FAQ
General:
How do I get to BDS?
How do I contact BDS?
Where do I buy school uniforms?
- In BDS on Sec 1 Registration Day
- Johnson Uniform Shop location : 729 Geylang Road , Singapore 389640 Tel: 63458698
When are the school terms/ school holidays?
https://www.moe.gov.sg/education/school-terms-and-holidays (broken link)
Finance Matters :
School fees matters
https://www.moe.gov.sg/education/secondary (broken link)
How do I make payments?
For cheque payment, either post the cheques or call into our General Office. Please make cheques payable to ‘Bedok South Secondary School’.
For cash payment, you can make payment at our BDS General Office.
Financial Assistance Scheme and Bursaries
- [https://www.moe.gov.sg/education/financial-assistance/moe-financial-assistance-scheme-(fas)] (https://www.moe.gov.sg/education/financial-assistance/moe-financial-assistance-scheme-(fas)) (broken link)
- Approach General Office
DSA:
Where can I find out more about Direct School Admission (DSA) to Bedok South Secondary School?
/about-us/admissions/direct-school-admission-dsa
CCA:
Where can I find out more about CCAs and related CCA matters in Bedok South Secondary School?
What is the CCA Grading System?
/cca/cca-leaps-and-grading-system
Can my child join more than one CCA?
Students may join more than one CCA provided there are no clashes in the schedules
Academic Matters:
My child was exempted from the MTL exam at PSLE. Does he/she still need to study a MTL at Secondary School?
If your child was exempted from taking the MTL exam at PSLE because he/she has applied to study a foreign language, your child will still need to register for a foreign language as a MTL-in-lieu at Secondary School. Please complete Form 5-FL and submit it, together with all supporting documents, to Mr Dennis Lim, HOD MTL, for processing. Without a MTL or MTL-in-lieu, your child will not be able to register for the National Exams at the end of Secondary School education.
If your child was granted exemption because he/she fulfilled a condition stated in Question 2 (see below), it would be clearly stated on the official letter of exemption (which your child received in Primary School) that your child will no longer need to reapply for exemption at Secondary School. In such a case, your child will not be required to sit for the MTL exam at ‘N’ or ‘O’ level.
I would like to apply for permanent MTL exemption for my child. How can I go about doing it?
Under the bilingual policy, all students must study two languages: English Language and a Mother Tongue Language.
Students will only be considered for exemption if they meet any of the following criteria:
1) Student only joined the Singapore education system mid-stream (e.g. an international student who joined a Singapore school only at Primary 5), or
2) Student has certain special needs or medical conditions (e.g. autism, severe dyslexia)
If a student wants to apply for exemption and meets at least one of the above criteria, he or she could fill up Form 2-EXPT and return to Mr Dennis Lim, HOD MTL, with all supporting documents, for submission to MOE.
My child is studying a NTIL (Non-Tamil Indian Language) in Primary School. Does he/she need to reapply at Secondary School? Are there NTIL lessons conducted in school?
Students who have obtained approval at the primary level to study a NTIL are not required to reapply at Secondary School. They must continue to offer the approved non-MTL or NTIL at secondary and pre-tertiary levels. There are no NTIL lessons in school. Students studying NTIL are required to attend lessons with the NTIL community groups and sit for examinations set by the Board for the Teaching and Testing of South Asian Languages.
Can my child choose to take HMTL at Secondary School?
Students will be eligible for HMTL at Secondary School if they are in the
(i) Top 10% of the PSLE cohort; or
(ii) Top 11%—30% of the PSLE cohort and obtained an A* grade in the MTL or at least a Merit in HMTL.
Eligible students would have received the eligibility letter when they collect their PSLE results.
Students who are eligible should complete the application form given to them with the eligibility letter and submit to Mr Dennis Lim during Sec 1 registration. Please note, however, that the school does not offer HMTL, thus eligible students who choose to study HCL will need to study the subject at designated centres outside curriculum time.
If my child does not meet the eligibility criteria for HMTL, is it still possible for him/her to be offered HMTL later?
Yes. If your child is able to meet the following criteria in SA1 and SA2 in Sec 1:
(i) Obtain an A1 in the MTL, and
(ii) Achieve an average score of 70% for all subjects. After Sec 1, there will be no more offer to study HMTL even if a student achieves the above criteria.
My child opted to study a third language. Why was the application unsuccessful?
Students who opted to study a third language do not automatically qualify for entry into the programme. Selection is entirely based on merit and determined solely by each applicant’s PSLE results.
Music Elective
https://www.moe.gov.sg/education/secondary/other/music-elective-programme (broken link)
Miscellaneous:
Are students allowed to bring mobile phones to school?
Please refer to the BDS Student Handbook 2018 on the use of mobile phones in BDS.
Does my child need to buy a laptop/mobile device as part of school programme when he/she joins BDS?
BDS does not require students to buy laptop or mobile devices. We do not have one-to-one mobile computing programme, although we have ICT programmes and ICT-supported curriculum. We provide devices for students when required. Students can loan devices from our ICT staff or use laptops in our library. Our school has a Wi-Fi network for students to bring-their-own-device to connect to the internet for learning purposes.
Attire and grooming during non-curriculum periods
Please refer to the BDS Student Handbook 2018 on the proper attire and grooming during non-curriculum periods.