We focus on Science Practical Training and Integrated Programme Math and Science.
Wishing you all the best for your O-Level results.
The following links may be relevant to you:
Which one to choose? The IB or the A-levels?
Which subject combination to choose in JC?
Free Talk on Choosing JC Subject Combinations
RETAKING O-LEVELS AS PRIVATE CANDIDATE
What to do if your O-Level results are bad ….
If you need any kind of academic consultation, especially regarding the above issues, do call or sms us at 9786 0411. Thank you.
Congratulations on obtaining your O-Level results.
We hope you are able to move on to the next level of your education journey.
However, if you intend to improve your Science grades by retaking the O-Level exam, you may consider our Science Practical Training Programme by clicking on any of the relevant links below. Thank you.
If you need any Practical lab sessions, please click on any of the following:
Singapore Learner @ Bukit Batok
Blk 644, Bukit Batok Central, #01-68. S(650644).
Tel: +(65) 6569 4897, +(65) 9786 0411 (SMS)
Email: principal@singaporelearner.com
If you wish to visit us, kindly call or sms first. Thank you.
The following are some of the factors (not in order of importance) you may want to consider in wisely selecting a secondary school:
(1) Location / Distance of school from home: Secondary school students have a lot of work to do (academic and CCA), so please factor this in and not just think of how prestigious the school is. When I studied in RI from 1985 to 1988, I was staying at Chai Chee Road, and had to travel about 1hr 15 mins to Grange Rd almost every day. RJC was then, at Mt Sinai Rd, even further and the travelling time became 1.5 hrs. Thus I was sleepy most of the time and did badly in school tests and I did well only at the major national exams as we were allowed home study time. Today, we are staying at Bukit Batok and my daughter’s school is just a 5 min drive away, and she’s doing very well in school.
(2) Type of school (Integrated Programme; O-Level, IB etc): I had posted another article on the pros and cons of going to a school where students skip the O-level exams. This is something you have to consider carefully – the significance of not having an O-Level certificate. Remember that not all IP school students make it to Year 6, and of those who do, some are ill-prepared to take a high-stakes national exam and end up with poor A-Level grades. I’ve also posted another article on IB vs A-Levels.
(3) CCA available: I know of a student who goes to a particular school because that school provides Lion Dance as a CCA. Not all schools provide Rugby, Soccer or Fencing etc. So if your child has a strong interest in a particular CCA, it is important that you check out whether that CCA is available in the desired school.
(4) Subject Combination for O-levels: Some schools do not provide Economics and some schools don’t even have Tamil Language. In some schools, it is compulsory for all its Sec 3 students to take up A. Math and Chemistry. And some schools do not provide O-Level Literature or Art. And how many triple pure science classes does the school normally provide?
(5) Niche area: Some schools are better equipped for Sports, some for Science and others for the Arts.
(6) Co-Ed or Single-Gender: It is still a debate whether single-gender schools are better for teenagers than dual-gender ones. Some prefer daughters to be in an all-girls school. Bear in mind that all JCs and polytechnics are dual-gender institutions.
(7) The Principal: Sad to say, some school principals don’t know how to motivate their staff or their students. Some care about their overall school results more than the willingness of their individual students to explore and learn. But principals come and go, and the school culture may change when there is a change of headmaster.
(8) Affiliation: You may want to choose a secondary school that is affiliated to a junior college.
(9) School Culture: Some schools have a very pressurizing and competitive environment, and these schools are not necessarily the top ten schools. I think the environment in schools which are TRYING to create an image of being a top school is more pressurizing than that in a really top-performing school. Thus you might find that the exam papers in some top schools are actually easier than those found in less prestigious schools.
(10) It’s Cut-off PSLE Aggregate: This number will give you an estimate of your chances of entering a particular school. But I don’t think it’s a good idea to be the amongst the last few to obtain a place in a certain school, even if it is a prestigious school. Would you rather be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond? Some parents say that being in a top school would motivate their child, but they forget that being in such a school can also destroy their child’s confidence in his or her abilities (this actually originally happened to some of my tutees from hci, nygs, crescent, nan hua, rvhs and njc).
(11) It’s Median PSLE Aggregate: Parents often forget to look at this one. If your child’s PSLE score is such that he or she is in the bottom half of the school’s cohort, chances are, he or she will not be in the top classes and will not get the full support or resources from the school. Some schools even assign their best teachers to the top classes only, and the lower-end classes may often get relief teachers.
Anyway, I wish all post-PSLE students and their parents all the best in their choosing of secondary schools. Please bear in mind that your performance at the PSLE is a poor predictor of your performance in secondary school, because the assessment style and aims have changed.
