerably old and so extensive renovations would be needed to refurbish and rejuvenate the flat. The selling price of HDB flats in the nearby neighbourhoods seem to average around $600 – $850 psf.
Ngee Ann Primary School
Not too far away from Tao Nan School is Ngee Ann Primary School, which is just slightly further East. Similar to Tao Nan School, there are plenty of HDB blocks located along the surrounding Marine Terrace and Marine Crescent roads, all of which are fairly affordable but do bear in mind that that’s because many HDB developments in Marine Parade are over 45 years old.
Image credit: Google Maps
Of course, if you were looking for something more atas, then you can always consider the many condos that call Marine Parade home. For example, developments such as Neptune Court, St Patrick’s Residences, Mandarin Gardens, and Ocean Park have been iconic features of the Marine Parade landscape for many years, and are considered luxurious condo projects.
Depending on your luck, you may be able to find affordable units at these older condo developments, though age will naturally be a concern. At older projects like Neptune Court which TOPed in 1975, prices are in the low $1,024 – $1,314 psf range which translates to the likes of units going for just under $2M for 3 and 4 bedder units.
Image credit: PropertyGuru
If you prefer something more modern, then you can check out St Patrick’s Residences, which TOPed in 2013. Prices go for $1,281 – $1,629 which is understandably more expensive than its older counterparts in the vicinity. It is a relatively small development with only 102 units, but they are large and spacious residential units especially its 4-bedder and 5-bedder variants.
Image credit: PropertyGuru
Toa Payoh
Cedar Primary School
If you’re looking to secure a spot at Cedar Primary School which is located in the Woodleigh-Aljunied area, then arguably the best neighbourhood to live in would be the Bidadari estate, which has made waves as of late.
At the height of its popularity, BTO subscription rates for flats in Bidadari went from an average of 4.0-7.0 to almost as high as 20.0 for a 5-room flat! And five years on as the various HDB projects cross their MOP, many Bidadari flats have made headlines as of late for million-dollar transactions, and even 3-room flats in the same estate are slowly creeping towards that iconic price threshold as well.
Image credit: Home & Decor Singapore
The good news is that while prices are fairly high, our take is that there is still some room for second owners to enjoy a bit of profit in the long run, given that the projects around Bidadari are still relatively young with over 90 years of lease left. And so, buying into the Bidadari estate will not only help with ballot chances for the P1 Registration Exercise for schools like Cedar Primary School, Maris Stella Primary or even St Andrew’s Primary, but also secure you a well-located home with plenty of value.
A check on PropertyGuru shows quite a number of HDB flats being listed, including the larger 3-room and above flats which would be more suitable for families with young children. Don’t be alarmed – we know that all of them are being listed for at least a million and above! After all, that’s where negotiating comes in.
Image credit: PropertyGuru
However, if you are certain you want to live in Bidadari, then it would probably be good to secure a unit earlier rather than later. That’s because you can also absolutely bet your bottom dollar that prices will rise in the future; prices right now for flats in the estate range around the $1,0XX – $1,1XX psf, but most are expecting it to creep higher especially as the town becomes more developed.
Maris Stella High School (Primary) (All-boys; SAP)
Another popular school in the area is Maris Stella High School (Primary), which is located closer to the Bartley neighbourhood. If you stay in Bidadari you will be inside the 2km radius of the school, but if you were looking for a property that’s geographically closer to the school or perhaps looking to upgrade to a condo, then a good pick would be Bartley Ridge, which is a 99-year leasehold condo comprising 868 units.
Image credit: PropertyGuru
Completed in 2016, Bartley Ridge is practically next to Bartley MRT station, and just a short walk away from Maris Stella High School (Primary). Prices range for around $1,900 psf and upwards, meaning that 3-bedder units are going for around $1.84M and upwards, and over $2.7M for 4-bedroom units.
Image credit: 99.co
St Andrew’s Junior School (All-boys)
The quaint little neighborhood of Potong Pasir is synonymous with the St Andrew’s family of schools, with the primary school, secondary school, and junior college all within close proximity. In and around Potong Pasir are quite a number of HDB blocks that you can choose from, though they aren’t exactly new with many at least 35 years old and beyond. The plus side is that, being an older estate, Potong Pasir does feature older HDB unit types available such as maisonettes, which are two-storey HDB flats that give an abundance of space that modern HDB flats do not. In November 2022, a maisonette with 60 years of remaining lease was sold for $1.05M.
Image credit: The Tre Ver Condo
If you were looking for something more modern, then you can consider The Tre Ver, which is a relatively new 99-year leasehold condo that was completed in 2023. It is a modern development that stands out amidst the old rustic charm of Potong Pasir, with a total of 729 units tucked away in a quiet corner of Potong Pasir that overlooks the Kallang River. The price range of units available vary from the $1,9XX – $2,1Xx region, which is slightly cheaper compared to other nearby condo developments such as Parc Colonial and Woodleigh Residences.
Buying a home near a popular primary school
In summary, some parents do indeed go to great lengths so as to secure a primary 1 slot at a popular school, such as moving the entire family to a totally new neighbourhood just to enjoy that extra ballot chance. In fact, previously there were cases where families would move closer to popular schools just to secure a slot at the point of registration, before moving out shortly afterwards. Of course, this was stopped when the MOE introduced a rule requiring families to stay at the registered address for at least 2.5 years from the time of registration.
When it comes to property prices, proximity to primary schools is an undeniable contributing factor that influences asking prices, and the more popular the school is, the higher the premium tends to be. Another crucial benefit of living near a school is the considerably shortened commuting time, which is indeed important so that your children can get more sleep!
Cover image adapted from: Tao Nan School, SRX
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