My younger daughter scored 264 for her PSLE and got into an IP programme.
But she struggled through the programme and barely met the minimum score to continue to year 5 (or JC1).
At the end of year 5, she was struggling so far behind that she asked if she could repeat the year. She didn't think she would be ready to take the A levels at the end of the next year.
I could see and feel her anxiety. So I readily agreed to her request and we went to school together to meet with her form teacher, level head, vice-principal and school counsellor.
When we met together, the school had already talked with her individual subject teachers and their assessment was that she need not repeat the year. They had confidence that she would clear the A levels.
They told us most of the A level curriculum had already been covered and the major part of year 6 would be revising what had already been taught.
In any case, they said, worse come to worse, if she didn't do well for her A level, she could then retake her A level instead of repeating year 5.
After careful consideration, and taking into account all that the school had shared with us, my daughter agreed to give it a try and move on to year 6 instead of repeating year 5.
Her struggles continued in year 6.
Then she skipped revision classes and left school early to study outside on her own after the school had completed the A level syllabus for the various subjects. I was not aware of this.
The school called me because this was against the school rules and also the school was responsible for her during school hours.
So we met again with the teachers and vice-principal.
My daughter explained she felt stressed seeing her schoolmates study (especially when they were revising while she was still catching up).
She also preferred to study on her own than attending revision classes because she felt that she was still doing catching up and revision ate into her time. LOL
In order that she did not skip school or leave school early without permission, I suggested that the school allow her to skip revision classes and study in the library instead. I also told the school that I would not hold the school responsible for her results since she would be skipping all revision classes.
I made this decision based on my daughter's best interest and the school too wanted the best for her. So they agreed to the request. At the same time, I told my daughter to make appointments with her teachers if she needed any clarifications on any topics/subjects.
Believe me. Most teachers are caring people and they work very hard for their students. They meet with their students to help them with their studies. And schools are not heartless institutions concerned only with As and school's academic reputation.
The A levels came and went and my daughter took her exams. I really did not know how she would fare. In fact, the night before she received her A level results, as an anxious mother who feared my daughter would do silly thing if she didn't do well or if she failed, I told her that if her results were not good, it was not the end of the world. She could always retake the exams.
My daughter got her results. She outdid herself and surprised her teachers beyond their expectations of her,scoring several As.
She had 82.5 out of 90 ranking points.
She had been asked to go back to her alma mater to give a word of encouragement to the batch after her, to those who might be struggling like her.
So why did she struggle so much during her IP journey?
That's a story for another day.
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