Lastly, is every secondary school a good secondary school? You decide. : )
Rgds,
Ilyasa
About myself:
I was a secondary school teacher for 3 years before becoming a tutor in 2004. I also taught in a private school and in an international school. I’ve taught Math, Science, Physics and Chemistry to all kinds of students from Pri to JC and from all streams: Express, NA, NT, IP and IB. From my students and their parents I’ve learnt a lot about the various schools in Singapore, their problems, their strengths and so on. I also come from a family of teachers, and many of my friends are also teachers, HODs, VPs and Ps. I tutor my own children and they all have become proficient in Math and the Sciences. My youngest daughter just got her PSLE (2016) results and this will be the 3rd time I’m going through this school selection process. If you have any questions regarding schools, education or about tuition, feel free to contact me at 97860411. I will help answer your questions as best as I can. All the best!
Related pages:
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I’m not sure. I’m just guessing. Anyway, please remember that while your A-level results are important, the course you select at university is just as important.
Rgds,
Ilyasa
ALL THE BEST to those of you who will be receiving your ‘O’ Level results tomorrow, especially my 35 Sec4 tutees in 2013.
I will update their results here as and when they update me.
Please remember that if for some reason your results are not very good, you’d still need to get over it and move on; plan your next steps, re-strategise and take action. And if instead your results are very good, you have only become Ordinary; the battle for the ‘A’ levels or Diploma is still waiting to start. : )
Rgds,
Ilyasa
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Amirah (CTSS): A. Math A1, E.Math A1 (from D7-F9);
Valerie (BPGH): A. Math B3 (from F9);
Johnson (BPGH): Physics A1 (from D7);
Ronald (BPGH): Physics A1 (from C6-D7) ;
Darren (BPGH): Physics A1 (from C6-D7);
Nirupa (SMSS): Physics B3, Chemistry B3, A. Math B4 (all from D7-F9);
Yang Ming (Montfort): A. Math B3, Physics B3 (from E8-F9);
Hashfi (SCSS): Physics B3, A. Math B4 (from E8-F9);
Grace (NHH): Physics A2 (from prelim A2);
Jia Feng (NHH): Physics A2 (from C6-D7);
Sheng Ze (BVSS): A. Math C6 (from F9);
Ryan (BPGH): Physics A2 (from C6);
Regine (NHH): Physics B3 (from C6);
Rachel (Deyi): A. Math A2 (from D7);
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Although some of the above results are not spectacular, I know my own students and how much they have worked and how much they have improved and thus I’m very proud of them.
That’s what I heard. All the best to those who will be receiving their results. Whatever happens, just move on.
Related Links:
List of Junior Colleges (JC) (2012) in Singapore by Cut-Off L1R5 aggregate
List of ‘Top’ Courses of Polytechnics (2012) in Singapore by net Cut-Off ELR2B2 aggregate
Which one to choose? The IB or the A-levels?
What to do if your O-Level results are bad ….
Before you choose your JC subjects, read this ….
JC / IP / A-LEVEL CONCEPTUAL LEARNING SCHEDULE 2014
I would like to congratulate the following students who have informed me of their latest academic success:
Arina, for getting A1 for her Sec 2 Physics;
Isaac, for getting A1 for his IP Year 4 Physics;
Daniel, for being top in class again for A. Math;
Syakir, for making a 36% improvement in his Sec 3 Math grade;
Yang Ming, for getting 90 in his latest A. Math mock exam;
Huda, my daughter, for getting 6 A1s and 2 A2s in her Sec 2 SA2 exams;
Alycia, for getting A1 for her Sec 2 Science;
Peng Jie, for getting B3 for his Sec 2 Math.
Rahmah, for getting 89/100 and 91.5 in her P5 Math & Science respectively;
Raudhah, for getting 99/100 and 91.5 in her P3 Math & Science respectively.
Further updates expected when students resume tuition in Nov.
To those of you who have not done well, it’s still not the end of the world. Please don’t give up on your Math or Science subjects because if your work hard and smartly, it will be only a matter of time before your grades will improve tremendously.
Nope. The answer is not to immediately look for a private tutor. It actually depends on the level and subject for which you get the poor results, and how badly you had performed.
(1) If you are in Lower Primary (P1 to P3), chances are, it is because your foundation in English and Math is weak. Buy good assessment books and start practising right away, with coaching from family members.
(2) If you are in P4 or P5, it is quite a serious matter as it means you are not coping well with the introduction of more complex questions. You may need to get private tuition before it is too late.
(3) If you are in P6, chances are, it is because your school wants to ‘wake you up’ before the PSLE. So don’t panic (just continue doing your assessment books or exam papers), unless you have been doing badly since P4 (in which case you’d need individual tuition as it is quite late already).
(4) If you are in Lower Sec, it depends on the subject for which you did badly. If you need to improve your grades in the languages, do more reading and practise exam papers. If your bad grades are in History or Geography, read the textbook more often and make your own notes. If you had performed badly in Science, start reading Upper Sec Physics, Chemistry or Biology books as practically all the lower sec science books do not contain enough information. If you had done poorly in Math, focus on Algebra and Arithmetic (BODMAS) for the next few weeks.
