Secondary 2 Streaming
-
Terrydad\" post_id=\"2060758\" time=\"1646620958\" user_id=\"193857:
https://www.ntu.edu.sg/engineering/admissions/ug/allprogrammes
Giving a slightly different point of view here.
Isn't Physics needed for most NTU courses? Computer engineering and electrical engineering are two courses that need Physics. For boys I think Physics is useful for their career.
There’s some engineering courses that requires physics as well as chemistry and math. According to their website, chemistry and math are the most “required” subjects. Physics is definitely useful if you want to do engineering in future. -
Just to clarify a few things
1. If he does 10 subjects it’s not for the sake of churning out academic results for the report book. It’s really just because he likes all 3 sciences .
2. With regards to special programs I believe it’s usually reserved for those few who really excel in that subject . As mentioned he gets slightly above 80 for all his subjects , enough for an “A” but not enough to be in any special programs.
3. He’s not mugging everyday . Besides school, CCA and elective , he learns a musical instrument and plays a sport once a week . And he still has time for video games and at least one weekend is free . -
kylene\" post_id=\"2060770\" time=\"1646631991\" user_id=\"6993:
I understand the situation! My daughter was rather that way too, not super brilliant at any one thing, but interested in plenty, and did fairly well across the board. In her case, she decided in the end to take triple science but only the standard no. of subjects because she wanted to reserve time for her CCA and anything else that might crop up (can't remember if there was, too long ago!). In JC, she made me rather fearful because she took on a heavy CCA and a few ad hoc things along the way, on top of extra work in 1 subject. We discussed the downsides with her, reminded her that her final grades were important, but worse come to worst, we were sure she would make it to university, though maybe her choices might be a little more limited. And at least she would know she had reached her limit. There were patches when she was really tired, and somewhat stressed, but I think she learned about her limits and grew through the experiences.
Just to clarify a few things
1. If he does 10 subjects it’s not for the sake of churning out academic results for the report book. It’s really just because he likes all 3 sciences .
2. With regards to special programs I believe it’s usually reserved for those few who really excel in that subject . As mentioned he gets slightly above 80 for all his subjects , enough for an “A” but not enough to be in any special programs.
3. He’s not mugging everyday . Besides school, CCA and elective , he learns a musical instrument and plays a sport once a week . And he still has time for video games and at least one weekend is free .
You, your son, and maybe his teachers, will be the best ones to make a final decision, weighing all the considerations. As I see it, if he doesn't think he needs to reserve time and energy for anything \"special\" along the way, and he seems to have the capacity, I would say let him try. Most things in life are not 100% certain, and there is always some risk. Weigh the main downsides - that he will not score As across the board? That he will miss out on something because he's already maxed out? That he may have to drop a subject? Nothing life-shattering, I would think. So if he thinks he can manage, let him try.
And he's in an IP school, I believe? In which case, as long as he does well enough to get his preferred combination at JC, the grades really don't matter that much, do they? The whole point of IP is that the sec 4 grades don't matter as much, freeing kids to do more with their time because they prepare for a month or so for internal school exams rather than 4-6 mths for the O levels. -
kylene\" post_id=\"2060770\" time=\"1646631991\" user_id=\"6993:
It sounds like he likes it, he can manage it and you don’t mind it, then you have your answers? :hugs:
Just to clarify a few things
1. If he does 10 subjects it’s not for the sake of churning out academic results for the report book. It’s really just because he likes all 3 sciences .
2. With regards to special programs I believe it’s usually reserved for those few who really excel in that subject . As mentioned he gets slightly above 80 for all his subjects , enough for an “A” but not enough to be in any special programs.
3. He’s not mugging everyday . Besides school, CCA and elective , he learns a musical instrument and plays a sport once a week . And he still has time for video games and at least one weekend is free .
All the best to your son -
Have a doctor friend whose son wasn't required to have taken Bio to get into Medicine. So that's a consideration if you will...
https://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/docs/default-source/admissions/h1-h2-sdp.pdf?sfvrsn=c5567dcb_4
https://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/docs/default-source/admissions/h1-h2-mdp.pdf?sfvrsn=37d6b264_4
From my observation of ex-schoolmates who did 10 or even 11 subjects during the non-IP era, they were usually gifted in 1 or 2 subjects. They were able to breeze through with little time and effort.
For instance, I've had ex-schoolmates who were born/grew up overseas and needless to say, they were naturally proficient in the 3rd lang they had selected. So an A was not difficult to obtain, as compared to other Singaporeans who had no exposure to those lang since childhood.
There were some friends who were gifted in music and art, so getting A for MEP or AEP/Art back then was also a no-brainer.
