By Jane Ng

NEIGHBOURHOOD schools turned in some sparkling performances in this year's Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE).

Two such schools, Yew Tee in Choa Chu Kang and Elias Park in Pasir Ris, saw their students land among the top 15 in Singapore.

The top Malay, Indian and Eurasian students in the PSLE also came from schools which rarely have their names up in lights. Farah Aqilah Safi'l, the top Malay pupil with a score of 278, is from Southview Primary in Choa Chu Kang. Haig Girls' Mridula Sairam (281) was the top Indian pupil; while Ahmad Ashraf Muhammad Johari (271) from Chongfu Primary in Yishun was tops among Eurasians.

The best neighbourhood school showings, however, were turned in by Yew Tee's Jamie Foo with 284 - the fifth-best performer - and Elias Park's Qu Xinyi, who was 14th best with a 282 score.

Both managed to do well through a combination of hard work and innovative teaching methods at their schools.

For Jamie, stopping her piano and tennis lessons a few months ago to concentrate on preparing for the exams was key.

'I studied in advance and tried to be disciplined,' said the 12-year-old, whose parents are both civil servants working in the Defence Ministry.

Meanwhile Xinyi, who arrived from Dalian in China four years ago, began by picking up English from scratch, starting with preschool stories and assessments.

'Now I can read novels. Harry Potter is my favourite,' said the 12-year-old, who was admitted to the NUS High School for Mathematics and Science under the Direct School Admission Scheme.

Another factor in her success is Elias Park's use of strategies such as having a team of nine teachers spend a term focusing on helping pupils prepare for exams.

The pay-off: For the first time, the school produced eight pupils with four A*s, said its principal Wong Siew Shan.

Last year, Elias Park's best performer turned in just three A*s.

The minority students, meanwhile, put their success down to hard work.

Farah, who hopes to join her sister, Sarah Alissa, 15, in Raffles Girls' School, said she studied till 11.30 each night in the months leading up to the PSLE. 'I only took 15-minute breaks every two hours,' she said.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on 21 Nov, 2008.