(5) If you are in Sec 3, it means that you have not adjusted to the O-Level standard of answering questions and/or you underestimated the difficulty level of the Pure Sciences and Pure Math (A. Math). You have to spend the June holidays reading, understanding and practising answering questions and solving problems, else you’d perform worse in the SA2 exams as things don’t get easier.
(6) If you are in Sec 4, you had probably encountered ‘killer papers’ meant to ‘wake you up’ before the O-levels. Thus don’t be demoralised. Sec 4 students seldom do well in their SA1 exams because they don’t have enough time to revise BOTH their Sec 3 and Sec 4 work, yet teachers gleefully set very difficult questions in the name of “stretching” their students. However, you can still learn about some of your weak points from the exam papers and practise doing questions for those topics or writing essays for languages and the humanities subjects. Focus on doing well for your Prelim exams and have your own master revision timetable based on your own needs. Ignore your school’s revision schedule if it is not aligned to your needs. Write your own notes and read and understand solutions to difficult problems.
(7) If you are in JC1, you probably have not adjusted to the pace of JC life. In a way you are in serious trouble because the academic pace in JC is very fast and the learning curve is steep. You have to spend the June hols revising all your weak topics and must be on your toes in the second semester as the Promotional exams are purposely set at a difficult level to ensure that you will be ready for JC2. Read recommended textbooks, and not just your own notes.
(8) If you are in JC2, focus on doing well for the A-levels as there is still time to revise EVERYTHING. Ignore your Prelims as it will come before you are ready and it is not important anyway, unless you need your prelim results to apply to overseas universities. Write your own notes, and read up on good solutions to tough questions. Concentrate on topical revision first of weak topics and then move on to do past year papers. For some really tough topics such as Complex Numbers in H2 Math you may need to consult a tutor if you still can’t grasp it after reading many times.
Good luck!
Ilyasa
(You may contact me at 9786 0411 if you have more queries)
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I think it should be out next week (probably Friday 1 Mar) (It is now confirmed to be on Fri 1 Mar).
For those who receive bad news, you may want to click on the following link for some consolation and advice:
What to do if your A Level results are bad.
Wish you all the best!
We provide A-Level / H2 and O-Level Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Science (Physics/Chemistry/Biology) Practical Training for private / school candidates and homeschoolers, for both local (eg. H2, Singapore-Cambridge) and international exams (CIE, IB, IGCSE).
It will give you more time to focus on your theory revision near the exam dates.You can identify shortcomings in your practical knowledge and skills early so that you will have enough time to rectify them.You will be able to complete more practical lessons and cover more topics to build up your confidence in doing your science practicals fast and correctly.You will be able to spread out your science practical training and revision at a more comfortable pace (like just once a month) to facilitate timely reinforcement.Higher availability of science practical lessons to suit your schedule
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PRIVATE CANDIDATES
The registration for ‘A’ and ‘O’ Level exams as a private candidate usually opens around early to mid-April (Please check SEAB website). If you are registering for a Science subject (Physics, Chemistry, Biology or Combined Sciences), at the time of registration in April, you will be asked whether you have done any science practical training in any school, centre, or institute.
Thus if you are considering Singapore Learner as your science practical training provider, you must register with us and begin your science practical sessions for each subject BEFORE APRIL for us to certify that you have attended basic science practical training. Thus it is recommended that you commence practical training with us in Jan/Feb. Please note students usually do about 10 practical sessions per subject to be competent in practicals.
The following is taken from SEAB website:
“If you are registering for a Science subject with a practical paper, you:
• Must have sat the same Science subject(s) previously, OR
• are currently attending or will be attending a course of instruction in Science practical at any institute/school. You must complete the course of instruction in Science practical at the institute/school enrolled in. You are required to declare that you have fulfilled the above requirements at the point of registration. Registration for the subject may be cancelled without a refund of the examination fees if a false declaration is made.“
For details on Practical Courses, Mock Exams or Schedules, kindly click on any of the following links relevant to the exam and level you will be doing:
(1) Decide which Program or Lab sessions you need or most suitable for, by visiting the webpages of the practical subjects you are interested in.
(2) Whatsapp our staff at 88765498 with your Name, Private or School Candidate, A or O level, Subject or Lab Name (e.g Lab PP2), Date and Time of Lab. (Our staff will then guide you on how to register and make payment. If you are not sure about the lab sessions, just state your Name and the Subjects and we will get back to you)
(3) Register Online by clicking below:
(4) Pay Registration fee of $65 via Paynow or funds transfer.
(5) Make the required payment for each lab session at least 7 days before the date of the lab session. (You may also pay for several sessions at one go to ensure that you will have a place in future slots)
To avoid disappointment, please be advised to book and confirm (via payment) your practical slots WELL IN ADVANCE as we can only take in a maximum of 5 students per session.
Address: Blk 644, Bukit Batok Central, #01-68. S(650644).
If you wish to visit us, kindly make an appointment first. Thank you.