Most of the top PSLE students from neighbourhood schools
Posted: 26 November 2009 1538 hrs

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SINGAPORE: This year's top PSLE student is Qiu Biqing from Qifa Primary School. She had an aggregate score of 290.

Six other top PSLE students are also from neighbourhood schools. They include South View, Greenridge, Gongshang and Rulang.

It took a few glances at the result slip before reality sank in for Qiu Biqing.

She said: ”I can only say I am very surprised and kind of shocked.”

The 13-year-old had moved from Guangzhou four years ago with her family but she adapted to Singapore quickly.

She admits her toughest subject at school was English.

She said: “Even now I don't think I've conquered English completely. After the exam I go back and check the dictionary and find out that I've made quite a lot of mistakes. I think I'll continue to work hard and improve.”

Ms Uma Rani, Biqing’s form teacher, said: “She loves to read and I think that helped her tremendously. And for writing, which was also an area she was quite weak in, she’d write compositions almost every other day and pass it to me for comments and also discuss them with her friends who were slightly better writers than her.”

Over at Raffles Girls' Primary School, Syafiqah Nabilah was all smiles after emerging as this year's top Malay student.

Madhumitha Shridharan from St Hilda's Primary made her parents proud being one of the top two Indian students.

The other was Muhammad Saad Siddiqui from Anglo-Chinese Primary School.

Top Eurasian pupil, Samantha Annabelle Neubronner was also from Raffles Girls' Primary.

This year's Mathematics paper was a talking point among parents, students and teachers.

It was said to be exceptionally difficult.

Ms Uma Rani said: “I think we need to reflect on it. And yes, perhaps we need to expose them to questions that require them to think beyond what they're used to. We've already been doing that for many years but perhaps focus more from next year onwards.”

The wait for results is over for this year's batch of PSLE students.

Biqinq will get what her parents have promised - a fun-filled holiday to Australia before starting school at Raffles Girls' Secondary next year. - CNA/vm