3 Schools Opening Their Doors on 30 May — What to Expect

The DSA application window closes in six days. Saturday is one of the last chances to walk through a school before you click submit.

Three schools are running open houses on 30 May. If any of them are on your child's shortlist — or if you're still deciding — here's what to expect at each.

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At a Glance

School	Time	Format	Known For
Cedar Girls' Secondary	9:00am – 11:00am	🖥️ Online	Social Innovation, Sports, Concert Band
School of Science and Technology (SST)	9:00am – 1:00pm	🏫 On-site	STEAM, applied learning
Yusof Ishak Secondary	9:00am – 10:30am	🏫 On-site	Sports, STEM, Robotics, Modern Dance

Note: Cedar Girls' is running an e-Open House this year — register in advance to receive the link.

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Cedar Girls' Secondary School — e-Open House (Online)

9:00am – 11:00am · Register on the school website for the link

Cedar Girls' runs a focused DSA menu, built around one signature area: Social Innovation. Alongside it are six sports and Concert Band.

This year's open house is online. The upside: your child can attend from home without the Saturday-morning school run. The downside: you can't walk the grounds or watch a live showcase. Lean into the session format instead.

What's on the agenda:

• Principal's Talk
• Sharing on Talent Development, CCAs and Student Development
• DSA Breakout Session
• Live Q&A

That DSA Breakout Session is the one to stay for. It's where you'll get the most direct answers about what the application process actually looks like.

DSA talent areas to look out for:

• Social Innovation (STEM)
• Sports — Badminton, Basketball, Netball, Table Tennis, Track and Field, Volleyball
• Concert Band

One question worth asking in the Q&A:

"For Social Innovation applicants — what does the selection task involve, and roughly how long is each component?"

The answer to that question alone can save your child weeks of preparing the wrong thing.

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School of Science and Technology (SST)

SST is a different kind of school. If most secondary schools run on exams, SST runs on projects. It is a four-year school leading to the O-Level (now SEC) national examination, but the learning is built around applied, project-based work.

That's not for every student. But for the right student — one who gets bored in a traditional classroom and lights up when given a real problem to solve — it can be exactly the right fit.

DSA talent areas to look out for:

• STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Aesthetics and Mathematics) — SST's only DSA talent area

What to pay attention to at the open house:

SST tends to showcase student project work prominently. Look at the projects on display and ask yourself honestly: is your child doing work at this level? Not to discourage anyone — but knowing the realistic competitive field early saves everyone a surprise later.

One question worth asking:

"For STEAM applicants — do you expect prior competition results, or is a personal project portfolio sufficient?"

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Yusof Ishak Secondary School

Here's a school that deserves more attention than it typically gets in DSA conversations. Not every child is applying to the top-tier IP schools — and not every child should be. Yusof Ishak offers DSA talent areas where your child could actually have a genuine shot, train meaningfully, and have a secondary school experience that doesn't feel like a four-year pressure cooker.

DSA talent areas to look out for:

• Sports — Badminton, Basketball, Fencing, Softball, Table Tennis, Wushu
• Modern Dance
• STEM and Robotics
• Community Youth Leadership

What to pay attention to at the open house:

Smaller schools often have more candid open houses. You're more likely to get a real conversation with a teacher or HOD than a polished presentation. Use that. Ask specifically what happens to DSA students in Year 1 — how are they onboarded into the CCA, what's the training schedule, what support do they get?

One question worth asking:

"For students who join via DSA — do they train with the main team from day one, or is there a development pathway first?"

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Three things to bring on Saturday

Your list of questions — Open houses are loud, crowded, and over faster than you expect. If you don't write your questions down beforehand, you'll leave having talked to three CCA students and remembered none of their answers.

Your child, if possible — Twelve-year-olds notice things parents miss. Whether the students seem happy. Whether the school feels like somewhere they'd want to spend four years. That gut sense is data too. If they're up for it, our guide to what your child can say at the booth helps.

A deadline reminder — Applications close 2 June at 4:30pm. Whatever you learn on Saturday, you have four days to act on it. If you haven't finalised your school choices, now is the time: → Check your choices against PSLE COP data

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Can't make it on Saturday?

We compile takeaways after each open house — useful even if you couldn't attend. (Our 30 May open house recap covers all three schools above.)

→ Open House Takeaways

And with six days left before the deadline, here's what else to check off:

→ 7 Things to Do Before June 2

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