2016 PSLE Discussions (Born in 2004)

[janet88]

sleepy:

doramon:

What r the 7 subjects in sec?

For dd's school - 2 languages, 3 humanities, 1 math and 1 Science. Total 7 examinable subjects.
They have additional lessons such as art, music and home economics but these are not graded and not part of overall result.

art is graded...i remember son having exam. always buying paints when he was in sec 1 & 2 :moneyflies:
the 3 humanities subjects will be a killer.

[nms1]

I think my daughter is going to enjoy having a wider range of subjects.


Primary school is very restricted - even something like Science is actually focussed on a narrow range of topics and due to the exam pressures; they don’t have much opportunity to explore outside of the syllabus. For those who like to read and are less mathematically inclined, I think the humanities subjects will be a welcome addition.It shouldn’t all be about the exams but about them having the chance to find things that they are interested in and pursue them further.

[janet88]

nms1:

I think my daughter is going to enjoy having a wider range of subjects.


Primary school is very restricted - even something like Science is actually focussed on a narrow range of topics and due to the exam pressures; they don't have much opportunity to explore outside of the syllabus. For those who like to read and are less mathematically inclined, I think the humanities subjects will be a welcome addition.It shouldn't all be about the exams but about them having the chance to find things that they are interested in and pursue them further.

psle is very restrictive especially for science...must follow 'keywords'. basically it's all about answering to the way markers want. math should be more interesting in secondary school...no more models.
the road ahead will be challenging but the kids have to grow up.

[phtthp]

janet88:

nicnac:

Time flies, counting down to PSLE result release. In less than 10 days After that, one final count down - Secondary School allocation and we are done with PSLE 2016 --and for some, it is farewell to PSLE forever.

farewell to primary school. hello to 7 subjects in secondary.

for me, i find the whole process so long. my neck is going to be as long as the giraffe.

7 subjects : only for Lower Secondary (Sec 1, Sec 2), being :
English, Chinese, Additional Maths, Elementary Maths, General Science, Literature, Geography, History

however, at Upper Secondary (Sec 3, Sec 4) : more than 7 subjects, being :
one subject Science in turn broken down into 3 Science subjects -
pure Chemistry, pure Physics, pure Biology

hence, at Upper Sec, can be taking 8, 9 or 10 subjects, depending on your grade

Art drawing, Home Economics : not graded
Technical & Design : can be graded

[SpartanMum]

phtthp:

[

7 subjects : only for Lower Secondary (Sec 1, Sec 2), being :
English, Chinese, Additional Maths, Elementary Maths, General Science, Literature, Geography, History

think you meant just Math cos no E or A math at lower sec, only starts at upper sec

Sec 1 is quite a leap but thankfully IMHO, less stressful than PSLE

[nansk]

phtthp:

7 subjects : only for Lower Secondary (Sec 1, Sec 2), being :
English, Chinese, Additional Maths, Elementary Maths, General Science, Literature, Geography, History

Do some schools have EMaths in Lower Secondary? Which ones and what is the text they use?
I looked at dd's school booklists and they only have one Maths book each year for Lower Sec.

[hquek]

nansk:

phtthp:

7 subjects : only for Lower Secondary (Sec 1, Sec 2), being :
English, Chinese, Additional Maths, Elementary Maths, General Science, Literature, Geography, History

Do some schools have EMaths in Lower Secondary? Which ones and what is the text they use?
I looked at dd's school booklists and they only have one Maths book each year for Lower Sec.

Recalling my olden days, I thought lower sec is just Maths. It's in Sec 3 that they have E & A Maths. Then JC was C and F maths.

[nicnac]

hquek:

nansk:

[quote=\"phtthp\"]
7 subjects : only for Lower Secondary (Sec 1, Sec 2), being :
English, Chinese, Additional Maths, Elementary Maths, General Science, Literature, Geography, History

Do some schools have EMaths in Lower Secondary? Which ones and what is the text they use?
I looked at dd's school booklists and they only have one Maths book each year for Lower Sec.

Recalling my olden days, I thought lower sec is just Maths. It's in Sec 3 that they have E & A Maths. Then JC was C and F maths.[/quote]That is what I recall too. For the 'mainstream' secondary school- 'o' level route, Additional Math starts from Secondary 3, doesn't it?

[doramon]

sleepy:

doramon:

What r the 7 subjects in sec?

For dd's school - 2 languages, 3 humanities, 1 math and 1 Science. Total 7 examinable subjects.
They have additional lessons such as art, music and home economics but these are not graded and not part of overall result.

Thanks sleepy!

[anxious.01501dad]

nicnac:

That is what I recall too. For the 'mainstream' secondary school- 'o' level route, Additional Math starts from Secondary 3, doesn't it?

Yes, for mainstream 'o' level route secondary schools, Additional Maths is only offered from sec 3. I believe phtthp made an error in the listing of subjects as she mentioned 7 subjects but listed 8.

phtthp:

7 subjects : only for Lower Secondary (Sec 1, Sec 2), being :
1English, 2Chinese, 3Additional Maths, 4Elementary Maths, 5General Science, 6Literature, 7Geography, 8History

however, at Upper Secondary (Sec 3, Sec 4) : more than 7 subjects, being :
one subject Science in turn broken down into 3 Science subjects -
pure Chemistry, pure Physics, pure Biology

hence, at Upper Sec, can be taking 8, 9 or 10 subjects, depending on your grade

Art drawing, Home Economics : not graded
Technical & Design : can be graded

Furthermore, I believe phtthp is sharing based on her experience gained from a certain band of secondary schools. Depending on the schools and the stream (E/ NA) that the child is studying in, the number of subjects offered for upper secondary varies, not necessary from 7 as I believe some students are taking only 6 subjects. Other than pure sciences, combined sciences are also offered at 'o' level. Similarly, Art, Music, Food and Nutrition (aka Home Economics), Design & Technology (aka Technical & Design) and Principles of Accounts may be offered as 'o' level subjects. Thus, whether a subject is graded or not in upper sec depends on whether the student has opted to offer that subject for 'o' level, Nowadays, the range of subjects offered at 'o' level covers a wide spectrum and includes O-level School Initiated Elective Cambridge Subjects (OSIE) such as Drama and Applied Subjects such as Biotechnology. However, OSIE and Applied Subjects are only offered in certain identified schools. The following SEAB link has the list of 'O' level subjects. Perhaps, the range of 'o' subjects offered could be a factor for parents and child to consider when choosing a secondary school next week.

http://www.seab.gov.sg/pages/nationalExaminations/GOL/School_Candidates/2016_GCE_O.asp