| |
SINGAPORE: For the first time in the history of Queenstown Primary, the neighbourhood school is among the ranks of schools with students who have scored a PSLE aggregate of 275 and above.
And it’s all thanks to the top student of the school, Ang Wei Jian, who managed to score an impressive 275 in his overall PSLE result.
The soft-spoken boy who was even reluctant to be interviewed, said his formula for success was to just remain a normal kid. “I don’t study overly hard,” said the 12-year-old. “In fact, I like to play a lot.”
Throughout the days that led up to the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE), there was no essence of chicken, no fixed study schedule and no excessive tuition.
A typical day for the boy included soccer with friends after school and a few rounds on his X-box in between homework and revision.
“But he is a very sensible boy,” said his mother, Mdm Lin Seok Inn. The 45-year-old housewife speaking in Mandarin revealed, “I hardly needed to nag him or force him to do his homework because he has good time management - he usually only plays after he completes his homework. I don’t believe in putting too much pressure on my kids.”
With one other child, a daughter who is currently studying in Singapore Polytechnic, Mdm Lin said Wei Jian is the smartest in the family which includes father, Ang Lei Teck, a technician. “We did not have high hopes for him because we are not very smart ourselves,” said Mdm Lin. “So we are very shocked at his results and I almost broke down in tears. We will reward him with Play Station II.”
Mdm Lin strongly believes that parents need to reward their child for their initiative.
In the case of Wei Jian this was especially apparent in learning English, since both his parents are Mandarin speakers. Apart from reading, he also attributed his A-star in English to his school.
Like most other schools, Queenstown Primary has adapted a strict environment where students are encouraged to speak perfect English. In addition, they started a ‘focus teaching programme’ where all primary six students gather in the school hall for a mass self-revision, with teachers picking out weaker students to give them individual attention.
As a result, the school has seen significant improvements over the years, especially in English. This year, 41 per cent of the student body scored an A and above, for English, as compared to 29.6 per cent a year ago.
Apart from English, Wei Jian did well in all his other subjects, taking the school’s top aggregate of 269 in 2006, up another six points.
“We are very happy for the child, the family, all the teachers who have taught the child and happy for the school,” said the principal, Mrs V. Ratnakumar. “He is an inspiration for the school. We’re happy to know that every bit of effort has paid off.”
As for Wei Jian, success in the PSLE is added inspiration for the soccer fan to become a “big businessman” some day so that he can “make a lot of money” to travel to countries like England, France and Brazil to watch his favourite team, Manchester United, in action. - CNA/yb
|
