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Primary schools · Novena

St. Joseph's Institution Junior: P1 balloting, and buying a home nearby

For parents thinking of moving so their child can apply as a near-school resident. Below: how many places there were, how many children applied and who had to ballot in the last three registration exercises, then what MOE requires before you can register from a home you've just bought.

Address3 Essex RoadSingapore 309331 · boys' school
P1 places240in the 2025 and 2026 exercises
Phase 2CBallotedevery year from 2019 to 2026
Within 1 km in Phase 2CEveryone got incitizens, in 2025 and 2026

The last three years

Places, applicants and balloting by phase

Each cell shows the places available in that phase and the number of children who applied. "Balloted" means there were more applicants than places. Where MOE published which group had to ballot, it's shown.

Swipe the table sideways for 2025 and 2024 →

Phase202620252024
Phase 1A brother or sister is studying at the school 180 places · 58 appliedEveryone admitted 180 placesEveryone admitted Not published
Phase 2AA parent or sibling studied there; parent is on the school's advisory or management committee, or works there; child is in the school's MOE Kindergarten 122 places · 61 appliedNo ballot 117 places · 61 appliedNo ballot 123 places · 57 appliedNo ballot
Phase 2BParent volunteers (40 hours), parents endorsed by a church or clan connected with the school, or active grassroots leaders 40 places · 79 appliedBalloted: citizens living 1 to 2 km away 39 places · 77 appliedNo ballot: places went only to citizens within 1 km 42 places · 65 appliedBalloted
Phase 2CEvery child not yet registered: this is where buying near the school counts 81 places · 108 appliedBalloted: citizens living 1 to 2 km away 78 places · 115 appliedBalloted: citizens living 1 to 2 km away25 places for 37 children in the ballot 86 places · 101 appliedBalloted
Phase 2C SupplementaryChildren still without a place after Phase 2C Not held: no places left Not held: all places filled in Phase 2C Not published

2025: MOE's published vacancies and balloting data. 2026: MOE's figures as published during the exercise (July–August 2026), from SGSchoolKaki's tracker; MOE adds 2026 to its own archive in January 2027. 2024: SGSchoolKaki's ballot history. The group that balloted wasn't available for 2024.

What this means if you're moving for SJI Junior. It's a boys' school, so this only applies if you're registering a son. In both 2025 and 2026, every Singapore Citizen child living within 1 km who applied in Phase 2C got a place. The ballot was among children living 1 to 2 km away: in 2025, 25 places for 37 of them. Children living more than 2 km away, and Permanent Residents, did not get a Phase 2C place in either year.

So for SJI Junior, living within 1 km has been enough to get in through Phase 2C so far. That can change if more families nearby apply in a given year, so treat it as a strong position rather than a guarantee.

From the 2027 exercise (for children starting P1 in 2028), MOE reserves 60 places for Phase 2C in most schools, up from 40. SJI Junior takes 240 children a year, so the change applies. It is not one of the 12 schools under MOE's new Two-Track Scheme, so living closer keeps its priority. More on the 2027 changes.

Phase 2C since 2019

The phase where living near the school counts, year by year. More than one applicant per place means a ballot.

YearPlacesAppliedApplicants per placeResult
2026811081.3Balloted: citizens 1 to 2 km away
2025781151.5Balloted: citizens 1 to 2 km away
2024861011.2Balloted
202388981.1Balloted
2022781061.4Balloted
202159851.4Balloted
202057751.3Balloted
201962891.4Balloted

2026: MOE's final figures, from SGSchoolKaki's tracker. 2025: MOE's published data. 2019–2024: MOE's figures from SGSchoolKaki's ballot history (which group balloted wasn't published for those years).

About the school

St. Joseph's Institution Junior at a glance

The school

Type
Government-aided school
Students
Boys only
Mother tongue
Chinese, Malay and Tamil
Levels
Primary 1 to 6
Fees
Singapore Citizens pay no school fees, only $13 a month in miscellaneous fees. Permanent Residents and international students also pay school fees: see MOE's fee checker.

Contact & getting there

Address
3 Essex Road, Singapore 309331 · Map
MRT / LRT
Novena
Phone
6255 2700
Email
sjijunior@moe.edu.sg
Website
sjijunior.moe.edu.sg

CCAs (14)

Sports

Badminton · Bowling · Floorball · Football · Rugby · Tennis

Performing and visual arts

Brass Band · Choir · Modern Dance

Uniformed groups

Scouts

Clubs and societies

Art and Crafts · Audio Visual Aid · International Chess · Robotics

Signature programmes

Every primary school runs an Applied Learning Programme (hands-on learning, often in science or technology) and a Learning for Life Programme (character and life skills, through sport, the arts or community work).

