MARCH 1, 2006 was an unusual day for Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC). As the college celebrated its 120th Founder’s Day, a team of teachers were receiving and analysing the 2005 GCE “A” level results to get them ready for distribution to the Class of 2005 on that day.
It was the first time that the college had four cohorts of students coming together: the Class of 2004 were back to receive their academic prizes at the Prize Giving Ceremony, the Class of 2005 were going to receive their “A” level results and the Class of 2006 and 2007 were celebrating the 120th Founder’s Day.
ACJC has much to be proud about last year’s 2005 GCE “A” level results. Despite the national decline in the percentage of students receiving the minimum of 2 “A” and 2 “AO” level passes, including the General Paper (National Average: 91.1 per cent), ACJC bucked the trend and managed to maintain the excellent performance of the 2004 cohort. The percentage of students with 2As and 2AO passes, including General Paper, in the college was 97.8 per cent.
The college has also broken the record set in 2004 for the highest number of students receiving three or four distinctions in their “A” level subjects. In 2002, there were 104; in 2003,144; in 2004, 177; and for 2005, the figure increased to 181.
Also for the first time in the college’s history, two of its students are among the top seven students in the nation achieving the rare feat of nine distinctions.
They are Tan Li Feng, who obtained distinctions in Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, General Paper, Higher Chinese at “O” level, S papers in Biology, Chemistry and Physics; and Yeo Yong Kiat, who also obtained sterling results with distinctions in Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, General paper, Chinese at “AO” level, S papers in Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology.
In addition to the two, there are four other students who obtained eight distinctions, 10 with seven distinctions and 20 with at least six distinctions.
Also for the fourth time in its history, a student from the college has been awarded the prestigious Institute of Physics Gold medal for excellence in Physics. This award is given to top “A” level Physics students in the 2005 GCE “A” level examination.
Attaining this rare achievement is Jonathan Ng, who also represented Singapore in the International Physics Olympiad in 2005 and won the distinction for both the college and the state of obtaining a perfect score in the experimental section of the competition.
ACJC’s philosophy celebrates the students’ academic success and instils in them the values of tenacity of purpose, ruggedness of body and spirit, to rise above the ordinary.
One student who embodied these values and stood out from among her peers was Nicolette Chionh, whose mother had died suddenly of a stroke just before her promotional exams in JC1 and whose father was taken seriously ill with kidney failure during her “A” level exams.
Still, Nicolette scored five distinctions in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, General Paper and Higher Chinese. In her words, as reported over ChannelNewsAsia, “it was very tiring because I had to juggle school work, then come home, I had to do housework, I would make sure I had dinner with my dad everyday, and I would spend time with him after, just to watch or talk to him. Basically it was my priority”.
Nicolette said: “I want to be a doctor, or be a nurse because my mum was a staff nurse.”
This remains a goal of the college to inspire passion in our students, to strengthen their lives for service and leadership and to have the desire to make a difference.
When asked about the results, Mrs Kelvyna Chan, Principal of ACJC, said: “Yes, we plan, we work hard, we support each other, but we know that all achievements and successes are not the results of our own strength but by the Grace of God. By the Grace of God, The Best Is Yet To Be.”
THE INSPIRING FOUR
TAN LI FENG
LI FENG is one of the top students in Singapore. She obtained nine distinctions at the 2005 GCE “A” level examinations. Li Feng was the President of the ACJC 30th Students’ Council and represented the nation in the International Chemistry Olympiad in which she won the Bronze Medal. She also represented Singapore in the World Schools’ Debating Championships in Calgary, Canada. She was conferred the Lee Kuan Yew Book Prize for Science & Mathematics and was the recipient of the MOE-Pre University Scholarship. She loves interacting with people, especially the elderly. She hopes to study Medicine in NUS and become a doctor.
YEO YONG KIAT
YONG KIAT is one of the top students in Singapore. He obtained nine distinctions at the 2005 GCE “A” level examinations. He was a sectional leader of the ACJC Concert Band which won the Gold Medal at the Singapore Youth Festival and the Bronze Medal at the International Jungfrau Music Festival in Switzerland.
JONATHAN NG
JONATHAN was conferred the prestigious Institute of Physics Gold medal, awarded to top “A” level Physics students at the GCE “A” level examination. He represented Singapore at the International Physics Olympiad where he won the rare distinction of obtaining a perfect score in the experimental section of the competition.
NICOLETTE CHIONH
IT HAD been a trying two years for Nicolette whose mother died suddenly of a stroke just before her promotional exams in JC1 and whose father was taken seriously ill with kidney failure during her “A” level exams. Still, she scored five distinctions. She is an inspiration to her father. She hopes to be a doctor or a nurse as her mother was a staff nurse.