NUS High School of Mathematics and Science (Diploma)
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I am an NUSHS student from one of the first few batches, and would like to clarify and give some information about the school. This is a bit late, but maybe it can help applicants next year, haha.
1. The academic program for the first few batches (Class of 2008, 2009, and 2010) and to some extent Class of 2011, are different from the later batches, due to the change in management of the school.
Here are some of the notable changes -
(A) The admission criteria for the batches thereafter (especially from Class of 2013 onwards) has been made more and more math and science centric. It is only under the current management that the tea sessions, Einstein Clubs, and favored admission for olympiad winners have really kicked in. Previously, I would say that the selection process was more "holistic" and less definite in a way. So you cannot really compare the first three batches or so with the batches that are going in now, because they are admitted under very different conditions.
(B) The academic curriculum for the first three batches or so especially was very packed and intensive - it was not uncommon to go home at 6 pm frequently in Year 1/2. The current management has loosened up the curriculum and has "spread" out the content over more modules, and some core content has even been removed/moved to Honors level only. Nowadays the curriculum is much more relaxed, especially for Year 1 and 2 I hear.
Whereas previously qualifying for Honors was a relatively straightforward thing as long as you put in effort and do fairly well for your modules (B average for the subject concerned is enough), from Class of 2011 onwards, qualifying for Honors has now been made rather difficult. You now have to seek approval from HOD on a case-by-case basis. This changes the dynamic of the Honors track somewhat. For the first few batches, to not to do any Honors modules means you are probably a very poor student, but it seems from now on this will not be the case, even though the content covered in Honors itself has not really changed much (except for Math, which has been made significantly harder).
(D) The grading system for the first few batches was also quite stiff and strict, with little moderation. For example, A was set quite strictly at 80%, even for Humanities subjects. The current management has loosened the grading system considerably and there is now much more leeway in terms of assessment and moderation, and correspondingly there has been grade inflation in some sense across the board. Coupled with the loosening of the curriculum, some say that the inflation is "too much".
2. All students must take English and MT. Standard-wise, English is several notches below RI/HCI. Curriculum mirrors O Level English (with some elements of Literature) from Y1 - Y3, and GP from Y4 - Y6. MT-wise, for HMT, the standard is quite acceptable, but not exceptional of course. However, for MT, the standard can be quite poor.
3. NUS High gives its teachers much more leeway to plan out their own curriculum/teaching than most other schools do. This can be a good thing, if you encounter good teachers. However, poor or haphazard teachers may not cope very well with this. Initially, the school liked to hire non-NIE grads, and even within a module there was little standardization, causing disparity in teaching. However, the school now hires mostly NIE-grads, and appoints a module coordinator to coordinate the module, so the problem is not as bad as it was, but still exists especially in some departments like English which are more open-ended.
4. DSA camp currently focuses heavily on scientific thinking and observational skills. Cannot really be "mugged" for.
5. Diploma holders can apply to any course in University, even if not Math and Science. Indeed, a significant number of those in the first few batches have/are going to opt out of scientific fields. This is to be expected, and even top math and science schools worldwide do cultivate people who are good in non-scientific fields, and is nothing to worry about.
6. Unlike in other schools, there is not really a discernable bias towards GEP students. However, students who excel in Olympiads (secondary-level) do get a lot of attention. Others who get good grades will naturally be favored for opportunities. Although there are a lot of opportunities around (one of the good points of the school), certain groups of students will get more attention, and alot of opportunities are really not publicized.
7. CCA is largely recreational. For student leadership, it exists, but is currently rather messy and not established. For character/moral education, it is always in a state of flux and there has been little done. In these aspects, NUSHS loses out badly to the other schools. In all these aspects, achievements beyond such a norm are largely based on whether the teacher i/c or student i/c really has the passion/interest.
8. Regarding CIP and overseas exchange, the school from this year onwards has established a large overseas exchange program with more than 10 schools worldwide. It is open to Year 5 and Year 6 students, but some Year 4 students may also qualify. The subsidy is 50% with a cap of $750, so it is rather generous (1st-timers only). Those who go overseas representing the school get up to a 75% subsidy. In terms of overseas exposure aspect, NUSHS is stronger than other schools. But its CIP and especially overseas CIP initiatives are very lacking.
