Curriculum change helped
Student-focused system is more flexible, caters to interest
By Cheryl Ong
OF THE 35 top Secondary 4 Chinese students in last year's GCE O-level examination, about one-third came from Catholic High School.
All 12 of them scored nine A1s, a jump from last year, when only three Catholic High students made it to the list of top Secondary 4 Chinese students.
Catholic High's principal Lee Hak Boon attributed the marked improvement partly to a new curriculum the school adopted in 2006.
It allows students to take subjects they want to study rather than choose from fixed subject combinations.
'What we've done here is open up a lot of options and give students leeway to do what they are interested in.'
He added that the teachers' commitment to their pupils also contributed greatly to the good results this year.
O-level students need to take a predetermined number of subjects in language, science and the humanities.
Students at Catholic High were able to take any combination they liked as long as they met the requirements.
The resulting total number of combinations came to nearly a hundred, according to the Head of Department (English) Mr Edwin Heng, and the school coped with this by 'banding' subjects in the timetable together.
For instance, during two hours of humanities subjects in a timetable, students attend the respective classes of whatever subjects they signed up for.
'I think the school programme has certainly helped,' said Chan Hua Peng, 17, one of the top students at Catholic High. 'If you study what you like you'll naturally want to do well.'
Interests aside, the flexible system also let students like fellow top-scorer Chua Kah Hoe, 17, take subjects they can ace.
'I chose mainly the subjects I would do well at,' he said of his combination of three science subjects, two maths, geography, social studies and a history elective.
'But it all depends on how much hard work you put in, and the teachers, of course.'
Bolstered by the school's achievements, Mr Lee aims to raise the number of distinctions for English from 65.4 per cent this year to 70 per cent.
'We are looking for new breakthroughs next year,' he said.
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