School Matters

Getting things ready

Commonwealth Secondary School vs Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary)

Compare recorded PSLE entry ranges, CCAs, DSA programmes and location, with intake years shown alongside the data.

At a glance

CompareCommonwealth Secondary SchoolFairfield Methodist School (Secondary)
School typeCo-Ed SchoolCo-Ed School
LevelSecondary (S1-S4)Secondary (S1-S4)
School tagsAutonomousAutonomous
ZoneWestSouth
Address698 West Coast Road102 Dover Road
Nearest MRTJurong East, ClementiBuona Vista, One-North
Listed CCAs2018
DSA listings137

Differences to explore

CCA
The records share 9 CCA listings. Commonwealth Secondary School also lists Badminton (Girls and Boys), Broadcasting (Girls and Boys), Cross Country (Girls and Boys), Dragon Boat (Boys) and more, which do not appear in the other school's records. Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) also lists Badminton (Girls), Boys' Brigade (Boys), Girls' Brigade (Girls), Guitar Ensemble (Girls and Boys) and more, which do not appear in the other school's records. Listings may be incomplete; confirm availability with each school.
DSA programme
The records share 6 DSA programme listings. Commonwealth Secondary School also lists Coding (Girls and Boys), Cross Country (Girls and Boys), English Drama (Girls and Boys), Environmental Science (Girls and Boys) and more, which do not appear in the other school's records. Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) also lists Volleyball (Girls and Boys), which do not appear in the other school's records. Listings may be incomplete; confirm availability with each school.
The daily journey
Nearby MRT stations listed for Commonwealth Secondary School: Jurong East, Clementi; for Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary): Buona Vista, One-North. Compare the full journey from home, including transfers and the walk to school.

Recorded entry ranges

CompareCommonwealth Secondary SchoolFairfield Methodist School (Secondary)
PG3 · Non-affiliated2026 · 8–132026 · 6–11
PG3 · AffiliatedNot listed2026 · 6–20
PG2 · Non-affiliated2026 · 21–232026 · 21
PG2 · AffiliatedNot listed2026 · 21–25
PG1 · Non-affiliated2026 · 25–282026 · 25–27
PG1 · AffiliatedNot listed2026 · 25–28

Each range belongs to the intake year and programme shown. Affiliated and non-affiliated ranges are separate. D, M and P are Higher Mother Tongue requirements. Past ranges do not guarantee admission.

Get to know each school

Commonwealth Secondary School

Commonwealth Secondary began in 1964 as Tanglin Integrated Vocational Secondary School. It became Tanglin Secondary in 1969 and Commonwealth Secondary in 1972, commemorating the previous year's Commonwealth heads-of-government meeting in Singapore. It moved through two Jurong East campuses before reaching West Coast Road in 2006. Autonomous status dates to 1995, followed by recognised environmental-education and design-and-innovation centres in 2008 and 2016. This history helps explain its current mix of practical making, environmental learning and performing arts.

The eco-stewardship curriculum describes Geography water-quality investigations in the stream and wetland, Science farm-to-table work, and hydroponic design in Craft and Technology. Campus spaces include a rainforest, marine aquarium, plant nursery and indoor and outdoor farms. These are concrete learning settings; the pages do not give a fixed fieldwork allocation for every cohort. CCA projects also link sustainability with community partners and causes such as responsible consumption or animal welfare. Parents can ask how often students use these spaces within ordinary lessons.

Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary)

Fairfield's origins lie in Sophia Blackmore's 1888 class for eight Peranakan girls. In 1983 it moved to Dover Road and became two co-educational schools. The secondary school went single-session in 1995 and gained autonomous status in 1996. Its current history explains the shared name, badge and Methodist mission, including the One Fairfield alignment in 2011. These links do not make the primary and secondary programmes interchangeable. The secondary school's rules explicitly describe daily devotions after the national anthem and pledge; families should understand how religious activities fit into school life.

