IB students definitely aren’t at a disadvantage when entering university; in fact they may be better regarded due to the breadth of study that they do. Of course, it is possible that this breadth is not as appreciated by local universities, as it sometimes comes at the expense of some depth (not for all subjects though). IB students tend to be more articulate due to the amount of emphasis the curriculum places on effective communication and critical thinking, through subjects such as Theory of Knowledge (TOK) and Internal Assessments (IAs), many of which are assessed orally.


The grades needed to enter each of the courses is technically hearsay, but you’re right that it is approximately 42-43 to secure the interview for medicine in singapore unis, and a decent score of 36-38 is certainly sufficient for most courses, apart from the more competitive ones like law, dentistry, accounting etc. I have a friend who was offered 38 to do law at a good university in the uk, so these high scores are atypical to singapore, where competition for places tends to be stronger, as there are many who meet the requirements, but not as many places.

I just completed the IB, and scored very well despite not having any tuition at all, and participating in lots of after-school activities. My time management skills are really nothing to shout about at all haha I’m a typical procrastinating student. The key is just to keep asking your teachers whenever you’re not sure in class, and go over mistakes with them! Thinking deeply about topics also helps me; questioning formulae and theories especially, really ground your understanding in a topic.


I did HL Physics, but most people in my school didn’t have tuition, apart from some who had French classes in J2 i think.

I'm literally in the middle of doing the IB now, on the brink of starting my second year in this hilariously rigorous course! If you ask me, the IB really provides one with a very very well-rounded (to use the word MOE loves: holistic) education. We study six subjects (compared to the 4 in the A Levels), as well as TOK. On top of that, there is CAS and the EE (which can be compared to PW at the As), and the hundreds – okay I exaggerate – tens of Internal Assessments, oral presentations, and the infamous Math Exploration.


You may have heard that the IB is better for people who prefer to work individually (because we don't have PW, and the EE is individual work). That is a hugeeee misconception. From the get-go, we are given many different pieces of work that are group-based. You learn to work in groups of between 2-6, with all kinds of personalities and work styles. And it's not just class assignments that are done in groups; our TOK presentation, which is done only once and graded for IB, is done as a pair. Many oral presentations are prepared in groups too.

Another misconception is that IB students must be strong in English and in essay writing. We have yet to complete our EEs, but I can assure you, that if you take English as an SL subject, or better yet, take it as Language B (as a second language), the need for essay writing skills is no more (if not less) than if you were taking the GP paper at the A levels. Students can choose to do their EE in any subject they want, and many choose to do it in Science subjects, which means that it is essentially an extended, more complex lab report, which is something we write after every lab experiment, that is, often.

I think IB students should be really good at time management, because, while we don't get overmuch homework, the assignments pile up very quickly, and often take many hours to complete. Of course, if you're like me and are the queen of procrastination, you'll find yourself being surprisingly adept at completing things in a much shorter time than recommended!

I don't know what career I intend to pursue, or even what degree I should get, let alone which university to go to (or why I'm writing this when I should be attending to my EE draft haha). I think the IB allows one to receive an education beyond just the books; it gives one the opportunity to actually learn, as opposed to simply memorising textbooks cover to cover for an exam. I've become much more confident at public speaking after all the oral presentations I've had to do; instead of memorising a prepared speech, I'm able to elaborate from just my slides and a few bullet points scribbled on my notes, even in Chinese! (although admittedly much less fluently) While the thought of interviews used to petrify me, now, I find myself relaxed and able to communicate my thoughts more clearly, even with strangers.

That's just my two cents! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the syllabus or anything!

A Level and IB equivalent grades here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... rades.html

Anyone knows what the IB results for ACSI are this year? They came out today.

Forms is run by a couple, Mr and Mrs Cheong. Mrs Cheong teaches all the classes, from pre-primary to advanced, while Mr Cheong handles the admin – the dodgy website, letters to parents, calls etc. I attended the school from the time I was 3 till 15 haha. Mrs Cheong is lovely to the younger girls, but gets stricter as we grow up. Her class sizes (when I was there, I left in 2012) were quite large though (I think they hovered between 15-20), so it is entirely possible to not be called upon or corrected for an entire lesson. We were sometimes packed quite closely on the barres that ran along two walls, and some girls had to use flimsy portable barres on half of the third wall.


They have since relocated to YMCA if I am not wrong; they are no longer at bukit time plaza.

I just graduated from SC this year after 10 years there, and I honestly believe that I got the best education from my tenure there. I grew as a student, a daughter, and an individual, through the nurture of all the people there, from classmates and peers, to our teachers, even the non-teaching staff, the lab techs, general office staff, cleaners, guards… They are all part of an extended family I have in school.


