I want to give my utmost appreciation towards St. Andrew’s School because it has been a life-changing experience studying in this school. I owe it to the school for making me who I am today. When I first went to St. Andrew’s in year 7, I did not expect much from entering the school. I thought that St. Andrew’s School was going to be like how I studied in the past. I thought that it would be all about just studying and achieving the best results, but I learnt many other things in my 5 years in St. Andrew’s.

St. Andrew’s gave me the opportunity to learn not only academics but also allow me to grow as a person, leading me to be more reflective with my learning experience in school, especially the motto and the core principles of St. Andrew’s School being so integral in school life. We all learn an acronym in St. Andrew’s that I still remember to this day which is CL-RECITAL: – standing for Courage and Love, Respect, Responsibility, Resilience, Excellence, Care, Integrity, Teamwork, Attentiveness and Loyalty. I still remember Ms Jane telling us in the assemblies at every start of a school year since I started studying in St. Andrew’s, talking about the motto and these values. One thing that Ms Jane said that stuck out to me was that when we leave St. Andrews, these values that we learn will stay with us forever. Only when I graduated from St. Andrew’s School that I truly realise how true these words were and that these were the most important parts of learning, not just academics but also growing as a person.

St. Andrew’s School has also provided me with a platform to lead. I remember the time when my seniors were inducted into the Student Council, I thought to myself that I also wanted to join this special group of students. I realised at that time, my reasons for joining were wrong. I thought that being part of the council was just being part of some elite club of students. But when the time came in year 9, and I was actually chosen to join the student council, I learned that being part of it was not just to be good, but to be a role model for other students and to serve other students in the school for the betterment of the school community. I eventually became vice-president and President and from these experiences, I again have learnt many skills that will be essential in life.

But it was not only that, I also had many good friends who I studied together with, I want to thank all of them for making my secondary years memorable. Also, I want to thank all the teachers who cared for us and taught us. Teachers are truly committed to their student’s success. I want to thank all of my teachers for teaching me and helping me achieve my best in the GCE-O Levels which enabled me to obtain a scholarship to study the International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme in Hwa Chong International School in Singapore.

All in all, I want to give a massive thank you to St. Andrew’s School.

My life at Saint Andrew’s School started in Primary 4 when I moved from Jerudong International School in 2007. During my 7 years of studying in this school, I have learned a lot. I am who I am today because of the teachings that the school has given me, together with the strong support of my parents.

During my time at Saint Andrew’s School, I have been a prefect, class monitor and a student councillor and I would like to thank the school for giving me the honour of holding these positions.

During my time at Saint Andrew’s School, I did face some challenges, but thankfully I had wonderful teachers, parents and friends who were able to guide me through. My hope is that every student will listen to their parents’ and teachers’ advice, as they know what is best for us. Even though at times we feel that the advice is bitter to us, trust me, it will really help in shaping you up to become a successful person.

Being a Student Councillor during my O-Level years required a bit more effort for me to be up to date with my studies, as we would have extra responsibilities. Having great classmates during this time helped a lot, as we Councillors were able to catch up with all the lessons we missed by referring to them.

With the help of my teachers, I was able to join various competitions. One such competition was The Crown Prince CIPTA Awards 2013, which required us to form a group of three students and design something that would be useful to our society. It was a tough challenge, as we had to toggle between our lessons and the competition, but through the support of my team members and our teacher-in-charge, we managed to get through it and our product, The Self-Watering System got a very good response during the showcase.

During my time as Head of Sports and Culture in the Student Council, I was able to organise and carry out the “Pentathlon”, a competition that comprises of five sports events. I would like to thank the Student Council for helping me organise this event and to the participants for making this event a successful one.

In conclusion, let me say that life isn’t easy. There may be many ups and downs, but we can always turn to our parents, teachers and friends for help and advice. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my teachers, the principal and all my classmates and friends. Thank you for all the teachings that I have obtained during my time in this school because it has enabled me to successfully complete my GCE O-Level examination and obtain a scholarship to study The International Baccalaureate (IB)at Hwa Chong International School in Singapore.

Thank you Saint Andrew’s School for giving me a wonderful seven years of education.

First of all, I would like to thank God and Miss Jane for giving me this honour to share what I had experience throughout my examination periods. May all glory be unto God! I must admit that I could not have done it alone nor can I achieve it without constant prayers and supports. I must not deny that a lot of hard work and patience comes together with success. I believe as a student, our duty is to do well and excel. Many times I wanted to give up, but I believe that resilience had to take place and that if I pressed on toward the goal and receive the great reward. I had to treat my failures as experience and valuable lessons. I was also motivated by my teachers and family and friends who believed in me. I have been constantly reminded by my dad, that although I might not be born a genius, it doesn’t mean that I cannot achieve what great they have. It just means that I had to work twice or thrice the harder. Yes, I was never top three in my six years in Saint Andrew’s school, but it doesn’t mean that I cannot excel with flying colours for my O’Levels. I believe that I can do anything in Him who gives me strength.

Besides studying very hard and completing past years questions over and over again, I had to know myself well in order to produce the best harvest. I certainly cannot study if I don’t enjoy and relax or feel hungry. So, instead of studying first and playing afterwards, I practice vice versa. In addition to that, I ensure that I have sufficient rest before studying. After studying for about 30-45 minutes, I make sure that I rest for 5-10minutes before proceeding to my next chapter. Brain foods are as essential as taking a break. Instead of munching on your favourite junk foods, I would like to encourage you to have healthy snacks like fruits, cereal, yoghurt or even energy bars (chocolates, nut or fruit bars) and brain foods (raisins, nuts, chicken essence, you name it all!). But remember, do consume in moderate amounts! If you play musical instruments, it does you no harm to practice for 30 minutes or an hour. It helps you to relax and in the same time get your brain to co-ordinate. Same goes for exercising!

If you are asking how much hard work and effort I had to commit, for each sciences, I had to attempt more than 1000 MCQs before my actual exam. For both my mathematics, I had to redo each paper for a minimum of three times. Malay Language has always been my weakness; I could not improve until I actually forced myself to like it. At the end of the day, I resulted in enjoying the Malay Language the most. For my orals exam, I had to go through more than 100 predicted topics. As my foundation wasn’t firm, I had to go through literally word by word to comprehend what each point meant. Only then it was easier to remember the main points. I do not believe in memorizing without first understanding. For any subjects that involve essay writings, I urge you to only memorize the points or important words and not literally word by word. And please do not hesitate to share what you have learned. By doing so, you are helping yourself to recall what you have learned and often you would learn even more! Do unto others what you would have them done to you!

I must say to the juniors that it is not impossible to score straight A’s at all. I started from an E and Ds to A*s and A’s and a B. So for those who are getting similar grades, I have proved that you all can do it too, so you shall LEAVE NO EXCUSES! If you pay attention in class, I believe that it is about 40% already; the rest lies in your hands. I would also like to challenge both the teachers and students to cultivate the interest in each and every one of the students and to do so in every subject respectively. All the best to all the juniors! Do your best and do not give up for your own benefits! Aim high starting from the next grade after what you have achieved and start improving from then! Do not be easily sastisfied and slack off after a big improvement! Keep pushing forward until you score a perfect score and maintain it! As long as you set your mind and your heart to it, nothing is impossible! I believe all of you can do it! Believe in yourselves!! God Bless!!