12 January 2015 - Singapore betters IB results

INSCHOOL
8
INSCHOOL
THE STRAITS TIMES MONDAY JANUARY 12, 2015
MONDAY JANUARY 12, 2015 THE STRAITS TIMES
INSCHOOL
9
Singapore betters IB results
More candidates here hit perfect score of 45.
ANG YIYING profiles some of the top scorers
M
No. of
students
Pass rate
Average
score
No. of
students
who scored
45
2013
1,712
94.83%
36.39
50
2014
2,002
96.80%
36.43
66
Singapore
▼
ore than a fifth of the
291 perfect scorers
worldwide of the International Baccalaureate
(IB) diploma examinations this year
came from Singapore.
These 66 Singapore candidates
obtained the highest possible
score of 45 points.
Yet, Singapore candidates
made up just 0.027 per cent or
2,002 of the worldwide candidates,
which number almost 73,000.
Furthermore, Singapore improved its pass rate and inched up
slightly in its average score – both
International Baccalaureate 2014 Diploma exam data
numbers were also higher than the
global average (see table, right).
Currently, 21 schools offer the
IB diploma programme, including
St Joseph’s Institution Senior
School and United World College,
East Campus, whose pioneer batches sat last year’s exams.
Seen as an alternative to the
GCE A levels, the IB diploma programme requires students to take
six subjects plus theory of knowledge – a subject which combines
philosophy, religion and logical reasoning – and do community service, among other criteria.
THE LEADER
Global
2013
66,564
78.24%
29.82
236
2014
72,812
78.83%
29.95
291
SOURCE: THE INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE
Hud Syafiq Herman, 18,
SJI Senior School
Score: 42
PHOTOS: DANIEL NEO, SCHOOL OF THE ARTS, YK CHEONG
THE ALL-ROUNDER
Cheong Su-Yen, 18, SJI Senior School
Score: 44
While pursuing her IB diploma, the national
equestrian rider was training for and competing
in the 2013 Sea Games and 2014 National Show
Jumping Championships – she was the champion of the 130cm category last year.
She has a conditional offer from the London
School of Economics to read History.
She says: “This last year was difficult for me in
that I had Nationals in June and the moment
school started, we had the preliminary exams.
Those were important because we would be using those scores to apply for universities and
scholarships.
“That was a difficult time but I think I approached it as best as I could... I think that trying
to get the bulk of the content (studying) out of
the way before starting to focus on my Nationals
training helped quite a lot.”
He was on the executive committee of the
student council and was also a founding
member of his school’s soccer club. He
hopes to read Science in a British university.
He says: “What’s important is my experience in the two years, the actual journey as
opposed to the destination. The 42 is nice
and it will get me into a lot of places in the
world. What’s more important is that I
found out the type of learner I am... I was
very hands-on and really involved in class.
“In Sec 4, I didn’t take part in class or ask
questions. When I went into (SJI), I thought
I had nothing to lose. I put up my hand at
every opportunity.”
Neighbourhood learning journeys
T
THE MULTI-FACETED ARTIST
Lloyd Koh, 18,
School of the Arts
Score: 42
From making documentaries to
curating exhibitions to leading
students in an overseas
service-learning trip and even interning with this paper, Lloyd’s
list of school and extra-curricular
activities is as long as his arm.
The visual arts student, who
specialised in anthropology, is
looking to pursue a liberal arts
education in an American univer-
THE PERFECT SCORER
sity, which he believes will offer
him “new perspectives as an artist and filmmaker”.
He says: “My family has been
very supportive of my endeavours. My parents have always
been there constantly helping
me, not hounding me for the
small things at home, and being
behind me in the decisions I
make. More importantly, we
have a very strong community
spirit here in Sota. Everyone’s always ready to offer a helping
hand.”
Chan Hsin Yee, 18,
School of the Arts
Score: 45
The dance student’s outstanding
performance in her craft earned
her chances to take part in masterclasses and workshops by
prominent dance companies and
practitioners, such as the Mariinsky Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet,
T.H.E Dance Company and
Akram Khan. She has consistently ranked within the top 10 per
cent of her cohort.
Feeling “perpetually overwhelmed” by the requirements
of academic work and her art
form were all par for the course.
Still, the day before the IB results
were released, she had the jitters
– she dreamt she received a
score of 25. She plans to take
Dance and Psychology at an
American university.
She says: “You get stressed,
you cry, you break down, you
panic. That’s all part of the experience. I don’t think you can doctor it any other way. It’s something to remember and treasure
for the rest of your life.”
hough they had been studying in Ang Mo Kio for the
past two years, a group of
students were stunned to
find out about a mall they never
knew existed.
The Kebun Baru Mall is one of the
top features of the “My Town, My
Home – Discovering Ang Mo Kio”
trail.
The trail is one of at leats four that
will be unveiled this year, as part of
the mySG Trails and Exhibitions programme celebrating Singapore’s
golden jubilee.
Interesting people and places, selected by students from Ministry of
Education (MOE) schools and
post-secondary education institutions, will be featured along these
trails.
These students will also act as
guides for members of the public
who are interested to walk the trails
and discover places such as Bukit Ba-
tok, Little Guilin and Chinese Garden.
Over at Yio Chu Kang Secondary,
Secondary 3 students Nurul Atiqah
Kamsan, GurSimran Singh, Snowi
Kwan Zhi Ting, Haishwariya Raj Kumar and Per Wong Kiat, all 14, have
equipped themselves with knowledge on Ang Mo Kio’s history in
preparation to play their roles as trail
guides.
Wong Kiat said he and his friends
decided to work on the trail because
it is “the first of its kind”.
“It’s a rare opportunity to help the
community and to help make Ang
Mo Kio more vibrant,” he added.
The Kebun Baru Mall is now their
favourite spot along the trail.
GurSimran said: “We never knew
it existed.” Agreeing with him, Nurual Atiqah said it was interesting to discover the mall.
Go to moe.gov.sg/sg50/ to sign
up for or obtain more information
about the MySG trails.
From left: Snowi Kwan Zhi Ting, Nurul Atiqah Kamsan, GurSimran Singh, Per Wong Kiat
and Haishwariya Raj Kumar, with a model of Kebun Baru Mall.
ST PHOTO NEO XIAOBIN