9. Acceleration is always touted as a selling point for the school. But in practice, very few people get to do this. Only Math, Chemistry, and Physics offer acceleration, and usually <5 people per cohort per subject or even less qualify.
10. The Humanities programs are generally OK in standard. Nothing exceptional, nothing too bad either. There are opportunities for Humanities-related activities, i.e. Moot Parliament, HSSRP, Pre-U Sem, FPS, etc
11. The Internship option for Year 6 Semester 2 will be gone by 2011. For 2010, it may still be in place.
12. Good points about NUS High
- Plentiful opportunities for external activities due to a small cohort - you don’t need to really fight or compete as much unless for the really high level ones. There are about equal opportunities (science-related at least) open to the whole NUSHS cohort compared to say the whole RJC cohort. But NUSHS cohort only has about 200+ people while RJC has about 1000+.
- Attention/funding - Due to a small cohort size, there is more personalized attention and funding for students. For funding, I don’t think any other school is more generous.
- Scientific environment - Those who are really sure they love math/science will enjoy it
- Rigorous curriculum - Good for those who enjoy math and science, and especially as they teach more (but still not entirely) for understanding rather than for exams.
- Different environment - The environment is something very new, and you get numerous opportunities e.g. Hostel stay in Year 5 with your whole cohort, no other school offers this except Sports School.
- Small cohort - You really get to make good friends after 6 years, although your circle may not be as big as others in the mainstream.
- You play a role in molding the school - Because it is a new school, students are somewhat more involved in molding the school environment than in other "pre-packaged" schools.
13. Bad points about NUS High
- Unstable environment - Lots of changes always always occur as the school is a new one and things are not stable yet.
- Holistic education lacking - ACE/CIP is quite nonexistent to be blunt. Leadership opportunities exist, but the organizations are rather messy. Even in terms of math/science, there seems to be more emphasis on accolades than promotion of scientific thought. The school is trying to move towards this direction now, but is not there yet.
- Mugging environment - People can be very perfectionist with their studies/grades, although it is a problem with probably all elite schools.
- Isolated environment - You are shut off from the mainstream for 6 years, some people do get out of touch.
- Specialization - The school is moving more and more towards a math/science "geek" environment. If you find out you do not like math/science as much as you thought later on, it may not be so pleasant.
- Culture is lacking - Little sense of school culture/spirit yet.
- CA system - Your diploma is based on your school grades, not like in other schools when your qualifications are based on national exams. This means that you have to work hard throughout your years in the school consistently. It also means that your grades/recommendations are entirely in the hands of your teachers and how they assess/what they think of you. So yeah, your grades/diploma are in their hands. -
Many thanks Jfalk!
Indeed nice of you to share your thoughts and feelings
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wow! thank you jfalk for taking the time to share your experience.
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Share the same sentiments as traineeks and tutormum,
it is the child's interest/choice/passion
The number ONE choice... should be free from nagging/negative concerns
The number ONE choice... should be be pure, \"I want this!! becos I luv it\" :love: -
Excellent writeup from jfalk !
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VitoRelax:
Excellent writeup from jfalk !
I second it to be selected for portal posting. -
ks2me:
What is portal posting ?VitoRelax:
Excellent writeup from jfalk !
I second it to be selected for portal posting. -
VitoRelax:
What is portal posting ?
The published articles on the homepage and can get ks points.
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Jennifer:
Hi Jennifer,DecJan:
all the while quite strong in maths at primary sch, then suddently failed maths test for the first time.
Seems like this is the norm.
Hubby's friend's elder boy at RI also kena failure for the first time at sec 1. The friend and some other concerned parents then met with the principal who then told them this is normal and done purposely.
I'm puzzled by what your hubby's friend said about RI deliberatly failing its sec1 boys. My son has completed his sec1 at RI with no such experience. In fact, as i've mentioned in another thread, the MATHEMATICAL ability of the students is so high that scoring a GPA of 4.0 (ie. >80marks) does not mean you're at the top 10% of the cohort in Maths, may not even be top 20 to 30%. -
scary, scary.
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