Victoria School

[ilovelaksa]

octopusmum:

Does VS provide school bus service? thks

Hi, there is a school bus service to VS. You can enq on regn day.
Not all Victorians reside in the East. My ds has sch mates who stay in Toa Payoh, Bishan, Woodlands, Yishun, Harbourfront, even Jurong. Some of them take the sch bus in the morings. But most take the public bus.

[ilovelaksa]

BB KS mummy:

Hi can any parents feedback on VS HMT? Will VS offer HMT to all students with A in CL since I understand VS is not a SAP sch.

My ds doesn't take HMT in Pri Sch. He has been doing HMT since Sec3. As long as you are top 10% of the PSLE cohort or top 30% and gotten merit in HMT, you can do HMT in sec sch. A large majority of VS students does HMT.
My ds frens in the O lvl track who scored B3, B4, C5 in MT O lvl are still doing HMT for O lvl this yr.
In IP, they must include either LA/HMT in their overall GPA. So they can continue with HMT if they get a GPA of min 1.0 for HMT.
For O lvl track, they are req to drop HMT and take MT if they consistently fail.
VS HMT std is pretty low. To quote my ds frens \"We are just hoping to pass HMT in sec4 and be rid of Chinese forever\" : )
I must commend their Chinese teachers though. My ds doesn't like Chinese but he loves his Chinese teachers. They are just so engaging and fun. They try very hard to make Chinese applicable for the boys.

[tutormum]

bakerlee:

Hi.


Any idea on class size in VS?

Ds is leaning towards putting VS O levels track as his first choice. But I'm hesitant as i wonder if boys in O levels track will be treated 'differently' from the IP track, as in IP boys will be treated as elite of the school.

Would appreciate any kind advice...

Thks!

I never heard about different treatment from DS3. How well your child perform depends on his attitude. DS3 is a cruiser and some of his classmates are. They only work when pressure is on. They got threats from their teachers to call their parents if they consistently slack in their work. :spank: :spank:
DS3 has a primary classmate who chiong at the word go and went to IP after his sec 3. During their time, there was no direct admission for IP. Yet, for those of them who did the O level track, the boys were generally hardworking.
My advice for you to prepare your DS is to let him read widely (make full use of this hols). DS3 is an avid reader and it helps him a lot. He shared that most students are only exam smarts and found that apart from school work, they had very little general knowledge. DS3 offered Literature as an additional subject which really helps him in his English and essay writing. In fact, it also helps him in other subjects like Social Studies and History. He also shared that some of his friends studied into the wee hours during exams but yet did not do as well as him. It could be due to their poor study method. You may wish to work with your DS on this.
Generally, VS teachers give me the impression that they are responsible and professional in their work. As long as I do not receive any call from them, DS3 is fine. I also don't disturb them. :imanangel:
Of course there's discipline issues but compared to other all boys school, I should say that except for some black sheep, VS boys are very well behaved and disciplined.
Then, in no time, you will see him graduate from VS, just like me. :love: :rahrah: :rahrah:

[ilovelaksa]

tutormum:

Last year, ie. year of 2012 also saw about 1/3 entering VJC and according to DS3, his teachers told them that this year cohort should do better than them based on their prelim performance. :xedfingers:

There are many Victorians who went RJC last yr too.
My ds told me his seniors all find the O lvl papers very easy. I am not surprised bcos prep for O lvl is very intensive in VS. They hv 3 rounds of prelims.
Oso, there are night study clinics with teachers avail to offer assistance weeks before the O lvls.

[ilovelaksa]

itsy:

Hi,

This may not be an important question but just my curiousity, does VS has a back gate where students who take public transport can enter/exit? I find the main gate a distance to walk, my son will be taking bus if he DOES get in the school.

Yes, there is a side gate that leads to the bus stop.

[ilovelaksa]

BB KS mummy:

I went to the open house on last sat. Students are required to be in school by 7.25am. CCA days for UG is on every Friday. Sports n PA hv more CCA days. You can browse their sports timetable in their website. All their CCA end at 6.30pm.

Sports/UG traing is very intensive during competition season. For sports, my ds trains 5-6 days a week closer to competition. Normally, it is 4x a week for his sports.