Applied Learning Programme

Observe – Reflect – Act (ORA @ SJI Junior)

Interdisciplinary

Learning for Life Programme

Sports Experience Reinforcing Values Education (Serve@SJIJ)

Sports & Outdoor Education

School details, CCAs and programmes from MOE's school directory on data.gov.sg (updated by MOE in April 2026). Schools add and change CCAs from time to time, so check the school's website for the latest.

Buying near the school

Registering from a home you've just bought

MOE uses the parents' NRIC address to place a child in a distance category. It also accepts the address of a home you've bought but haven't moved into yet, under these conditions.

A new launch (not yet completed)

  • The home's vacant possession date in your sale and purchase agreement must be within two years of your child starting P1. MOE doesn't accept the probable completion date.
  • You undertake to move in within two years of your child starting P1, and send the school a copy of the sale and purchase agreement during the phase.
  • If the address gets your child priority, you must live there for at least 30 months from the day you move in.

A completed home (resale)

  • You can register while the purchase is going through: for a private home, send the exercised option to purchase and the buyer's stamp duty certificate; for an HDB flat, the resale application status from HDB.
  • You undertake to live there from the start of your child's P1 school term.
  • You must then live there for at least 30 months from the start of P1.

If the 30-month stay isn't met, MOE transfers the child to another school of its choosing. MOE also checks for addresses used only for registration. Rules from MOE as at October 2026; always check moe.gov.sg in your registration year.

Which registration year can use a new launch address?

Worked out from MOE's own example (children registering in 2026 need a vacant possession date no later than 31 December 2028).

P1 registrationChild bornStarts P1Vacant possession by
20272 Jan 2021 – 1 Jan 2022January 202831 Dec 2029
20282 Jan 2022 – 1 Jan 2023January 202931 Dec 2030
20292 Jan 2023 – 1 Jan 2024January 203031 Dec 2031
20302 Jan 2024 – 1 Jan 2025January 203131 Dec 2032

Homes within 1 km

New and upcoming launches near SJI Junior

The Serra Residences arrival courtArtist's impression Within 1 km of SJI Junior

The Serra Residences

7 Bassein Road, Novena. OneMap's school query for this address lists both Hong Wen School and St. Joseph's Institution Junior within 1 km (shown in the developer's sales kit). It's a single tower, so all 133 homes share the same address and distance category.
  • Vacant possession: expected 1 September 2031 (developer's information)
  • So its address can be used from the 2029 registration: children born 2 Jan 2023 to 1 Jan 2024, and younger
  • For an older child, register from your current home, or look at completed homes near the school
The Serra location & schools → Map of the Dorset Gardens site, with the plot outlinedSite map Within 1 km of St. Joseph's Institution Junior

Dorset Gardens

Upcoming condo at Dorset Road, Farrer Park, by UOL Group, Singapore Land Group and Kheng Leong: about 428 homes. The site is about 830 to 970 m from the school in a straight line on OneMap, so all of it is within 1 km.
  • Not launched yet: PropNex's calendar targets a preview in March 2027. The name, size and dates can still change, and each block's distance is only known once the addresses are out
  • Every citizen within 1 km got a Phase 2C place in 2025 and 2026.
Dorset Gardens: what we know so far →

The Serra's tower is roughly 600–700 m from the school in a straight line on the map. MOE's official distance category is measured from the school's boundary to the building's outline on OneMap, and can change from year to year. Check it on onemap.gov.sg/school in your registration year. The vacant possession date that counts is the one in your sale and purchase agreement.

WhatsApp me about homes near SJI Junior How P1 registration works

Questions people ask me

How hard is it to get into St. Joseph's Institution Junior?

In 2025, every citizen within 1 km got a place, and 37 citizens living 1 to 2 km away balloted for the remaining 25. In 2026, 108 children applied for 81 places: every citizen within 1 km got in, and the ballot was again among citizens 1 to 2 km away.

Does living within 1 km of St. Joseph's Institution Junior guarantee a place?

In 2026, every Singapore Citizen living within 1 km who applied in Phase 2C got a place. That can change from year to year with the number of applicants.

How many Primary 1 places does St. Joseph's Institution Junior have?

240 in the 2026 exercise. 81 of them were left for Phase 2C, the phase where living near the school counts.

Other primary schools nearby

Sources. Ministry of Education: P1 registration (phases, distance priority, balloting, home address and 30-month stay requirement, and the changes from the 2027 exercise) and its 2025 vacancies and balloting data. SGSchoolKaki for 2024 and the 2026 figures. Distances measured by Melissa on the map. School details, CCAs and programmes from MOE's school directory on data.gov.sg. This page is general information, not advice on your child's eligibility: check your phase and distance category with MOE and OneMap.