School posting keeps these best friends together

For best friends Leah Tee and Laura Lee, both 17, being posted to the same school in the Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE) made their day.

They both got their first choice - St Joseph's Institution's International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme - when the posting results were released yesterday.

The New Paper featured the best friends yesterday on how they overcame their disabilities to help each other score distinctions in the O-levels.

Leah has cone-rod dystrophy, a severe form of colour blindness which affects her ability to differentiate colours and blurs her vision slightly.

Laura has moderate hearing loss in both ears, which makes hearing individual voices in group settings a challenge.

Leah had scored six distinctions and Laura five.

The girls have known each other since Primary One at the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ) (Primary) and have been classmates most of their schooling life.

They were classmates again in CHIJ (Secondary)and have supported each other all the way, complementing each other's disabilities.

They are excited to continue their journey together in their new school, which they applied for without consulting each other.

Laura, the first of the two to check her posting via SMS at 7.30am, said: "It's nice to know I already have a friend in the new school."

After receiving a hug from her father, she texted Leah: "SJI!!!!!!!" But her friend was still asleep then.

The Tee family later gathered to pray in their living room before a nervous Leah read out her posting result.

"I was obviously overjoyed. but then I immediately thought: 'What about Laura?'" Moments later, she saw Laura's text and squealed in delight.

Her mother, Mrs Jennifer Tee, 44,said: "It's comforting to know they'll be moving on together, they really bring out the best in each other."

To celebrate their posting, the girls watched the movie, Moana, together.

Read also: Classmates are each other's eyes and ears​

chualel@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Feb 3, 2017.
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