KUCHING: The atmosphere at St Joseph’s Private School yesterday was filled with nervous anticipation, excited chatter and jubilant exclamations as recent school-leavers discovered how they fared in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination last year.
The school recorded its best SPM performance thus far with a total of 32 straight-A scorers. New Sarawak Tribune visited the school yesterday to talk with a few of the top achievers.
Terrance Chai achieved three A+’s, four A’s and three A-’s. He expressed pleasant surprise over his excellent results, explaining that while he had scored A’s in class, he had never gotten straight A’s before.
“My next step would be applying for scholarships and looking around for universities. I have a few in mind, so I will evaluate my options based on financial viability and the suitability of their programmes,” he said.
Interested in delving into education as he had been inspired by many of his teachers, he said he was very fortunate to have had so many good teachers, especially in Form 4 and Form 5.
“I felt that they really tried very hard to make their subjects more interesting. Furthermore, they did not just care about our studies but also our personal life, and they would reach out to us if they felt we were facing some problems,” he said.
Chai said he wanted to inspire the next generation of young people to become the best versions of themselves as well as being role models that others could look up to.
Lisa Hii was thrilled with her eight A+’s and three A’s as she had also not expected to score so well based on the two A+’s she had gotten in her mock SPM examination.
“I am currently taking Science in my A Levels at Lodge International School, and I may go on to further my studies in the United Kingdom,” she said, adding that she had yet to decide between her two interests — medicine and accounting.
Another school-leaver who expressed interest in studying medicine was Joshua Su, who scored ten A+’s and one A-.
“I want to be a doctor because I feel that it is a very noble career. I also really enjoy helping people, especially through volunteering,” he said.
He added that he was currently undergoing a three-month church programme in Sibu which involved social outreach and community service.
Meanwhile, Alyssa Rebecca Ng shared her preferred technique of studying alone at home.
She said that many of the teachers usually had seminars in the build-up to the SPM season, but she personally did not favour them.
“They often give some tips and predictions, but I am more comfortable with covering everything, just to be safe. I usually do more exercises based on examination papers from different years,” she said, adding that she attended tuition classes as well.
As for her ambition, though one of her teachers had suggested accounting, she said she was leaning more towards physiotherapy as she preferred science-based courses.
Ng scored six A+’s, two A’s, and one A- and she said that she was more confident in Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, and English.
“I found Pendidikan Moral (Moral Studies) and Biology more challenging,” she said.
Chin Chun Yin scored four A+’s, two A’s and three A-’s. He said he was definitely satisfied with his results, but at the same time felt he could have scored higher than A-’s.
“Next, I will do my Foundation at Sunway College.”
