School Matters

Getting things ready

Commonwealth Secondary School vs Singapore Chinese Girls' School

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

At a glance

CompareCommonwealth Secondary SchoolSingapore Chinese Girls' School
School typeCo-Ed SchoolGirls' School
LevelSecondary (S1-S4)Secondary (S1-S4)
School tagsAutonomousIP
ZoneWestSouth
Address698 West Coast Road190 Dunearn Road
Nearest MRTJurong East, ClementiStevens
Listed CCAs2023
DSA listings1330

Differences to explore

CCA
The records share 2 CCA listings. Commonwealth Secondary School also lists Badminton (Girls and Boys), Basketball (Boys), Broadcasting (Girls and Boys), Choir (Girls and Boys) and more, which do not appear in the other school's records. Singapore Chinese Girls' School also lists Art and Crafts (Girls), Artistic Gymnastics (Girls), Badminton (Girls), Basketball (Girls) 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 1 DSA programme listing. Commonwealth Secondary School also lists Badminton (Girls and Boys), Basketball (Boys), Choir (Girls and Boys), Coding (Girls and Boys) and more, which do not appear in the other school's records. Singapore Chinese Girls' School also lists Artistic Gymnastics (Girls), Artistic Gymnastics (Girls) - IP, Badminton (Girls), Badminton (Girls) - IP and more, which do not appear in the other school's records. Listings may be incomplete; confirm availability with each school.
Programme tags
Commonwealth Secondary School: no IP or SAP tag listed; Singapore Chinese Girls' School: IP. Check the specific programme your child would enter.
The daily journey
Nearby MRT stations listed for Commonwealth Secondary School: Jurong East, Clementi; for Singapore Chinese Girls' School: Stevens. Compare the full journey from home, including transfers and the walk to school.

Recorded entry ranges

CompareCommonwealth Secondary SchoolSingapore Chinese Girls' School
IP · Non-affiliatedNot listed2026 · 4–7
PG3 · Non-affiliated2026 · 8–132026 · 6–8
PG3 · AffiliatedNot listed2026 · 7–17
PG2 · Non-affiliated2026 · 21–23Not listed
PG1 · Non-affiliated2026 · 25–28Not listed

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.

Singapore Chinese Girls' School

SCGS began in 1899 with seven Peranakan girls on Hill Street, moved to Emerald Hill in 1924 and relocated to Dunearn Road in July 1994. It attained independent status in 1989 and introduced the Integrated Programme alongside its examination route in 2013. This history helps explain the shared primary-secondary institution and its traditions. Today’s secondary programme descriptions should be read separately from the primary storytelling and arts programmes, which appear nearby on the same website but serve a different stage.

The current principal’s message confirms both the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate route and the Integrated Programme. IP pupils spend four years at SCGS before two years at Eunoia Junior College, within the Joint Integrated Programme with Catholic High and CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’. The admissions page says primary affiliation benefits apply to SEC only, but it still includes old 2025 posting and 2026 test details. Families should confirm incoming-cohort conditions and progression rather than assume primary affiliation secures IP entry or rely on those older dates.

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)

Singapore Chinese Girls' School

  • Art and Crafts (Girls)
  • Artistic Gymnastics (Girls)
  • Badminton (Girls)
  • Basketball (Girls)
  • Chinese Drama (Girls)
  • Choir (Girls)
  • Concert Band (Girls)
  • Debating and Public Speaking (Girls)
  • English Drama (Girls)
  • Environmental Science (Girls)
  • Girl Guides (Girls)
  • Girls' Brigade (Girls)
  • Handbell Ensemble (Girls)
  • Hockey (Girls)
  • Infocomm Technology (Media Production) (Girls)
  • Modern Dance (Girls)
  • National Cadet Corps (NCC) (Land) (Girls)
  • Netball (Girls)
  • Red Cross Youth (Girls)
  • Squash (Girls)
  • String Ensemble (Girls)
  • Swimming (Girls)
  • Tennis (Girls)

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 Singapore Chinese Girls' School

  • Artistic Gymnastics (Girls)
  • Artistic Gymnastics (Girls) - IP
  • Badminton (Girls)
  • Badminton (Girls) - IP
  • Basketball (Girls)
  • Basketball (Girls) - IP
  • Choir (Girls)
  • Choir (Girls) - IP
  • Concert Band (Girls)
  • Concert Band (Girls) - IP
  • English Drama (Girls)
  • English Drama (Girls) - IP
  • English Language (Girls)
  • English Language (Girls) - IP
  • Handbell Ensemble (Girls)
  • Handbell Ensemble (Girls) - IP
  • Humanities (Girls)
  • Humanities (Girls) - IP
  • Leadership (Girls)
  • Leadership (Girls) - IP
  • Modern Dance (Girls)
  • Modern Dance (Girls) - IP
  • Netball (Girls)
  • Netball (Girls) - IP
  • Squash (Girls)
  • Squash (Girls) - IP
  • String Ensemble (Girls)
  • String Ensemble (Girls) - IP
  • Tennis (Girls)
  • Tennis (Girls) - IP

Questions about these schools

How should I choose between Commonwealth Secondary School and Singapore Chinese Girls' 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?

IP · Non-affiliated: Commonwealth Secondary School Not listed; Singapore Chinese Girls' School 2026 · 4–7. PG3 · Non-affiliated: Commonwealth Secondary School 2026 · 8–13; Singapore Chinese Girls' School 2026 · 6–8. PG3 · Affiliated: Commonwealth Secondary School Not listed; Singapore Chinese Girls' School 2026 · 7–17. PG2 · Non-affiliated: Commonwealth Secondary School 2026 · 21–23; Singapore Chinese Girls' School Not listed. PG1 · Non-affiliated: Commonwealth Secondary School 2026 · 25–28; Singapore Chinese Girls' School Not listed.

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.