SHE took the pupils on excursions; he decorated the school hall.

Together, the couple from Pasir Ris clocked 40 hours as parent volunteers to get their daughter Natasha a place in the popular Gongshang Primary School in Tampines.

Actually, the parents of Natasha Nabila Muhamad Nasir - the girl who scored a record 294 in this year's Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) - took parenting seriously way before the elder of their two daughters was ready for school at seven.

When Ms Zaharah Othman, now 44, became pregnant, she quit her job as a flight stewardess with Singapore Airlines to focus on her child.

Her husband Muhamad Nasir Atan, now 47 and a technician with the same airline, read fairy tales to his unborn daughter every night.

The couple also bought Natasha an encyclopaedia when she was three months old, put her in a play group when she was two and took her for piano classes when she was three.

Said Ms Zaharah, who has an A-level certificate: 'When we have children, we really want to give them the best education they can get.'

She buys assessment books and test papers - usually the more demanding ones - for Natasha, who she says has not had a day of tuition.

Her husband, who finished school with O-level qualifications, confirmed this: 'What really makes me proud of her is that she achieved it without outside help.'

He had expected her to do well, but not this well, he said.

CHILD MODEL: At six, Natasha posed for pictures in Today's Parents magazine.

But 'Papa', as he is called by Natasha and her eight-year-old sister Natalia, has always been a motivator.

'I told her to aim to be the top scorer and to go all out,' he said.

His daughter responded to his cheerleading by coming out ahead of her peers from early on: She started talking at 10 months and was always among the top students in school.

In Primary 4, she got into the Gifted Education Programme and transferred from Gongshang to St Hilda's Primary.

But the prefect, captain of the school's Scrabble club and avid computer gamer has not just been all about books and perfect grades.

She was once a child model too.

At three, the cherubic toddler was talent-spotted for a fashion show, and joined celebrities like Denise Keller and Junita Simon on the catwalk.

At six, she posed for pictures in Today's Parents magazine.

She does not model any more, and does things normal 12-year-olds do - finish her homework, practise the piano or watch Phua Chu Kang on TV. She even follows Channel 8 drama serials starring her favourite actress Rui En, reading the English subtitles.

She also likes to read, with Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's Alice series about a girl going through life, love and death her current favourite.

Since the release of the PSLE results on Thursday, she has made the front pages of three national newspapers, been bombarded with congratulatory e-mail messages and SMSes and generally become the talk of the town.

Even Minister in charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim has called to congratulate her.

In the week ahead, she has more interviews and a visit from Dr Yaacob.

But the girl, appearing calm amid all this, said: 'I'm grateful I managed to score very well.'

She made time to return to Gongshang Primary on Thursday to thank her principal and teachers there, but otherwise, it seemed like any other day.

Said Ms Zaharah: 'When she came back, it was like nothing had happened at all. The first thing she wanted to do was play computer games.'