Three City College students graduate on to various academic pursuits after successfully passing their ‘O’ levels.
By Yong Yung Shin
PHOTO COURTESY OF CITY COLLEGE.
For 17-year-old Dominic Chung, who dropped out of school on a leave of absence from the Ministry of Education in Secondary 3, City College provided an alternative pathway to pass the ‘O’ levels and continue his academic pursuits.
“During 2011, I was mostly at home, playing computer games every day and becoming anti-social. I did try certain hobbies and being interested in certain topics, but it was definitely an unhealthy process, sleeping late every night and being stuck to the computer screen without proper exercise,” Chung recalls.
In 2012, he registered for City College’s one-year ‘O’ levels program as a bursary recipient, and achieved a score of L1R4 16, enabling him to enroll into Temasek Polytechnic for a diploma in Visual Communications.
Chung is one of the students who took a second shot at passing their ‘O’ levels in order to pursue their academic aspirations.
“I believe what’s most important is not how clever you are or what background you come from, but how much you are willing to put in the effort to see the results you want. Making good and worthy friends at City College also helped me push myself to study harder, so I believe students should try to make friends with people who will encourage them,” says Chung.
He adds that in order to maintain diligence at studying, it is most important to have passion for it. “I was interested in what I was studying so I genuinely wanted to learn more, which made me work harder.”
Ian Low, 19, who passed his ‘O’ levels last year with a score of L1R4 18 after a first attempt in 2011, is now gearing up to study hospitality and management at Republic Polytechnic. Low credits the supportive environment which gave him additional motivation to sit for the paper a second time. His advice to others? “Study hard; after all, you only need to pass it once in your lifetime.”
Yet another student, Jason Chua, 23, also a bursary recipient, City College’s ‘O’ levels program paved the way for him to get back on the mainstream track of pursuing ‘A’ levels. Not only did he pass, he topped his cohort at Millenia Institute. For Chua, determination, a certain competitive streak, hunger for success and having the dream that he would succeed were key factors for his achievement. Currently serving National Service in the Police Force, Chua will commence studies for his law degree at Singapore Management University next year.
“I feel that the teaching pedagogy at City College is unique. The teachers are like guiding mentors, constantly helping us along the way. They see that each and every student is unique and encourages us with every step. This gave me a lot of confidence to continue on to ‘A’ levels after finishing ‘O’ levels,” says Chua.
For more information on City College’s Preparatory Course For Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate Of Education (Ordinary Level) Examination, log on to www.citycollege.edu.sg.