[tutormum]

ilovelaksa:

tutormum:

Last year, ie. year of 2012 also saw about 1/3 entering VJC and according to DS3, his teachers told them that this year cohort should do better than them based on their prelim performance. :xedfingers:

There are many Victorians who went RJC last yr too.
My ds told me his seniors all find the O lvl papers very easy. I am not surprised bcos prep for O lvl is very intensive in VS. They hv 3 rounds of prelims.
Oso, there are night study clinics with teachers avail to offer assistance weeks before the O lvls.

I thought there were only 2. One was in May and the other August. What else did I not know? :mad: :mad: When I asked DS3 the week after National Day when his Prelims would be, his reply was that the last paper was 2 days ago. I was like :yikes: :yikes: No wonder he was studying the week before that and I thought he \"xiang tong\" and began to work hard for his O. In the end, only study the week before exams. :faint: :faint: When I remarked that if I knew he was having his prelims I would have stopped him from playing computer games during that time and his replied was \"too late liao\". :stupid: :slapshead:
:offtopic: :offtopic:

[ilovelaksa]

bakerlee:

Hi.


Any idea on class size in VS?

Ds is leaning towards putting VS O levels track as his first choice. But I'm hesitant as i wonder if boys in O levels track will be treated 'differently' from the IP track, as in IP boys will be treated as elite of the school.

Would appreciate any kind advice...

Thks!

About 40 for O lvl track and 30 for IP. For IP3, class range is 24-26.
All Victorians are treated equally, just that IP/O track do diff curriculums. Student+CCA leaders come from both tracks too. They do prefer to hang out with their classmates in the beginng. But once CCAs start, they are all one big happy family.
So far, my ds don't feel anythg 'special' about being in Victoria IP. If anything, I think he feels esp stressed about the curriculum, hehe. His best fren is on the O lvl track.
Btw, the IP and O lvl cohort are an equal 50-50 distribution for yr1 this yr. For yr2, the IP cohort is half of O lvl's. In yr3, there's only about 70 IP students. So there's still a very large group of O lvlers.

[ilovelaksa]

tutormum:

ilovelaksa:

[quote=\"tutormum\"]Last year, ie. year of 2012 also saw about 1/3 entering VJC and according to DS3, his teachers told them that this year cohort should do better than them based on their prelim performance. :xedfingers:

There are many Victorians who went RJC last yr too.
My ds told me his seniors all find the O lvl papers very easy. I am not surprised bcos prep for O lvl is very intensive in VS. They hv 3 rounds of prelims.
Oso, there are night study clinics with teachers avail to offer assistance weeks before the O lvls.

I thought there were only 2. One was in May and the other August. What else did I not know? :mad: :mad: When I asked DS3 the week after National Day when his Prelims would be, his reply was that the last paper was 2 days ago. I was like :yikes: :yikes: No wonder he was studying the week before that and I thought he \"xiang tong\" and began to work hard for his O. In the end, only study the week before exams. :faint: :faint: When I remarked that if I knew he was having his prelims I would have stopped him from playing computer games during that time and his replied was \"too late liao\". :stupid: :slapshead:
:offtopic: :offtopic:[/quote]Maybe he needs a break from all the mocks : )

[tutormum]

BTW, there is also supp class or remedial class if your DS does not make the grade. You can be rest assured that your DS is well taken care of in VS. Night Clinic, which is for O level preps, is not compulsory if your DS is doing well.

For lower sec, DS3 usually finished school by 230pm but in upper sec, lessons usually ends at 4 or 5pm. Bear in mind he is taking an extra subject which is taught after school hours. With CCAs, you can expect your DS to return home around 5 -6pm daily. I understand it may be worse for other schools like RI and the CCA that your DS is involved in.
As the boys are considered smart, the teachers teach more, e.g I understand from DS3 that during his sec 1, his Maths teacher also taught topics only covered in sec 2 in other schools. Materials are well prepared by teachers and standard is high.
Also, A Maths is compulsory and for science, there is no combined science. They are to take either 3 or 2 science subjects for O level.