ITS high-tech equipment may not be fully ready yet, but Beacon Primary is off to a bright start with a roster of highly qualified teachers.

A 'Future School' spearheading the use of technology in lessons, it welcomed its pioneer batch of 240 Primary 1 pupils yesterday.

Greeting them were 23 teaching staff, eight in 10 of whom are university graduates, compared with five in 10 in most primary schools.

Among those with degrees, 20 per cent have master's degrees and another 20 per cent are pursuing master's degrees, said principal Lim Boon Cheng. She said the teachers were recruited for their passion, comfort level with technology and creativity.

The teaching staff range in age from their late 20s to late 40s, and include Mr Koh Cher Hern, 42, a past winner of the prestigious President's Award For Teachers.

Also at Beacon is Madam Teo Geok Hiok, 47, a Chinese Language teacher making the switch from teaching at Victoria Junior College to a primary school.

As with her junior college students, she expects to encourage her younger charges to work on Web-based exercises and games.

'We hope to get them to be responsible for their own learning from primary school,' she said.

Addressing the pupils yesterday, Ms Lim emphasised the need to be responsible for themselves.

Parents cheered and snapped pictures as their children filed into the school hall in pairs.

Pupils were also encouraged to remember the less fortunate by sharing some of their pocket money with children who do not get enough money to buy a meal in school.

'You may be only seven, but you can help,' said the principal.

By the end of the day, they raised almost $500 for The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund.

Several fathers took time off work to accompany their children to school.

Property officer Anson Tan, 37, who was with his daughter Belinda, said: 'I wanted to give her confidence as she's new to the school.'

Beacon is one of six new primary schools which opened yesterday. The others are Anchor Green, Endeavour, Greendale, Innova, and North Vista.

About 42,000 children started Primary 1 yesterday at 179 schools.

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