[quote]Can the school insist the student to take up at least one H3 ? Any JC or IP school is doing this at the moment ?[/quote]
As far as I know, no. In fact, the school will encourage you to drop your H3 if you can't take the workload.

[quote]How about those taking IB - can one just take Maths & Science subjects only without any contrasting subject?[/quote]
IB Diplomas are even stricter:
- Group 1: Language A1 (Native Language)
- Group 2: Second language
- Group 3: Individuals and societies (Econs, Geog, History, Business, etc...)
- Group 4: Experimental sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, etc)
- Group 5: Mathematics and computer science.
- Group 6: The arts (optional, can take another Group 1-4 subject or Further Mathematics or Computer Science or approved school-based syllabus)
[quote]Well... in the Ivy league schools, people have to take contrasting subjects to make sure that they have a well rounded education.[/quote]Correct. In Stanford, for instance, I have to take 5 general education courses (one each in Humanities, Engineering, Math, Natural Science, Social Science) and 2 Education for Citizenship courses (courses are categorized as follows: American Culture, Global Community, Gender and Ethic & Reasoning).

Finishing up NS now actually (a few weeks more to ORD :D) - going to Stanford this coming Fall.

Despite me having 10 posts in this forum, I’ve realized I never posted on the newbie forum. So, Hi!


Frank here, Pei Hwa '96-'01, Hwa Chong '02-'07 (1st IP batch), NS '08-'10, and Stanford '10-'14 (hopefully doing a double/triple major in Mathematics, Computer Science, Economics).

Hopefully will be able to share some of what I’ve learnt through my years of schooling in Singapore with everyone on the forums!

Not to detract form his achievements, but the British A-levels are somewhat easier than the Singapore-GCE A-levels in terms of breadth and depth.

[quote]Is it correct to say that:

D = 12.5
E = 10
S = 7.5
U = 5[/quote]I am actually not certain about the exactly points assigned to each of the grades since they are not disclosed so treat what I said with a grain of salt.
[quote]What does S & U means ? [/quote]S means a sub-pass or pass at O-levels. U means failure (even at O-levels). S and U are failing grades at A-levels.
[quote]What do you mean by 12 academic units? What are the maximum papers one can take?[/quote]Each subject at A-levels is assigned a point value. MOE allows you to take up to 12 points (or on special appeal - 13 points). All H2 subjects are assigned 2 points and all H1 and H3 subjects are assigned 1 point each.

You have to take H1 General Paper (unless you take H2 Knowledge & Inquiry), H1 Project Work and H1 Mother Tongue (you are exempted from actually taking the H1 MT paper if you passed HCL in secondary school but it still counts as one point). That leaves you with 9 points to play with. Most people at top schools will choose 4 H2 subjects and 1 H3 subject.

H1 PW = 1 point
H1 MT = 1 point
H1 GP = 1 point
H2 Physics = 2 points
H2 Chemistry = 2 points
H2 Mathematics = 2 points
H2 Economics = 2 points
H3 Essentials of Modern Physics = 1 point

Total: 12 points (or academic units as MOE calls them).

You must also take subjects from both arts and science. For instance, you cannot take Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology - which are all science subjects.
[quote]How many H3 subjects are there on offer ? Anyone can take ? Is it like Higher Mother Tougue in PSLE ?[/quote]A lot of H3 Subjects are on offer (see http://www.hci.sg/newsEvents/h3/ for example) but you have to get good grades and meet school criteria to be able to take it. Most H3 subjects start at the beginning of J2. It is like HMT in PSLE in a sense that it is optional and more advanced than your normal subjects. You would also have to take the corresponding H2 subject to take a H3 (for instance - you cannot take H3 Essentials of Modern Physics without taking H2 Physics, that would be like taking Higher Chinese without taking Chinese).

//Editor's note: Topic selected & edited for http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/levels-faqs-parents.


I'll try to answer some of the questions.

a) How does marks in A Levels calculated to enter Uni ?

A-level grades are calculated on a lettered grading scale (A, B, C, D, E, S, U). Universities convert those grades on a scale into ranking points. Therefore, your 3 H2 (full A-level subjects), 1 H1 (AO-level subject or worst H2 subject if you are taking 4 H2 subjects) and H1 General Paper are taken into account.

For the H2 subjects:
A = 20
B = 17.5
C = 15
etc...

For the H1 subject (or your worst H2 subject) and General Paper
A = 10
B = 8.75
C = 7.5
etc...

When you sum up all the points, you get the university ranking points which is considered for admissions to local universities.

b) How come if student take 4 subjects, I read that student getting 9 distinction ?

You take more than 4 subjects in A-levels. You just take 4 academic subjects. For instance, you could take the following combination to get 9 distinctions while staying within 12 academic units:

H2 Mathematics - A
H2 Physics - A
H2 Chemistry - A
H1 Economics - A
H3 Physics - Distinction
H3 Chemistry - Distinction
H1 General Paper - A
H1 Project Work - A
H1 Chinese (Mother Tongue) - A

c) How come the results of some are shown as 9 Distinctions ? I thought it is supposed to be grades like A, B, C or D ? No ?

An \"A\" is considered a Distinction.

d) What does Perfect scores means ?

It means you have scored A for every single paper you took.

e) What does H2 passes or H2 Distinctions means ?

H2 distinctions just means scoring A in the H2 subject.

f) What does Principal paper & subsidiary paper means ?

No idea. I don't think we use that term any more.

g) What is Special Paper ?

It used to mean Paper 0 - a more difficult subject paper of the same subject. It has been superseded by \"H3\"-level subjects.

It is the same every year - 200. A student scoring the exact average raw marks for the entire cohort in all 4 subjects will get that score.

[quote]I heard that schools like raffles offer \"Donation Seats\" which is basically bribery......so unfair!!!![/quote]
Don't be surprised. You can get into Harvard if your parents donate US$5 million (in cash upfront) with promises of more to come.

As a student who was in the 1st batch of IP students (graduating Class of 2007) - I think I can answer some of the questions posed.


- Is life really so stressful?

Life is probably stressful at any top school, but so long as your child has good time management, I don’t see why it should be a problem.

- Are the kids ranked according to the class they’re in? Are their positions in class/standard disclosed at yearend?

At my time, yes I was ranked and my rank is disclosed to me and my parents in my report card. There are also mark ranges provided each term (Max, Min, Mean) for each subject each term.

- Are remedial/supp classes provided for weaker students?

Yes.

- Do your kids reach home late (as in after 9pm) often?

This depends on your child’s CCA activities, but usually no.

- Are the boys rough (during orientation, do the seniors bully the juniors in ways that are demeaning/spiteful?)

No, not at all. The vast majority are respectful.

- Are your kids generally happy (look forward to school).

I was quite happy throughout my six years there I guess.

- Are they often dead-tired from school activities?

Nope.

- Are they snobs who compare the brands of their shoes/mobiles/laptops/games/cars etc…or even the places they visit?

No. We do sometimes compare academic grades though so there might be some pressure to perform.

- Heard that there’re school buses that pick up the kids from east side. Any idea?

No idea. I live in the West.

- Are parents allowed to drop off the kids within the school grounds(if it rains?)…Is there morning peak hour conjestion?

Yes, you are allowed to do that.

- Are they rebellious, rude and behave so high and mighty?

No. The vast majority are courteous and kind.