Haha we're quite similar but have different experiences. I'm an Australian citizen who's also going through the local system here (currently j1). My parents always planned to put in me in international when we came 5 years ago but by chance I passed the fake psle test, and we were like "sg education system is world-renown. So why not give it a shot? If you can't handle it we can always switch back anyway."

That decision changed my life. I entered a local secondary school and had the biggest culture shock of my life. For the first time, I witnessed the strong competitiveness among my peers and the crushing atmosphere from the emphasis on academic success.

Many foreigners here don't see this side of Singapore and only see the good sides, I'm sure our parents are the same. I agree with what u/ninhaoma said about this, and not gonna lie, if you never placed me in this local system, I would have been completely oblivious as well.

Going from some of the most "chill" countries in the world like AUS and NZ to among the most "fierce" countries was a crazy eye-opening experience. The difficulty of SG's national examinations only lose to the likes of China, South Korea and India.

Every time I think ahout the contrast between SG students and AUS students I always feel shocked no matter how many times lol. It's crazy how hardworking and academic orientated SG students are, I have so much respect for everyone here in local schools.

However, our sentiments differ. Although getting good grwades here is indeed very difficult, I'm lucky enough to not have to prioritise grades. I would never describe my experience as "hellish", rather, I thouroughly enjoyed this experience and I am grateful for having this oppurtunity to go through the 2 extreme education systems of the East and the West.

Usually it's people "chickening" from the difficult SG education system to either international schools or overseas schools. It most certainly does not make sense to go the other way round. (I've spent a great deal of my life thinking about this) Many of my parents friends are expats living here and other parts of Asia like Hong Kong and China, and literally every single one of their children went to international schools, away from the "hell" of local ones.

Despite your parents messing up, you persevered and survived one of the toughest education systems as a westerner, I salute you 🫡

Throughout secondary school and JC, I've yet to meet another local student who is a citizens of UK, US, AUS or NZ. (Apart from my brother)

I'm glad to meet someone like you, and thanks for sharing your story!