PJC student aces A levels despite financial and emotional stress
PJC student aces A levels despite financial and emotional stress
In the month leading up to the A-level exams, she studied at home every day to spend more time with her father, who has a long-term illness.
Miss Esther Tan, 18, collected her A-level results yesterday and scored As in H2 History, H1 Maths, Project Work and Chinese.
She said: "I had a lot of anxiety. I had to juggle my family and my studies, and there was stress from the A levels. I didn't want what was happening to stop me from doing well."
Her father's illness had taken a turn for the worse when she was in her first year at Pioneer Junior College (PJC). She decided to spend more time with him after that.
Miss Tan, who has a 15-year-old sister, said: "When I was studying at home, my only break times were at lunch or dinner. We'd go upstairs to my grandparents' house to eat, and I'd talk to my dad.
"I felt that it was a chance to know him better. I never probed much about him in the past, but now I get to see his softer side."
Miss Tan is also a pillar of support for her mother, the family's sole breadwinner.
The two confide in each other often about financial difficulties and emotional stress, even though her mother was reluctant to distract her when she was studying for the A levels.
Now working at a secondary school on the Ministry of Education's teaching internship programme, Miss Tan gives $500, about half her salary, to her mother.
She said: "My mum said I don't need to, but I make her take it. I don't need the money anyway, so I give it to her."
Miss Tan, who was a class manager, said her friends and teachers were some of the biggest sources of support. She was also part of the PJC touch rugby team.
Her civics and General Paper tutor, Mr Billy Wooton, 49, was one of the few who knew about her issues at home.
Miss Tan said: "He told me to go to him if I needed anything. I wouldn't be here without his reassurance and faith in me. It made me feel like I was not alone in the school."
She is applying for a teaching scholarship and hopes to pursue history in university.
She added: "I want to be a teacher because my teachers were a very important source of support for me. I want to provide the same kind of support to for other students."
His teacher learns Braille to teach him
He cannot see things that are too far away or too small, and has to either read Braille or use a magnifying glass to read normal text. But Tampines Junior College (TPJC) student Eugene Ng, 19, overcame the odds and was consistently in the top 10 per cent of his cohort.
He collected his A-level results yesterday. He declined to share his result but hopes to pursue a double major in mathematics and economics in university.
Mr Ng has had Leber's congenital amaurosis, an eye disorder, since birth. He was diagnosed when he was six months old.
He gets double the time in examinations and has a scribe to help him draw diagrams.
Said Mr Ng: "For JC, time management was important and I had to be disciplined.
"Especially because the amount of time I needed to complete my work was more than other students, so I had to forgo my leisure time and even sleep less."
He studied H2 physics, chemistry, and H1 General Paper and economics in Braille, and H2 mathematics with a 10x magnifying glass.
Mr Ng said: "Studying is very strenuous and tiring.
"When I am using a magnifying glass to read, I get tired easily."
His teachers at TPJC obtained a Braille keyboard and an embossing machine and they sent notes to be printed in Braille.
They also found a talking graphic calculator and planned a special timetable with extra weekly consults for him.
His chemistry teacher, Mr James Wong, even learnt how to write Braille and used fabric paint to make notes for Mr Ng.
Mr Wong, 37, said: "Even though it was quite challenging, it was a privilege to teach Eugene.
"His determination actually inspired me to keep making notes for him."
Mr Ng said: "I am not a very expressive person, so I just kept thanking them.
"What I could do was work hard and do well, and that was the best gift I could give them."
GCE A-level results down from last year
Of the 12,538 students who collected their GCE A-level examination results yesterday, 92.6 per cent achieved at least three H2 passes, with a pass in General Paper (GP) or Knowledge and Inquiry (KI).
This is a small dip compared to last year's cohort, where 93.1 per cent of students achieved at least three H2 passes and a pass in GP or KI.
Last year's cohort was also the best performing one since the A-level exam syllabus was revised for students taking the exams in 2007.
This year's students are the 10th batch under the new syllabus and are the second-best performing cohort so far.
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