Singapore Sports School

[astronomer]

worriedbypsle:

Before my girl enrolled for Singapore Sports School, we were given the assurance that she can pull out anytime. Now we try pulling her out from there and they are singing a very different tune.


It has become so frustrating to deal with all the bullshits from Singapore Sports School and regret sending my girl for their dsa.

Any advice from parents here?

From your posting it seems your girl had sat for the PSLE this year? Since it is the 4th of December, you probably had already register your girl in the sports school for 2013? And if your girl was also successful in the DSA to a mainstream school, you would have being given a LOA from the sports school. Did you submit the LOA to the mainstream school and got the principal to sign it? If yes, this would involve that mainstream DSA school too if you intent to let your dd go there. So it is complicated.

You probably did not manage to get in touch with the right person from the sports school. At this stage in time the enrolment cycle is already towards the end. So reversing the whole process (de-registration) from the school will involve a lot of coordination. If you had sign some scholarship with the sports school for your dd then it becomes even more complicated.

Hope things get better for you. Do share more details about your frustrations. But it is funny how things sometimes turn out. I have come across parents who were fustrated with the school because their dd or ds wanted so much to get in but could not...So this is probably a good time to contact the school (for that vacated slot).

Btw, care to let us know which sports your dd got into?

[chien6]

Hi all…


Many thanks to the kind parents in taking time and effort to talk about the school… It’s not common and not the most talked about school, thus making info gathering more challenging… I really appreciate all feedback…

I understand its something new being in boarding school at such young age, I’m just wondering whether cases of bullying exist? What about kids misbehaving in hostel? BGR issues… And the challenges the school faces?

Many thanks
C

[astronomer]

Hi chien6,

Yes, you are right about the difficulty of gathering information about the school. This can be attested by the fact that you will only get a posting every now and then…like this one , a reply more than one month after your post…lol.

I have not heard of incidence of bullying. On the contrary I have often heard about the close rapport and friendship the boarders eventually forge throughout their stay. And I don’t think there have been disciplinary cases involving BGRs either. The school are rather strict when disipline is concern and I do recall the case of several student athletes being expelled from the school for smoking offences. I guess since the staff-student ratio is so low, the students cannot escape the close attention of the school. There are boarding house masters living together with the boarders and infact the principal and some key high level staffs live there too.

I am not sure exactly what you really meant by “challenges”. What I am going to mention now are just my opinion. The Sports school is a relatively new school. It does not yet have a rich history or strong alumni support. You do not hear many stories from colleagues, neighbours or relatives that their ds/dd has got into the sports school. You tend to only hear self-congratulatory stories about how they got into a popular/elite/branded IP school. To many of us (kiasu) parents, this immediately becomes a minus point when it comes to choosing the sports school. Due to ‘herd instinct’,’kiasuism’ or whatever it is called, we will only go for ‘branded schools’ just because everyone is doing it. So the challenge for the sports school will be to change the mindset of us kiasu parents - a mind that has set us up to only appreciate popular/elite/branded secondary schools. The Sports school options is sometimes a superior option but many parents are not aware of it.

[ohms]

Hi All


Hope there are SSS parents out there that still look into the SSS forum to share their experience!

So I am one parent who do like the SSS as an option for my dd. She has tried for a short JSA programme, and apart from the keeness to continue with it as a CCA, I have spoken with the academy's manager to get a little insight, and will be going to the open house this Saturday, 23 Mar to get more info.

Basically from what I gather - I like the IP-IB program, I like the single sport tie-up (and yet to confirm, THAT's the only CCA/sport the child needs to partake in the school - although there are the sporting facilities available. No CO, band, uniformed groups!), the dorm stay ensures minimal hassle in training and studying. Training, local and overseas competitions, and meals, breaks, snacks, formal and informal study time means they have a structured schedule to follow. If she qualifies, i'd like her to apply for the SSS scholarship.

We do have other school alternatives that we have discussed and think would qualify (left the dreaded PSLE). So I am looking forward to your kind and candid comments on the SSS.

Thanks!

[astronomer]

Hi ohms. Yes you must definitely visit the school during the open house…and get to see the facilities that are often not accessible to the public. Btw, I believe the date for the open house this year is on the 6th April and not this weekend. Have a good time...

[ohms]

Hi Astro


You are right on the date - must have been dreaming!
Having stayed in the dorms during uni days myself, what's the life like now for Sec 1 students in SSS? Regimented? Can they cope?

