PSLE & O LEVELS: Mr Lim scores 252 for PSLE, and 12 points for his O-level exam. He scores well mostly for maths and science subjects.

A LEVELS: He retakes A-level exams, after getting C, E and O grades for Maths C, Higher Chinese and History respectively. The second time round, he got B, D and D.

NUS: He applies for a spot at the arts faculty at NUS - and fails - four times. The fourth time was with an appeal letter from his Member of Parliament.

UNSW: He applies for UNSW in Australia and he graduates near the top of his cohort with a first class honours in Chinese and Theatre Studies.

OXFORD: He completes a master's in Chinese Studies, focusing on the work of Gao Xingjian, the first Chinese recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

PRINCETON: He makes it into the East Asian Studies PhD programme at Princeton University.