Now I also have a girlfriend from a top girls SAP school who took ''Food & Nutrition'' (yea, they did offer this rare O level subject in those days). As she was/still is talented in cooking, she managed to score an A easily and today, she's a lawyer.
And then there were the school's MO talents who thought A/E math was a piece of cake, so that's easily 2 As in their pocket.
Don't forget some voracious readers and prolific writers who could easily score an A for E. Lang and E. Lit as well.
And the new immigrants from China, Taiwan and HK hardly needed to worry about CL/HCL/C.Lit in those days. -
zeit.\" post_id=\"2060786\" time=\"1646641282\" user_id=\"194295:
This is a good comment. There's a difference between going 100 mph 24/7 to get A1 vs. just showing up for class, having all the material click in your mind, and knowing you can pass the exam no problem. For the latter, they are effectively taking fewer classes than stated...
.....
From my observation of ex-schoolmates who did 10 or even 11 subjects during the non-IP era, they were usually gifted in 1 or 2 subjects. They were able to breeze through with little time and effort.
For instance, I've had ex-schoolmates who were born/grew up overseas and needless to say, they were naturally proficient in the 3rd lang they had selected. So an A was not difficult to obtain, as compared to other Singaporeans who had no exposure to those lang since childhood.
There were some friends who were gifted in music and art, so getting A for MEP or AEP/Art back then was also a no-brainer.
Now I also have a girlfriend from a top girls SAP school who took ''Food & Nutrition'' (yea, they did offer this rare O level subject in those days). As she was/still is talented in cooking, she managed to score an A easily and today, she's a lawyer.
And then there were the school's MO talents who thought A/E math was a piece of cake, so that's easily 2 As in their pocket.
Don't forget some voracious readers and prolific writers who could easily score an A for E. Lang and E. Lit as well.
And the new immigrants from China, Taiwan and HK hardly needed to worry about CL/HCL/C.Lit in those days. -
Just curious, at the two Raffles schools what would ten subjects typically look like? Assume you have:
English, MT, Math (2 units), Sciences (3 units) and then what? SS/Humanities, 1 Full Humanities, and something else?
For reference, at HCI I think the 10th subject can only be Third Language or AEP. I.e. the school won’t allow multiple "9th" subject electives together (Bio, Computing, China Studies, or Triple Humanities). Hence, I would guess there aren’t that many students taking 10 subjects there (although I’m sure there are some). -
:goodpost:
slmkhoo\" post_id=\"2060776\" time=\"1646638300\" user_id=\"28674:
I understand the situation! My daughter was rather that way too, not super brilliant at any one thing, but interested in plenty, and did fairly well across the board. In her case, she decided in the end to take triple science but only the standard no. of subjects because she wanted to reserve time for her CCA and anything else that might crop up (can't remember if there was, too long ago!). In JC, she made me rather fearful because she took on a heavy CCA and a few ad hoc things along the way, on top of extra work in 1 subject. We discussed the downsides with her, reminded her that her final grades were important, but worse come to worst, we were sure she would make it to university, though maybe her choices might be a little more limited. And at least she would know she had reached her limit. There were patches when she was really tired, and somewhat stressed, but I think she learned about her limits and grew through the experiences.
You, your son, and maybe his teachers, will be the best ones to make a final decision, weighing all the considerations. As I see it, if he doesn't think he needs to reserve time and energy for anything \"special\" along the way, and he seems to have the capacity, I would say let him try. Most things in life are not 100% certain, and there is always some risk. Weigh the main downsides - that he will not score As across the board? That he will miss out on something because he's already maxed out? That he may have to drop a subject? Nothing life-shattering, I would think. So if he thinks he can manage, let him try.
And he's in an IP school, I believe? In which case, as long as he does well enough to get his preferred combination at JC, the grades really don't matter that much, do they? The whole point of IP is that the sec 4 grades don't matter as much, freeing kids to do more with their time because they prepare for a month or so for internal school exams rather than 4-6 mths for the O levels. -
SG_KP1\" post_id=\"2060798\" time=\"1646646561\" user_id=\"188234:
The girls typically have 6 core subjects,
Just curious, at the two Raffles schools what would ten subjects typically look like?
1. EL
2. HMT/MT
3. Math 1
4. Math 2
5. I & A
6. Chemistry
Choose Elective subjects
7. Bio
8. Physics
9. Lit
10. Geography
11. History
12. Special program (SP)
The 10th subject has to be taken from the SP (3rd language/ MSP/ CSP/ MEP/ SAP). -
The boys have 5 core subjects,
1. EL
2. HMT/MT
3. Math 1
4. Math 2
5. S & P
Choose Elective subjects
6. Chemistry
7. Bio
8. Physics
9. Lit
10. Geography
11. History
12. Special program (SP)
You may like to refer to this video posted by the school:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7bM2lAwr54
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login