COMING up in 2010: A new secondary school combining the best of textbook and hands-on learning will spring up in the educational landscape here.

Called the School of Science and Technology (SST), it aims to develop students who are inventive and creative.

It is the fourth specialised independent school here after the Singapore Sports School, NUS High School Of Mathematics and Science, and the School of The Arts.

While the school will prepare students for the four-year course leading to the O levels, it will offer more practice-oriented O-level subjects like Design, Environmental Science, Biotechnology or Media Studies.

It will also teach academic subjects like English or the humanities by getting students to do projects, for example, to apply what they have learnt.

Dubbed a Future School, it plans to tap on technology widely and have small class sizes of 20 to 25.

Announcing this in Parliament on Tuesday, Education Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said that to be in the league of leading cities, Singapore's education system must not just produce high averages but also peak performances.

Said the minister: 'We know our future has to be in innovation, in every field we engage in - be it in media and design, or financial services or in precision engineering.

'It requires a whole team of people, focused on continually improving and seeking a competitive edge through innovation. But it also requires a special cut of individuals, with a special passion for what they do and the urge to keep going beyond the ordinary.'

Mr Tharman hopes that this new school will help increase Singapore's chances of producing the next Sim Wong Hoo.

He said that the school will also 'broaden our system of meritocracy'.

Indeed, students will be chosen based on their achievements or showing in camps, and not their Primary School Leaving Examination results.

These could be students who have excelled in robotics, or competitions like the Tan Kah Kee Young Inventors' Awards, said Mr Chua Chor Huat, principal designate of the new school.

It is different from NUS High, which offers a six-year integrated programme which lets students skip the O levels.

While the IP schools take in the top 6 per cent of the Primary 1 cohort, the new school caters to university-bound students, or the top 30 per cent of each cohort.

'If you're looking for an O-level curriculum, this school will be attractive because the small class size facilitates project-based learning,' said Mr Chua.

Students can choose the polytechnic or junior college route to university after leaving school, he added.

As for concerns that students good in hands-on learning may not ace exams, Mr Chua said many schools in countries like the United States find that students gain 'enduring understanding' of knowledge.

'By immersing them in an experiential learning environment, they understand and apply better. This will show up in their results.'

The Education Ministry will work with Ngee Ann Polytechnic to set up the school, whose location has yet to be decided.

It will take in 200 Secondary 1 students in 2010.