The Full SBB page records mixed form classes for the 2023 Secondary 1 intake, sharing Art, CCE, Design and Technology, Food and Consumer Education, Music and PE. It also describes opportunities to take History at a more demanding level. However, the detailed thresholds refer to 2022 marks and older Express, Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) arrangements. A 2026 webpage update does not make those thresholds current for a new intake. Parents should request the incoming cohort's subject-level criteria and review arrangements instead of planning from the historical examples.

CCAs and programmes

Commonwealth Secondary School

  • Badminton (Girls and Boys)
  • Basketball (Boys)
  • Broadcasting (Girls and Boys)
  • Choir (Girls and Boys)
  • Concert Band (Girls and Boys)
  • Cross Country (Girls and Boys)
  • Dragon Boat (Boys)
  • English Drama (Girls and Boys)
  • Environmental Science (Girls and Boys)
  • Football (Boys)
  • Girl Guides (Girls)
  • Indian Dance (Girls)
  • Infocomm Technology (Media Production) (Girls and Boys)
  • Modern Dance (Girls and Boys)
  • National Cadet Corps (NCC) (Land) (Boys)
  • National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) (Girls and Boys)
  • Netball (Girls)
  • Percussion Ensemble (Girls and Boys)
  • Red Cross Youth (Girls and Boys)
  • Robotics (Girls and Boys)

Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary)

  • Badminton (Girls)
  • Basketball (Boys)
  • Boys' Brigade (Boys)
  • Choir (Girls and Boys)
  • Concert Band (Girls and Boys)
  • English Drama (Girls and Boys)
  • Football (Boys)
  • Girls' Brigade (Girls)
  • Guitar Ensemble (Girls and Boys)
  • Infocomm Technology (Media Production) (Girls and Boys)
  • Journalism (Girls and Boys)
  • Modern Dance (Girls)
  • National Cadet Corps (NCC) (Land) (Boys)
  • National Cadet Corps (NCC) (Sea) (Girls and Boys)
  • Netball (Girls)
  • Robotics (Girls and Boys)
  • Student Leadership (Council) (Girls and Boys)
  • Volleyball (Girls and Boys)

Listed DSA programmes at Commonwealth Secondary School

  • Badminton (Girls and Boys)
  • Basketball (Boys)
  • Choir (Girls and Boys)
  • Coding (Girls and Boys)
  • Concert Band (Girls and Boys)
  • Cross Country (Girls and Boys)
  • English Drama (Girls and Boys)
  • Environmental Science (Girls and Boys)
  • Football (Boys)
  • Indian Dance (Girls and Boys)
  • Modern Dance (Girls and Boys)
  • Netball (Girls)
  • Tamil Language (Girls and Boys)

Listed DSA programmes at Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary)

  • Badminton (Girls and Boys)
  • Basketball (Boys)
  • Choir (Girls and Boys)
  • Concert Band (Girls and Boys)
  • Football (Boys)
  • Modern Dance (Girls and Boys)
  • Volleyball (Girls and Boys)

Questions about these schools

How should I choose between Commonwealth Secondary School and Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary)?

Start with programmes, the CCAs your child wants and the actual journey from home. Visit both schools to assess the daily environment. Counts and past results alone do not establish which school fits your child.

How do their recorded PSLE entry ranges compare?

PG3 · Non-affiliated: Commonwealth Secondary School 2026 · 8–13; Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) 2026 · 6–11. PG3 · Affiliated: Commonwealth Secondary School Not listed; Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) 2026 · 6–20. PG2 · Non-affiliated: Commonwealth Secondary School 2026 · 21–23; Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) 2026 · 21. PG2 · Affiliated: Commonwealth Secondary School Not listed; Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) 2026 · 21–25. PG1 · Non-affiliated: Commonwealth Secondary School 2026 · 25–28; Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) 2026 · 25–27. PG1 · Affiliated: Commonwealth Secondary School Not listed; Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) 2026 · 25–28.

Do past admission records guarantee a place?

No. Ranges belong to the intake year and programme shown and can change. Keep affiliated and non-affiliated ranges separate and retain any D, M or P Higher Mother Tongue suffix.