Inspired by kitchen experiences, student to pursue career in culinary arts
Nur Halif of Crest Secondary School. Photo: Wee Teck Hian
SINGAPORE — Knowing that he is not book-smart and driven by his passion to be a chef, Nur Halif Abdullah Sani decided back in 2012 that a vocational route was the way forward.
Then aged 12 and a Primary 6 student at Lakeside Primary School, he went to a roadshow organised by Crest Secondary School and was drawn to the school’s ITE Skills Certificate (ISC) course in hospitality services. At the time, Crest Secondary School was in the midst of setting up and catered purely to Normal (Technical) students.
Nur Halif, now 16, told TODAY: “I was inspired by my mum to be a chef because she’s a good cook. Since I was eight, I have been helping her out in the kitchen, cutting vegetables and seeing what ingredients she was using ... So, when I found out about Crest Secondary, I was interested because (you can learn) how to cook.”
In 2013, Nur Halif enrolled as one of the school’s pioneer batch of students. Yesterday, 98 per cent of the 198 students there passed the GCE N-level examination, which is higher than the national passing rate of 97.1 per cent.
Recalling his years there, Nur Halif said that his early days in school were fraught with “mistakes”. There were occasions when he got into fights with schoolmates, and in 2014, he was caught smoking outside the school’s compound.
“I was easily influenced by friends. Sometimes, I didn’t hand in my homework and wouldn’t listen to my teachers,” he added.
However, teachers observed that he grew more focused in his studies after completing the school’s Industry Experiential Programme (IEP), which all Secondary 3 students go through at the end of the year. He worked in a kitchen and picked up skills and tips from his colleagues.
Ms Juliana Chee, who was one of Nur Halif’s form teachers, said: “I think (this) internship developed his passion further. And he was able to see that there’s a lot of hard work involved, so it built up his resilience. From then on, he started to think a lot about his future.”
As one of the school’s 34 students who has accepted conditional offers from the ITEs through the Special College Admissions Scheme, Nur Halif will be studying for a Nitec course in western culinary arts. He scored a Grade Point Average of 4.0 for his course, two C grades for English language and mathematics, as well as an A for Malay language.
Speaking to reporters, principal Frederick Yeo said that Crest Secondary School’s N-level results were “respectable”. He pointed out that the school’s main goal from the onset is to create a learning experience that is “fun and enjoyable”.
The school’s curriculum integrates both academic and vocational education.
For instance, students in the retail services course learn aspects of the English language such as spelling and oral communication, while role-playing scenarios where they are attending to customers.
However, Mr Yeo observed that parents still need to be convinced further that a specialised Normal (Technical) school such as Crest Secondary provides viable pathways for their children who may not be academically inclined.
He added that many still place their children in mainstream schools, hoping that they will get to transfer from the Normal (Technical) to Normal (Academic) stream to acquire paper qualifications.
Saying that success has to be defined “a lot more broadly”, Mr Yeo hopes that the school’s N-level results will motivate the upcoming cohorts: “They can be inspired to work harder to achieve their dreams. And the dream is not about getting As and Bs. The dream is about pursuing a vocation that they enjoy,” he said.
