Teen with brain tumour plans to further his studies in ITE

Teen with brain tumour plans to further his studies in ITE

SINGAPORE - The weight of the day was lifted off Andy Khoo's heart when he received his N-level results last Monday.

Andy, a Normal (Technical) student at Pioneer Secondary School, scored a C for Chinese and Ds for both English and Computer Applications.

His Maths and Science papers were not graded, which means he failed in those two subjects.

But no tears were shed.

The results were within Andy's expectations.

"I am no longer the Andy Khoo who used to top the class. But I didn't get lazy. I did my best. I am quite happy actually," said the bubbly teenager, who hopes to enrol in media studies at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and become a radio deejay one day.

Two days ago, The Sunday Times reported how Andy, 16, overcame all odds and managed to sit his N-level exams this year despite his brain tumour.

Andy was once a top student but his grades nosedived after he was diagnosed with craniopharyngioma in 2006.

He went through four major operations as well as gamma knife radiosurgery, but the benign tumour still could not be removed completely, and causes damage to Andy's vision and learning ability.

To help him sit the N-level exams, Andy's teacher scanned the exam papers and, with the help of a laptop, displayed them on a large screen in front of his desk.

Andy's results were nothing to shout about but his determination to succeed has inspired many of his schoolmates, his form teacher Yunus Sunanwi, 27, told The Straits Times.

"Andy has showed that he is not afraid of hard work, and he is very determined to carry on with his studies despite his illness.

"He did all his homework and he would stay at home only when he couldn't take the pain from his illness. His effort is commendable," said Mr Yunus.

Andy's mother, Madam Sharon Low, 47, a purchasing clerk, said: "Andy is looking forward to furthering his studies at the ITE. I told him there will always be a place for him somewhere in Singapore."


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