School MattersCommonwealth Secondary School vs New Town Secondary School
Compare recorded PSLE entry ranges, CCAs, DSA programmes and location, with intake years shown alongside the data.
At a glance
| Compare | Commonwealth Secondary School | New Town Secondary School |
|---|---|---|
| School type | Co-Ed School | Co-Ed School |
| Level | Secondary (S1-S4) | Secondary (S1-S4) |
| School tags | Autonomous | Not listed |
| Zone | West | West |
| Address | 698 West Coast Road | 1020 Dover Road |
| Nearest MRT | Jurong East, Clementi | Dover, Clementi |
| Listed CCAs | 20 | 15 |
| DSA listings | 13 | 6 |
Differences to explore
- CCA
- The records share 9 CCA listings. Commonwealth Secondary School also lists Basketball (Boys), Broadcasting (Girls and Boys), Choir (Girls and Boys), Cross Country (Girls and Boys) and more, which do not appear in the other school's records. New Town Secondary School also lists Art and Crafts (Girls and Boys), Basketball (Girls and Boys), Fencing (Girls and Boys), Guzheng 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 2 DSA programme listings. Commonwealth Secondary School also lists Badminton (Girls and Boys), Choir (Girls and Boys), Coding (Girls and Boys), Cross Country (Girls and Boys) and more, which do not appear in the other school's records. New Town Secondary School also lists Fencing (Girls and Boys), Guzheng Ensemble (Girls), Leadership (Girls and Boys), Visual Arts (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 New Town Secondary School: Dover, Clementi. Compare the full journey from home, including transfers and the walk to school.
Recorded entry ranges
| Compare | Commonwealth Secondary School | New Town Secondary School |
|---|---|---|
| PG3 · Non-affiliated | 2026 · 8–13 | 2026 · 14–20 |
| PG2 · Non-affiliated | 2026 · 21–23 | 2026 · 21–25 |
| PG1 · Non-affiliated | 2026 · 25–28 | 2026 · 26–30 |
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.
New Town Secondary School
New Town Secondary began on 2 January 1965 to serve Queenstown families, initially drawing pupils from several existing schools and language streams. It officially opened in September 1966. Technical education followed in 1969, when Baharuddin Vocational School merged with it. The school became single-session in 1992 and made its symbolic move to Dover Road in November 1998, with the new campus officially opened in 2000. Its current digital-communication and leadership programmes should be read as present provision, rather than assuming all earlier niches or pre-university classes still operate.
The current ALP, Digital Communicators, Change Makers, gives Sec 1 smartphone-photography workshops during curriculum time, including composition and camera basics. Sec 2 adds stop-motion animation, storytelling and storyboarding. Interest-based work through Infocomm and Art and Crafts CCAs includes photography, video and advertising, with media-literacy workshops or learning journeys for selected pupils. Digital work is linked to art and humanities and can involve community partners. This gives a specific sequence of learning without treating every pupil as enrolled in the same advanced media programme.
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)
New Town Secondary School
- Art and Crafts (Girls and Boys)
- Badminton (Girls and Boys)
- Basketball (Girls and Boys)
- Concert Band (Girls and Boys)
- Fencing (Girls and Boys)
- Football (Boys)
- Girl Guides (Girls)
- Guzheng Ensemble (Girls and Boys)
- 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)
- Softball (Girls)
- Table Tennis (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 New Town Secondary School
- Basketball (Boys)
- Concert Band (Girls and Boys)
- Fencing (Girls and Boys)
- Guzheng Ensemble (Girls)
- Leadership (Girls and Boys)
- Visual Arts (Girls and Boys)
Questions about these schools
How should I choose between Commonwealth Secondary School and New Town Secondary School?
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; New Town Secondary School 2026 · 14–20. PG2 · Non-affiliated: Commonwealth Secondary School 2026 · 21–23; New Town Secondary School 2026 · 21–25. PG1 · Non-affiliated: Commonwealth Secondary School 2026 · 25–28; New Town Secondary School 2026 · 26–30.
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.