I think many students are not aware of this. If you are good in sports and intend to apply to a JC or Poly via DSA in June, they will look at your mid-year exam results. Thus you should aim to at least pass all your O-level subjects with a B4/B3 average at the least, else the JC or Poly would tell you to re-apply again with your prelim results instead.
The problem is, the S4 mid-year exam is always the hardest exam to do well in due to the following reasons:
(1) Teachers would have just finished teaching some topics and then the exam comes;
(2) There is little or no revision time for older topics;
(3) It tests the S3 topics as well and in the case of Math it tests all the topics from S1;
(4) Exam-setters typically make it very hard in order to “wake-up” the students.
Thus S4 students often fail most of their subjects for SA1. The results don’t matter much if you are NOT applying to JCs or Polys via DSA in June. But even if you don’t intend to use DSA, poor results at SA1 doesn’t bode well for your performance in the prelims, which in turn will not give you the confidence you need to face the O-levels.
THUS DOING WELL AT SA1 IS STILL IMPORTANT NO MATTER HOW BUSY YOU ARE. PLEASE PRIORITIZE YOUR TIME CORRECTLY AND AIM TO DO WELL IN ALL EXAMS.
Ilyasa
What to do if you get bad SA1 results?
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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CALL 65694897 OR SMS 98530744 OR 97860411.
S4 A. Math O-Level Conceptual Revision: Exam Prep beginning 2nd week of April
For our latest timetable, click here => 
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ORIGINAL POST(OUTDATED):
Conceptual Revision classes are for Sec 4 students to revise their Sec 3 work in preparation for their SA1 or Prelim exams. Details as follows (sms or call 97860411 to register):
Level/Subject: S4 Additional Math
Days/Times: (1) Sundays, 5.30 pm to 7.00 pm.
Location: Blk 627 Bukit Batok Central #07-640
Topics: Sec 3 A. Math topics such as Polynomials, Binomial Theorem, Logarithms etc.
Target Group: This series of revision workshops is suitable for low to medium ability Sec 4 A. Math students who need to revise their A. Math in a systematic and effective way. High ability Sec 3 students may also attend these sessions to revise or have a headstart in their A. Math.
Focus: Conceptual Understanding, Solving Challenging or Tricky A. Math Problems, Exam-Answering Techniques.
Format: Lecture + Worksheets + Discussions
Fees: $200 per month
Class Size: 2 to 6 students.
Tutor: Mr Ilyasa; M.Ed (NIE), PGDE (NIE), BSc (NUS), Ex-RI/RJC; ex-sch teacher, full-time tutor of PSLE, O and A Level Math and Physics. (h/p: 97860411)
A former secondary school Physics teacher, Mr Ilyasa has been coaching students in ‘A’ Level (H2/H1) Physics and (H2/H1) Mathematics for more than 7 years, as well as ‘O’ Level Physics, Additional Math, Math and PSLE Math for more than 10 years. An alumnus of RI and RJC, Mr Ilyasa holds a Bachelor of Science degree with Merit from the National University of Singapore, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education with Credit from the National Institute of Education, Singapore, and a Master of Education (Curriculum & Teaching) degree also from the NIE, Singapore.
To register, kindly call or send an sms to 97860411.
What to do if you had done badly for Math in SA1 in sec school …
Actually, sec students will normally do badly in their SA1 exams, although this should not be used by the students themselves to justify their poor performance. Why does this “mass slaughter” of math students happen near the middle of every year?
Well, my educated guesses are as follows:
(1) If you are in Sec 1, you probably did badly because of your poor or zero exposure to algebra, negative numbers and proper presentations while in primary school. Please realise that your single arrows, your poorly labelled statements and your misuse of equation signs will really worsen your grades this time. So please listen carefully to your sec school teacher’s illustrations on how math solutions are presented in major exams. Many of you would also have made careless mistakes in opening brackets with minus signs on the inside and the outside, and in simplifying or solving algebraic expressions.
(2) If you are in Sec 2, in addition to not having overcome the above problems earlier, you were probably slapped with an exam paper that was designed to “kill”. The ‘logic’ is simple. Sec 2 is a crucial year; it is the year you are “streamed”, the year that decides whether you will be allowed to do pure sciences or additional math in sec 3. So teachers feel that they need to “wake you up”, to humble you, so that you will work harder for SA2. So most exam papers for SA1 in Sec 2 have been set to “wipe out” students. It is not something I fully agree with, as such tactics can also demoralize students for life.
(3) If you are in Sec 3, it was probably because you underestimated the effort needed to master A. Math. Topics like Quadratic Functions and Logarithms need a lot of attention and deep thinking, and even ‘simple’ topics like Remainder Theorem and Partial Fractions have their difficult parts, the kinds that teachers like to select for exams. Make no mistake about this – teachers KNOW what concepts you find difficult to apply.
(4) If you are in Sec 4, the reason is the same as in (2) above, that your Math teachers want to “wake you up” before the prelims and the actual O-Level exam, and also because you wouldn’t have had enought time to revise both Sec 3 and Sec 4 work before the exam which started right after you were taught the last topic. That’s why some schools remove the mid-year exam in Sec 4, or postpone it to late June.
What you have to do now to avoid a total disaster for SA2?
(1) If you are in Sec 1, focus on mastering the solving of Algebraic Equations.
(2) If you are in Sec 2, focus on mastering the solving of equations involving Algebraic Fractions and mastering all the topics on Graphs (Linear and Quadratic Equations). If you have been taught Indices, master that too!
(3) If you are in Sec 3, for Math, focus on mastering Indices, Coordinate Geometry and Trigonometry. For A. Math, focus on mastering Trigonometry.
(4) If you are in Sec 4, for Math, focus on mastering all of Graphs and Vectors. For A. Math, focus on Applications of Differentiation and Integration. If you have no time to revise everything since Sec 1, focus on the topics mentioned in (1) to (3) above. If you have not mastered all the topics mentioned in (1) to (4) above, you will be in serious trouble if you do Math in JC.
Click on How to study for Math or Physics exams to know more about exam preparation.
Click on O-Level Math or Additional Math to know what books you can use for revision and practice.
Or consult Mr Ilyasa @ 97860411.
All the best in your exams!
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