One of the questions that parents always ask at open house is a variation of "what makes your school so good, so special?" Well in primary school, when teachers and alumni spoke about the "SC family", I didn’t really believe it. I mean, it’s school! Who likes school! Family time is fun, not boring and tiring and… everything that school is. It was only in secondary school that I truly felt a part of the family, included, and most importantly, loved. The bonds that stem from love is what builds a family, and the sincere love of all the people in school result in the sense that we are, truly, one SC family. Sincerity is something sensed, it’s not a quantifiable, countable measure, but is displayed in the smallest of ways, from body language, to tone of voice. I think that it is absolutely impossible to fake sincerity in the long run, which makes me convinced that our teachers sincerely love us.

They do have high expectations of us, that’s for sure. But they have complete, unwavering faith that we will be able to achieve, and exceed their expectations. For me, and the friends I’m closer to, this doesn’t result in extreme stress and fear, rather, in a confidence that anything is possible. Even when we failed English comprehension time after time, my English teacher patiently ran through every single question I had privately with me, a couple of hours at a time. ALL our teachers are always always available for consultation, as long as they don’t have lessons or meetings. They put aside their own piles of work and marking to spend hours answering out questions and alleviating our concerns. Each consult ends when all your questions are answered, not when the time is up, causing them to run on late into the night sometimes, ending at 8pm when study camp closes. There are so many more anecdotes that can be shared (I doubt these are the best but they are off the top of my head!) of the care that the teachers give us.

As for the all girls environment, personally, I’m all for it. Secondary school is a time of awkward transitions, the time when you go from being a child to a teenager, getting a taste of what it feels to be "grown up". Without the distraction of boys, I think that we are freer to try on different personalities, to find ourselves. There isn’t a pressure to look good for guys, to wear makeup, to show a lot of skin, to have a boyfriend. Anyway I think 13, 14, 15, maybe even 16 year olds are too young to date. Many (not necessarily all) are still children for goodness sake. Enjoy your childhood, play, scream and shout and don’t worry if there’s a pimple on your nose because nobody cares. Learn to love yourself and be confident in your own skin. After that, you’ll be a kim gek ready to take on anything.

Haha I didn’t mean this to be so long, but it’s just my two cents, and it hardly begins to scratch the surface of describing the education that SC has given me. To answer a question posed earlier, my cohort did do well, with an MSG of below 2, but I’m not sure of the actual figures. Don’t worry though, if your daughter goes to sc, she’ll be going to a school that produces one of the best, if not the best, scores every year at the Os.

mamakata:

Hello, my DD has been accepted into the IP for 2013. I'm keen to hear from parents who have any info on:

- the IP is a new programme so there isn't that much info, but any feedback on the previous school based programmes for stretching higher ability students?
- we like the school as we have the impression it is a good, well rounded school that's not too stressful
- how bad is the traffic jam at the school during morning drop off and after school?
- is there a school bus service that picks up after school for different CCA finishing time? We live in the east and the travel logistics does not seem straightforward.

Thanks!

Hi! Currently in SC, there is a programme for the high-achieving students to be 'stretched' to use your words. It is called the Young Scholars' Academy, and the girls who show potential for higher level math and science will be selected for it. You can find out more on the school website http://www.scgs.edu.sg/content/view/31/36/. Currently, all SC girls have to take at least elective, if not full Literature as an O Level subject. However, as your daughter is in the IP programme, there is no predecessor. The IP programme should be fairly similar though.

In the morning, the traffic jam can get quite bad if you intend to drop your daughter off inside the school. The secondary school shares the premise with the primary school, plus ACS and SJI are both down the road, adding to the congestion. You can choose to drop your daughter a little furthur from the school, such as across the road, where it is less congested.

After school there is little to no jam, as the secondary school dismissal is staggered from the primary school's, which contributes to most of the cars in the morning. Lower Secondary end earlier then Upper Secondary on most days too.

There is a school bus service in the morning, however it does not pick students up after CCA, as different CCAs have different dismissal times. Many buses service the area, and there are frequent buses to both the Newton and Botanic Gardens MRT stations. The Stevens MRT will open right at the doorstep, but it only opens in 2021, so your daughter probably won't benefit from it yet!

I hope that helps!

isetan:

Thanks. Any third language as a subject?

Third language can be taken as a subject, but it will not be done in school. Every Wednesday, the girls will go to the MOE Language centre for their third language classes.