By Leow Si Wan & Jennani Durai

BETWEEN them, two neighbourhood schools - South View Primary and Gongshang Primary - produced four of the top 13 PSLE scorers this year.

They are prime examples of how heartland schools do not have to lag behind premier schools if they have innovative programmes and dedicated teaching.

Word spreads quickly: South View in Choa Chu Kang and Gongshang in Tampines are now so popular that there has to be a ballot each year for enrolment.

More than 400 children have applied for 330 spots to start Primary 1 at South View in January.

The ballot for places this year included even parent volunteers - who put in 40 hours of volunteer work a month to try and secure a place for their children.

In the last three years, more than 99 per cent of South View's pupils have made it to secondary level. This year, the overall PSLE pass rate was 99.1 per cent.

Likewise, Gongshang's pass rate - at 98.2 per cent - was higher than the national average of 97.1 per cent.

The latest technological tools, such as interactive whiteboards and computer learning, feature strongly in teaching at these schools. But it is not just hitting the books that they think is important.

All South View pupils have to learn how to bake and cook. They also have to learn a different type of dance - Chinese, Indian, Malay, jazz, hip-hop and modern - for each of the six years.

'We focus on development of the whole person. The breadth of our programmes and the dedication of our teachers are the keys to our success,' said South View principal Jenny Yeo.

Gongshang has every pupil keep a personal diary, in which they state their goals and how they would like to develop school values such as integrity and respect. Its vice-principal Tan Chen Kee said: 'It is a good way for us to work together with the parents who can look at the diary and be aware of how they can contribute to their child's growth.'

New and varied programmes in neighbourhood schools are also reasons why parents are keen to send their children there.

Mr Ivan Lim, whose daughter Michelle was one of South View's top scorers, praised the school for its creativity.

'The teachers and principal always have lots of ideas to stretch the kids' potential,' he said.

For instance, movie clips are used to teach them composition writing and students use clay and Lego bricks to construct scenes from their literature books.

Various funds from the Education Ministry to support infrastructure and development programmes have also helped raise standards, said the principals.

The internationalisation fund, for example, can be tapped for overseas immersion programmes.

Last year, 18 South View pupils went to Universal Studios in Los Angeles to learn about film-making. They paid part of the expenses for the trip.

The year before, another group of 18 visited Hobbiton in New Zealand, where the Lord Of The Rings trilogy was filmed.

And just a couple of weeks ago, Gongshang sent more than 30 pupils to Perth on an immersion programme.

South View and Gongshang are just two examples of how far neighbourhood schools have progressed in recent years. In fact, seven of this year's top PSLE pupils are from such schools.

Rulang Primary School in Jurong West nurtured a top PSLE scorer, and has also consistently produced at least 16 pupils with four A*s each year since 2005.

Neighbourhood schools can offer quality education, said Gongshang's Mrs Tan. 'The strength of our education system is that minimum standards are very high.

'Students from all schools can be assured of a quality education.'

Beyond bridging the gap between them and premier schools, where neighbourhood schools can also make a difference is by levelling the playing field for their pupils.

Radin Mas Primary and Jurong Primary have coached a fair number of pupils who take subjects at both Foundation and Standard levels. These are usually pupils who learn at a slower pace. This year, they have done well enough to make it to the Normal (Academic) stream in secondary school.

Jurong Primary principal Constance Yip said: 'We may not do spectacularly well if you look at overall numbers. But I think we are successful when you look at the difference our teachers are making to the lives of weaker children who do not believe in themselves.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.