School Matters

Getting things ready

Gan Eng Seng School vs Hillgrove Secondary School

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

At a glance

CompareGan Eng Seng SchoolHillgrove Secondary School
School typeCo-Ed SchoolCo-Ed School
LevelSecondary (S1-S4)Secondary (S1-S4)
School tagsNot listedNot listed
ZoneSouthWest
Address1 Henderson Road10 Bukit Batok Street 52
Nearest MRTRedhill, Tiong BahruBukit Batok, Bukit Gombak
Listed CCAs118
DSA listings911

Differences to explore

CCA
The records share 0 CCA listings. Gan Eng Seng School also lists National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) (Boys), which do not appear in the other school's records. Hillgrove Secondary School also lists Art and Crafts (Girls and Boys), Badminton (Boys), Boys' Brigade (Boys), CONCERT BAND 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 4 DSA programme listings. Gan Eng Seng School also lists Basketball (Boys), Cross Country (Girls and Boys), Football (Boys), Marching Band (Girls and Boys) and more, which do not appear in the other school's records. Hillgrove Secondary School also lists Badminton (Boys), Concert Band (Girls and Boys), Floorball (Boys), Malay Dance (Girls and Boys) and more, 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 Gan Eng Seng School: Redhill, Tiong Bahru; for Hillgrove Secondary School: Bukit Batok, Bukit Gombak. Compare the full journey from home, including transfers and the walk to school.

Recorded entry ranges

CompareGan Eng Seng SchoolHillgrove Secondary School
PG3 · Non-affiliated2026 · 9–152026 · 13–18
PG2 · Non-affiliated2026 · 21–242026 · 21–24
PG1 · Non-affiliated2026 · 25–272026 · 25–27

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

Gan Eng Seng School

Gan Eng Seng founded the Anglo-Chinese Free School in Tanjong Pagar shophouses in 1885 for children from poor families. It became a government school in 1938, reopened after the war in 1946, and eventually moved to its present Henderson Road campus in 2001. Its history also records participation in the Full Subject-Based Banding pilot in 2020. The present secondary school is distinct from Gan Eng Seng Primary: the shared founder's name does not make their programmes or parent experiences interchangeable.

Probes, the STEM Applied Learning Programme, combines sustainability with digitalisation and coding. Published examples include designing water-purification processes and tending edible gardens. Secondary 1 pupils undertake Code for Fun with Micro:bits and exposure to artificial intelligence, then design a solution to a given problem. Design thinking is also used in projects and alternative assessments. Pupils showing particular interest and potential may be selected for Tier 2 competitions. Those additional opportunities are separate from the general programme; participation alone does not establish independent proficiency in coding.

Hillgrove Secondary School

Hillgrove Secondary began in 2001 with 277 pupils, initially sharing Yusof Ishak Secondary’s premises. MOE records its move to 10 Bukit Batok Street 52 on 2 February 2002 and official opening on 5 March 2004. Flight and aerospace became its ALP in 2014, followed by the arts LLP in 2015. These milestones explain the two strands visible in the school’s current open-house materials. Historical enrolment and earlier principals’ descriptions are not used to infer the present pupil population or a uniform experience of school culture.

The ALP microsite describes a three-tier approach to STEM through flight and aerospace. Its April 2023 example involved all Secondary 2 pupils building and flying rubber-band-powered gliders; a separate group of 20 Secondary 1 and 2 pupils was selected for drone training. Earlier entries discuss autonomous-vehicle principles with mBot in 2021 and coding drones in 2019. These give tangible examples of applied learning, but they are dated records. Ask what the incoming cohort will actually build, how often lessons occur and how pupils enter additional training.

CCAs and programmes

Gan Eng Seng School

  • National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) (Boys)

Hillgrove Secondary School

  • Art and Crafts (Girls and Boys)
  • Badminton (Boys)
  • Boys' Brigade (Boys)
  • CONCERT BAND
  • Choir (Girls and Boys)
  • Digital Media (Girls and Boys)
  • English Drama (Girls and Boys)
  • Floorball (Boys)
  • Girls' Brigade (Girls)
  • Malay Dance (Girls and Boys)
  • Modern Dance (Girls and Boys)
  • National Cadet Corps (NCC) (Air) (Girls and Boys)
  • National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) (Girls and Boys)
  • Netball (Girls)
  • Robotics (Girls and Boys)
  • Scouts (Girls and Boys)
  • Singapore Youth Flying Club (Girls and Boys)
  • Volleyball (Girls)

Listed DSA programmes at Gan Eng Seng School

  • Basketball (Boys)
  • Choir (Girls and Boys)
  • Cross Country (Girls and Boys)
  • English Drama (Girls and Boys)
  • Football (Boys)
  • Marching Band (Girls and Boys)
  • Modern Dance (Girls and Boys)
  • Stem (Girls and Boys)
  • Table Tennis (Girls)

Listed DSA programmes at Hillgrove Secondary School

  • Badminton (Boys)
  • Choir (Girls and Boys)
  • Concert Band (Girls and Boys)
  • English Drama (Girls and Boys)
  • Floorball (Boys)
  • Malay Dance (Girls and Boys)
  • Modern Dance (Girls and Boys)
  • Netball (Girls)
  • Stem (Girls and Boys)
  • Visual Arts (Girls and Boys)
  • Volleyball (Girls)

Questions about these schools

How should I choose between Gan Eng Seng School and Hillgrove 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: Gan Eng Seng School 2026 · 9–15; Hillgrove Secondary School 2026 · 13–18. PG2 · Non-affiliated: Gan Eng Seng School 2026 · 21–24; Hillgrove Secondary School 2026 · 21–24. PG1 · Non-affiliated: Gan Eng Seng School 2026 · 25–27; Hillgrove Secondary School 2026 · 25–27.

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.