S'pore tops Asia-Pacific in perfect IB scores

S'pore tops Asia-Pacific in perfect IB scores

SINGAPORE - 66 here get full 45 points in exams, while average score is 36.43 points

Of more than 2,000 students who sat the IB diploma exams here last year, 66 had a perfect score of 45 points. Last year, the country had 43 maximum scorers.

Singapore also produced the biggest number of perfect scorers in the Asia-Pacific, which includes Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea.

Australia came in second, with 31 students scoring a perfect 45.

Students who took the exam here last year scored an average of 36.43 points, higher than the global average of 29.94.

As in previous years, Dover Road's Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) produced over half of Singapore's top scorers - 34 in total. Its 449 students who took the exams last year managed an average score of 41.3 - higher than that of other Singapore schools offering the IB diploma programme.

ACS (I) student Seah Jun Jie, 18, who scored 45, switched from the Express stream to the Integrated Programme (IP) in Secondary 3. The school offers a six-year IP leading to the IB diploma.

He had wanted to be part of an accelerated science class offered only to IP students. "The IP stream... had more projects, so time management was very important. But I really enjoyed the programme," said Jun Jie, who was also the school hockey team's vice- captain and a student councillor.

He now intends to apply to medical schools here.

At the School of the Arts (Sota), its 112 students scored an average of 38.89 points. About 23 per cent of its cohort - or 26 students - scored at least 42 points.

Among them was Amanda Liaw, who scored the full 45 points. The 18-year-old, who specialised in film in her last two years at Sota, hopes to study for a degree in the United States. "I've already applied to some film schools, such as the University of Southern California and New York University."

At St Joseph's Institution, its first batch of 76 IB diploma students scored an average of 39.4 points.

These institutions are among 20 in Singapore, including international schools, that offer the IB. The two-year diploma programme is more broad-based than the A levels, requiring students to take six subjects and theory of knowledge, a course combining philosophy, religion and logical reasoning. They also take a second language, do research, write a 4,000-word essay and take part in a community service project.

The programme conducts two rounds of exams each year - in May and November.

Stellar results come at sport's expense

It was a bittersweet affair for national swimmer Quah Zheng Wen when he collected his result slip for the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma yesterday.

The 18-year-old student at Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) had scored 43 points, just two points shy of the maximum score of 45. The school offers a six-year Integrated Programme leading to the IB diploma.

"I'm definitely happy. The results are much better than what I had expected," said the only son of a doctor and a housewife.

But the good results came with some sacrifices. He had qualified for three major sporting events last year, but made the painful decision of participating in just one - the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. He was also accepted into the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) and the Asian Games, but gave up competing in both.

"YOG is once in a lifetime and I'm too old for it now, and Asian Games happen only once in four years," he said. "I was disappointed but it was something I knew I needed to do."

He did not do well for his promotional exams in 2013. "I barely scraped through and it was a huge wake-up call for me. I knew that I had to focus more on my studies and swimming had to take a back seat," he said.

Despite his stellar results, Zheng Wen said he has not given much thought to his university plans. For now, he is preparing for his next big swim. "I'll be competing in this year's SEA Games which will be held in Singapore, so that's my focus now."


This article was first published on January 06, 2015.
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