Victoria School or Catholic High School?

[phankao]

reddiechan:

That said, why did the third boy choose sji over chs? The cut-off points are similar. Is IP that important?

SJI's IP only starts in 2013, same as CHS.
http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/press/2011/11/implementation-of-integrated-programme-on-track.php

[CandyHeart]

“知子莫若母” My DS would not be able to survive in HCI or ACSI. He’s weak in his languages and is not able to express himself well.


llbros545: It’s pretty comforting to know that the bulk of the students (provided they study hard) can make it to the popular JCs eventually. According to my friend who went for the CHS Open House today, students who opt for the O level track have to stick to this track and no changing midway. As CHS’s emphasis is in chinese, will the students’ English standard drop as a result?


Victorians who stumble upon this thread, how do you cope with your HML or CL? Do the students generally have to take chinese tuition or help from the CL teachers are suffice?

[llbros545]

Yes, it’s indeed true that CHS has a distinctly Chinese culture to it. This is evident in all the mandatory Appreciation of Chinese Culture lessons in lower sec and other related programmes along with its SAP status. However, I do not believe that the school is oriented towards the Chinese Language but instead towards bilingualism. It’s true though, that the school’s Chinese Language standards amongst CHS students are clearly higher (There were less than 5 distinctions for the English Language Sec 3 year-end overall). Do take comfort, though, at the fact that the school still puts in much effort to improve the student’s English Language. It is after all, one of the most important O-Level subjects as an L1. My observation is that most students can mete out at least an A2 by the time the O Levels come.

[zacharykieran]

As a CHS student who finished his O levels in 2009 and has recently graduated from the RI Humanities Programme, I’d like to share some of my thoughts abt the CHS education, which hopefully could help you make an informed decision.


CHS prides itself on the quality of its teachers, and as a result its English Department does a really fine job in terms of educating us kids. My class which was floundering in Sec 3 English had its adjunct teacher replaced with Miss Lucy Fernandez (whom some of you might know won the President’s Teacher Award in '09) and under her, not only did we have loads of fun mastering the language, we improved tremendously with her methods of peer coaching, among others. Do be prepared for lots of drilling tho- I’m not sure if this is still practiced, but in the last weeks before the Os we had intensive comprehension practices everyday at 7am in the hall, with the HOD of English hollering at us to ATBQ (Answer The Bloody Question) and giving us hell for having the audacity to turn up late despite him having (ostensibly) lesser sleep than us. Sounds like madness, but well us boys were used to such fun. Good days, they were Especially when ultimately our EL O level distinction rates would be among the top in the nation. (sometimes we lose to St Nicks/Cedar/SCGS, but well)

Teachers push us to our limits, but only because they never give up on us, and only because they know what we’re capable of achieving. Sounds cliched right, but believe it or not I adore the teachers I had.

So honestly I don’t think there’s that much of a problem with EL standards in CHS, even if it’s a SAP school. I think there’s a stereotype that SAP schools are ‘cheena’ and all, but hey the purpose of SAP is to give students a chance to learn both languages at first-language level. And that’s the guiding principle behind a CHS education actually. To be a "gentleman and bilingual scholar", the students recite everyday after the Singapore pledge.

Lastly, I think it’s really cool that we get flexible subject combis, and students virtually get to pick what subjects they want to do. (there are no fixed subject combis) I think students do better when they’re doing the courses they love, and I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to major in English Literature despite having only abt 15 students in my batch having the same interest.

Hope that helped, and yea do PM me or sth if you’d like to know anything else

[phankao]

sleepyqueen:

CHS going IP with St Nics and SCGS to form a new JC right? Which year will it be?

Can those in the CHS then switch to IP when it start?

It states on the MOE website that CHS sec 1 batch of IP will be 2013. For Sec 3 batch, it will be 2015. So I suppose those who are already in the school before then would not be allowed to switch.

[llbros545]

Hi, zacharykieran, I PM’ed you.


PS: Oops, forgot to thank you in my PM. Sorry! Thanks in advance!

[iFirefly]

zacharykieran:

As a CHS student who finished his O levels in 2009 and has recently graduated from the RI Humanities Programme, I'd like to share some of my thoughts abt the CHS education, which hopefully could help you make an informed decision.


CHS prides itself on the quality of its teachers, and as a result its English Department does a really fine job in terms of educating us kids. My class which was floundering in Sec 3 English had its adjunct teacher replaced with Miss Lucy Fernandez (whom some of you might know won the President's Teacher Award in '09) and under her, not only did we have loads of fun mastering the language, we improved tremendously with her methods of peer coaching, among others. Do be prepared for lots of drilling tho- I'm not sure if this is still practiced, but in the last weeks before the Os we had intensive comprehension practices everyday at 7am in the hall, with the HOD of English hollering at us to ATBQ (Answer The Bloody Question) and giving us hell for having the audacity to turn up late despite him having (ostensibly) lesser sleep than us. Sounds like madness, but well us boys were used to such fun. Good days, they were Especially when ultimately our EL O level distinction rates would be among the top in the nation.
(sometimes we lose to St Nicks/Cedar/SCGS, but well)

Teachers push us to our limits, but only because they never give up on us, and only because they know what we're capable of achieving. Sounds
cliched right, but believe it or not I adore the teachers I had.

So honestly I don't think there's that much of a problem with EL standards in CHS, even if it's a SAP school. I think there's a stereotype that SAP schools are 'cheena' and all, but hey the purpose of SAP is to give students a chance to learn both languages at first-language level. And that's the guiding principle behind a CHS education actually. To be a \"gentleman and bilingual scholar\", the students recite everyday after the Singapore pledge.

Lastly, I think it's really cool that we get flexible subject combis, and students virtually get to pick what subjects they want to do. (there are no fixed subject combis) I think students do better when they're doing the
courses they love, and I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to major in English Literature despite having only abt 15 students in my batch having the same interest.

Hope that helped, and yea do PM me or sth if you'd like to know anything else

:goodpost: Cheers!!! :celebrate:

[WeiHan]

Hi ManU123,


You seem to be some kind of "insider" of VS. Do you happen to know approximately how many VS students gone on to VJC in recent years? How many gone on to become top scorers in VJC with 7-8 distinctions in A level?

[CandyHeart]

Dear Victorians, anymore contributions? How do u cope with HML in VS? With tuition or teachers’ help is suffice?

[CandyHeart]

Thank you to all who have given feedback. Decision made after a few hair-pulling days. It’s 7102.