School Of The Arts, Singapore
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What’s the standard of CL in SOTA? As in does it follow the usual sec school syllabus or is there a different IB standard? Don’t think I have heard much on this before.
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Ragamuffin shinobi:
What's the standard of CL in SOTA? As in does it follow the usual sec school syllabus or is there a different IB standard? Don't think I have heard much on this before.
We don't have textbooks in SOTA, and we don't follow the normal secondary school syllabus. Currently, in year one, we've been looking at a more cultural side of the Chinese language, such as how the Chinese language was formed and Chinese emojis -
Hi Everyone,
I am a Year 4 Theatre Student. (Feel free to ask me any questions on the curriculum for theatre/academics)
Anyway, I'll share a bit about school life if you're a parent/student who is even remotely interested in applying for SOTA (but still has some doubts about joining):
Let me firstly dispel the rumour that SOTA is for dumb kids with bad academics. That is not true. There are ALOT of extremely smart people (PSLE top-scorer range standard) who attend this school. Besides PSLE scores, there are also tons of kids who really matured around the middle years (2-4ish), and worked hard to improve their acads. They're doing really well now. Of course I'm not saying that we are all geniuses but we are definitely not bodohs who can only do art. This is sadly an accusation we are faced with everyday. And (frankly speaking) academics are as important as arts (sometimes more) in SOTA. It is really a factor they take into consideration.
School life is quite manageable. Lower years (1-2) are a breeze and should be relatively \"cope-able\". Workload gets increasingly heavier every year after that (as always). Our hours are somewhat long (8-4/5/6), but if we're lucky we can finish at 3.45 on certain days (thats really really early for our standards). That's not including art form time (art forms like Dance sometimes require their students to stay back till 8 for masterclasses etc.). However, like every other secondary school, there will be alot of work (especially in the upper years). And if you're like 98% of Singaporean Students, you will probably pull an all-nigther at least once every 6 months. I must admit, it can be very frustrating and stressful, to the point where you wanna cry. But at the end of the day, you're just gonna have to find a way to get the work done. We also do have normal exams and grades (MYEs and EOYs as well as class tests/graded assignments) that will ultimately decide whether you retain or pass. Don't worry about this though, if you do your work you will be fine.
About art form and all that stuff, I can only say that SOTA can be a very enriching and exciting opportunity if you put in the work. We are an extremely privileged school because we have ALOT of opportunities to develop and showcase our art (sometimes professionally) i.e the theatre faculty sent some good theatre students to Melbourne, VA faculty sent 3 students to the Venice Biennale, some good Dance students got to go for a masterclass with a dancer from the Bolshoi Ballet.... We get to watch performances (usually for free), and companies usually scout our school to get performers/artists for their projects. Besides art form stuff, we also get opportunities to develop ourselves in other areas, such as student independent run projects and academic development programmes. In all sincerity, I have to agree that these opportunities and the things the school have given us has really allowed me and alot of my friends to grow as people.
However, having said that, these only apply if you are willing to put in the effort and really try your best to push for the gold standard. So, do not go around with the notion that these opportunities will be given to \"everyone. There is a hierarchy in the school and you're gonna have to put in effort if you wanna be one of those students who gets these opportunities. If you mess around and do not take the things the school gives you seriously, you will regret it when you realise that none of the expensive/good extra courses are going to you. I do not think this is that different from other \"competitive\" schools (RGS etc.) as the best opportunities will always be given to the people with the best attitude and skills. So if you're planning to go to SOTA (or you are a lower year student), just remember that it all boils down to attitude and how much effort you are going to put in to improving yourself.
Overall, I can say that SOTA is a great experience where you really learn things. Not just from classes and stuff but from the people you meet (our range of students is huge so obviously you'd meet all sorts of people), and the experience you get. However, just remember that its not all easy and free and there will (unfortunately) be lots of stress and frustration. If you can bear with it though, you'll make it to IB/IBCC and graduate with a great score (seriously, read the news we did really well) (hah to all the close-minded parents who think that we are all dumb)
http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/more-half-sota-students-achieve-top-scores-ib-exam-20140106
Good luck for your auditions/PSLE! -
Ragamuffin shinobi:
What's the standard of CL in SOTA? As in does it follow the usual sec school syllabus or is there a different IB standard? Don't think I have heard much on this before.
T be extremely honest, the standard of CL in SOTA is really easy because IB Standard Level Chinese is easy. IB Standard Level chinese is actually meant for international students who learn the language for 3+ years so I'd place it around mainstream secondary 1/2 standard). Knowing this, the mother tongue faculty still wants to encourage good usage of the language so you will have to discuss important themes (we are currently discussing arts censorship in Mandarin), so the standard of chinese here is not exactly \"simple\".
Most of the time the papers we receive in school for the exams are actually way harder than the actual IB Papers. The average of the IB Chinese Subject Grades of the last two graduating batches was a full 7 mark (so basically nearly everyone got a full mark for it at Standard Level).
Of course, you can take Higher Level Chinese for your IB, but even they got full 7 marks. There's also a bilingual programme you can take (if you're offered) in Year 3 which is like Literature in Chinese (its quite tough apparently).
As with every school, there will be a fair share of students who are really good at Mandarin (some are native speaker standard), and a fair share who are bad.
Hope this helped! -
Joining in
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What are the chances of joining SOTA for the 5th year? Meaning after O Levels?
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kkktookmybabyaway:
Thanks ! Really interesting to hear about how CL is at SOTA .Ragamuffin shinobi:
What's the standard of CL in SOTA? As in does it follow the usual sec school syllabus or is there a different IB standard? Don't think I have heard much on this before.
T be extremely honest, the standard of CL in SOTA is really easy because IB Standard Level Chinese is easy. IB Standard Level chinese is actually meant for international students who learn the language for 3+ years so I'd place it around mainstream secondary 1/2 standard). Knowing this, the mother tongue faculty still wants to encourage good usage of the language so you will have to discuss important themes (we are currently discussing arts censorship in Mandarin), so the standard of chinese here is not exactly \"simple\".
Most of the time the papers we receive in school for the exams are actually way harder than the actual IB Papers. The average of the IB Chinese Subject Grades of the last two graduating batches was a full 7 mark (so basically nearly everyone got a full mark for it at Standard Level).
Of course, you can take Higher Level Chinese for your IB, but even they got full 7 marks. There's also a bilingual programme you can take (if you're offered) in Year 3 which is like Literature in Chinese (its quite tough apparently).
As with every school, there will be a fair share of students who are really good at Mandarin (some are native speaker standard), and a fair share who are bad.
Hope this helped! -
fifiyeo:
What are the chances of joining SOTA for the 5th year? Meaning after O Levels?
Sadly, the chances are not very high. This is because the last two years contain lots of devised work (work that's created individually by the student) and you need a strong foundation/knowledge about your art form in order to do this well. IB syllabus is different so you also may be missing out on a few things.
Having said that, there have been one or two students who have managed to do this. Your grades need to be really good (O Level score in your case) and you need to have lots of experience in your art form (from school CCA, AGP etc.). Also depends on which art form. It is hard to get in at this stage for art forms like dance because dance in our school requires alot of theory which you learn in your lower years.
Good luck :)! -
Those who came in during yr 5, many or maybe all left
Within a few months. They could not follow the syllabus. There are none in yr6 now. -
dasalo:
Where do they leave for? JC and Poly?Those who came in during yr 5, many or maybe all left
Within a few months. They could not follow the syllabus. There are none in yr6 now.
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