bluemom:

So for SST....start fm sec 1 the kids will take pure science, diff fm other sch ??

They start pure science from Sec 3 (my DS now in Sec 3). In Sec 1-2 the workload is filled with many projects on non conventional subjects that focus on developing the thinking process rather than the content itself. See the website below.

http://www.sst.edu.sg/learning-sst/extended-curriculum/

IRS seems to prepare them on how to study the sciences because it is about research and making deduction/conclusion.

jajnj:

AZmama:

[quote=\"jajnj\"]Hi all, it may seem late to ask but hope someone can share with me. Does SST offer triple pure science like pure physics, pure chemistry, pure biology, A Math as O level subjects? Will SST equip a child to further into pure science stream JC? Thnks

Yes, they offer pure sciences...just like normal school. It is just the learning approach that is different. It is compulsory for all SST students to take double Maths i.e. A Maths and normal E Maths. My DS is taking triple pure sciences in SST but most students opt for 2 pure sciences. He will have 9 subjects for O Levels: 2 languages, 2 Maths, Combined humanities (history and social studies), 3 sciences, Fundamental of electronics as elective. Those who takes 2 sciences typically take 8 subjects for O Levels. Hope that helps.

:thankyou: your infor certainly help us.

Can I check if parental help is always needed? We are actually stationed overseas & only my DD will be in Singapore so I can't help her like other parents.[/quote]A bit difficult to say as it depends on the kid, my DS needs to be pushed all the time but I can imagine my DD to need very little intervention from me. Workload will definitely be higher as with any jump from primary to secondary school. I think SST makes it easier as the class size is not more than 25, my DS has only 23 in his class. I find the teachers are generally very good in making intervention if the students need help. Eg: Last year my DS Maths teacher emphasized that she is available throughout the school hols via email to help the students with holiday homework and she replied within a few hours everyday when my DS emai to ask even the basic question or show partial working to get feedback. I can't compare with other schools as I only have 1 kid in secondary school but SST's style works for me.

My DD also just for the CO yesterday but she is not sure whether she wants to go to SST yet. My DS who is currently at SST thinks she should join cozy they need more girls…haha. I think his cohort has only like 15-20% girls. since the acceptance is after PSLE then she said she will see how she feels about the exam first.

jajnj:

Hi all, it may seem late to ask but hope someone can share with me. Does SST offer triple pure science like pure physics, pure chemistry, pure biology, A Math as O level subjects? Will SST equip a child to further into pure science stream JC? Thnks

Yes, they offer pure sciences...just like normal school. It is just the learning approach that is different. It is compulsory for all SST students to take double Maths i.e. A Maths and normal E Maths. My DS is taking triple pure sciences in SST but most students opt for 2 pure sciences. He will have 9 subjects for O Levels: 2 languages, 2 Maths, Combined humanities (history and social studies), 3 sciences, Fundamental of electronics as elective. Those who takes 2 sciences typically take 8 subjects for O Levels. Hope that helps.

jajnj:

Hi parents of current SST students. Would anyone be able to share about your kids' experience in SST so far? Applied science is v chim & I cannot understand what is it. How different is SST as compared to a normal ms school or IP programme?


As SST only accepts DSA students. Has anyone regretted their choice after receiving PSLE results?

Thanks

My conclusion is that it is not the school for everyone but if your child likes science and being able to learn science through more applied lens then this is the right school. My DS is exactly that and he loves his school and I think it suits him. He enjoys the fact that when he learns English, there are also elements of the other subjects to include in English. Eg, when they learn Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Design, their English assignment was to create a marketing campaign/advertisement for the product that they are creating. So he gets to work e2e.

In Sec 1-2 they spend a lot of time developing such stuff but when it comes to Sec3 they start focusing on O Levels. The applied subjects very much depends on interest. For my DS cohort he only had 4 to choose from including Fundamentals of Electronics, Biotech, Media Studies and Design. My DS chose FoE cozy he wants to look into engineering later. But I understand going forward they are introducing new subjects as well to choose from.

bluemom:

May I know during the selection activities, they will be grouped.

How many students in 1 group? How many judges r there?

When my DS did it 3 years ago, they were in groups of 5 to solve a mini project. They are they asked to answer questions about the project experience both written and oral.

Hello everybody,


Just wanted to share my some timeline since I am a 2nd timer here for SST application. My DS is currently Sec 3 in SST and my DD just got an invitation for the selection camp on 6 Aug.

3 years ago my DS went for the selection camp on 27 July (last Sat of July) which was the first session and subsequently he received an offer from SST through post (NOT email) by end of Aug. So in case you are wondering when will you here from SST after the selection camp, I suspect this will be the same kind of timeline.

Hope that helps.

When my DS went for it 2 years ago, it was more like a selection camp rather than interview. The candidates were put in groups of 5 with 2 teachers observing per group. They then were given a task to build a bridge from straws (or something) that can sustain a certain kind of load. After that they interview the candidates together in the group to ask them about the experiment, what they notice, how they can improve, how they work together etc. My DS said it was a little bit like The Apprentice show on tv. My DS group failed to build the bridge properly but he still made it through to SST. I think they just want to test your ability to think out of the box on solutions as well as your ability to articulate your points well. As mentioned earlier, the school places quite a lot of emphasis on presentation skills later and I can see my Sec 2 DS very confident these days. Good luck all!!

I asked him but he can't recall but he said there are similarities to the Pri 3 GEP test for stage 2. We did nothing to prepare him and honestly even after he sat for the paper he can't remember much...maybe boys being boys.

I think you can help prepare your child for the interview/selection camp later if he is short listed (for my son's cohort 400 were short listed but only 200 or so selected) but for the GAT/CRT not much that I can advise...sorry.

vividlaurel:

Hi AZmama,

It's so good to hear that your son enjoys the school. SST is the only school my son wants to get in! He loved the Open House last month. I could actually see his eyes light up!

Can you check with your son what the aspirants can to do to score in the GAT and CRT? Anything special that they have to focus?

Thanks in advance!

AZmama:

My son is Sec 2 now at SST and he has been commuting from Tampines to Dover MRT everyday. He even has friends who are from Pasir Ris. Despite the long commute, he loves it there because of the applied nature. I find that the relationship between students and teachers is very close, perhaps because of the max 25 students in the class. Their maths and science syllabus seems to be more advanced coz when my son compares with his peers from couple of other schools, he is already doing Sec 3 topics. Not sure how this compares with other top schools. I notice my son is also more confident now in public speaking as SST has many programs that require the students to speak up and present proposals to peers as well as external audiences. Overall I am happy but then again it may not be for everyone.

My son is Sec 2 now at SST and he has been commuting from Tampines to Dover MRT everyday. He even has friends who are from Pasir Ris. Despite the long commute, he loves it there because of the applied nature. I find that the relationship between students and teachers is very close, perhaps because of the max 25 students in the class. Their maths and science syllabus seems to be more advanced coz when my son compares with his peers from couple of other schools, he is already doing Sec 3 topics. Not sure how this compares with other top schools. I notice my son is also more confident now in public speaking as SST has many programs that require the students to speak up and present proposals to peers as well as external audiences. Overall I am happy but then again it may not be for everyone.

Ninjazz34:

Anyone going for the SST Open House on 30 May?Still deciding on whether to put this school on my list,mainly because of distance.

Anyone can provide some info on the school?

Thanks:)

Ninjazz34