[Photo: IJC student Foo Fang Fang (facing camera) hugging her form teacher, Mrs Karen Yap.]

FOR her, good grades were a matter of financial survival.

She used them to secure scholarships and bursaries, all the way from primary school.

But Foo Fang Fang, 19, almost lost it all when her father died at the end of her first year in junior college.

A few months earlier, her mother was hospitalised after a relapse of her schizophrenia, which she was diagnosed with more than 10 years ago.

Facing such difficult circumstances, Fang Fang almost wanted to give up her studies, especially after her father's death from complications due to diabetes.

She said: 'I was thinking of giving up to earn money to support my family.

'But in the end, I decided to continue my studies to get a university degree.'

The decision paid off yesterday when Fang Fang became one of the top three students in Innova Junior College (IJC). She scored six As for her three H2 subjects in physics, chemistry and maths and three H1 subjects in geography, mother tongue and Project Work, and a B for General Paper (GP).

She said her A-level results were beyond her expectations, especially for GP.

She said: 'I was expecting a C for GP. I told my friends that if I got a B, it'll be a miracle. And yes, I did. I'm so grateful.'

After topping the cohort in her prelims, she felt a lot of pressure to do well.

She said: 'It was stressful. I felt I needed to live up to my name.'

Thankfully, she never found studying a struggle. Her academic brilliance has helped her to get by financially.

In 1997, when she was in primary one, her father, the sole breadwinner, lost his job as a deliveryman after being diagnosed with nose cancer.

Her mother's schizophrenia rendered her unfit for work.

With no family income, Fang Fang had to rely on her brains to survive. Her good grades helped her get Edusave scholarships.

In JC, she gets $500 yearly from the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS). She also receives financial help from religious organisations such as St Anthony's Church, Guan Yin Temple and Buddhist Lodge. Since last year, she has been paying $1 daily for lunch and dinner from the Sunshine Action Welfare Mission.

Fang Fang also gives back, by helping her friends in their studies.

Her form teacher, Mrs Karen Yap, 28, said Fang Fang is one of the three students who hold weekly tutorial sessions with classmates.

Mrs Yap said: 'She doesn't just look at her own situation. In fact, there will be times she will overlook her own needs and console her friends who have problems.'

Fang Fang also helps her younger sister, Rong Rong, in her studies.

Rong Rong, who's in her second year in IJC, said of her sister: 'She can handle her studies and family problems very well and I respect her for that. She's my role model.'

- Joanna Hor Peixin
newsroom intern