[MoonRocks]

Hello, I’m a recently graduated student of the sports school, and I know I’m not supposed to be here, but I felt that the most reliable information you can get about the school would be from somebody who actually went to school there.


First of all, how our sports and studies balance out:
Our school runs from 9am to 2pm, or till 4 pm for o level students and students with remedial. Our morning training is usually from 630-8 am, afternoon training is from 4-7. At night, we have a 2 hour allocated study session where we all gather in different locations and do our homework together. Even if we don’t have homework, we are expected to bring reading materials. Furthermore, we are provided with ‘resource teachers’ who specialise in specific subjects, such that we may ask them for help with our homework. For o level students, extra time is provided after this supervised study time ends should we wish to burn the midnight oil.

Many of you inquire if it is possible to do well in both areas, and I am a testament to that that it is indeed achievable. I was one of the top scorers in my batch, and I’m also a national player. For those who worry about post-secondary options, I also got into Raffles using my DSA, and I had coped well there as I was equipped with the knowledge of how to balance my sport and studies.

As for boarding school,
Albeit many sec 1 students enter feeling nervous and homesick, the feeling quickly passes as you make friends with your roommates and academy mates. Especially since one cohort is small (averaging 100 students per cohort) it is possible to make friends with your entire cohort. I would have to say that my boarding life in sports school was probably one of the most enjoyable things I have done in my life so far. As for independence, the school doesn’t demand much. We provide a laundry service for every student, and the student is only required to keep their rooms presentable (I.e no clothes hanging off the fans or food wrappers on the floor). I have never heard of a bullying case happen in boarding before, as we all tend to become a very close knit community, especially since we have ‘boarding activities’ which allow you to bond with your boarding mates. Also, we are extremely strict on our BGR issues, and will not tolerate having students hanky panky in dark corners of the boarding school. Our security guards are constantly patrolling the ground for such students.

Should you have any more enquiries about the school, I’ll do my best to reply ASAP.

[astronomer]

Here is a bit of a news for secondary 4 students and parents. The sports school is taking part in the DSA-JC.

http://www.sportsschool.edu.sg/GeneralPageDetails.aspx?id=93

2013 Direct School Admission (DSA) - JC Exercise
For Admission to IBDP Year 1 in January 2014

From 2013, the Singapore Sports School is taking part in the MOE DSA-JC Exercise.

The Sports School offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) which is an academically challenging and balanced pre-tertiary programme of education with final examinations that prepares students for success at university and life beyond.

We are looking for promising Sec 4 students who demonstrate any of the following:
a. strong intellectual potential;
b. leadership potential;
c. outstanding talent in sports; and
d. qualities like integrity, resilience and excellence.

Successful applicants will be offered a place in SSP at the start of January 2014 on the condition that they satisfy the minimum criterion for admission to junior college based on their GCE O-Level result. Once a student has accepted the DSA offer, he/she will not take part in the Joint Admission Exercise.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicant must be a Singaporean/Singapore PR or international student who is currently studying at Sec 4 (or equivalent) in a Singapore school.

A) Sports
- Represented Singapore Schools Sports Council and/or National Youth Team level.
B) Academic
- The selection criteria for DSA into Year 5 (equivalent to JC 1) are as follows:
Academic performance in Secondary 3 and Secondary 4 school examinations

IBDP Scholarship
Academic and Sports Scholarships are available for talented IBDP student-athletes.

Ok, this mean a sec4 student who has done well in sports and studies can look forward to doing their JC education at the sports school. The one great advantage over mainstream JC would be being able to continue elite sports training.

BTW, I understand that the IBDP program is part on the sports school 6-year intergrated program (IP). Meaning they take in students at secondary 1. These students will bypass O’level and continue into the JC1 at the sports school. Basically it works like the way ACS(I) does it.

I do recall ACS(I) taking in students at year 3 (Secondary 3) into their IP. So similarly, if I am not mistaken, there are oportunity for secondary 2 students from the mainstream school to get into year 3 of the sports school IP program. What I am saying is, if you are highly sports\\academic talented, you don’t have to wait to secondary 4 and DSA-JC to sports school. You can actually “DSA” anytime into sec2, sec3 or sec4.

[strawberrieswithchocolate]

jeslyn hui:

:frustrated: So ,what is the cut off point????

There is no cut off. as long as you excel in your sports, and pass your psle its fine

[ohms]

strawberrieswithchocolate:

jeslyn hui:

:frustrated: So ,what is the cut off point????

There is no cut off. as long as you excel in your sports, and pass your psle its fine

Hi

Think the cut off to join IB is 230~235.