Yen Jean (pictured) said topping the nation in this year's PLSE took her completely by surprise as she had never been the top student in her school before. --ST PHOTO: LIM WUI LIANG
WHEN Wee Yen Jean was struggling with higher Chinese two years ago, she never would have thought that she would become Singapore's top primary six student.
But with hard work and determination, the 12-year-old from Nanyang Primary School (NYPS) has not only mastered Chinese but also beat all primary six students in this year's Primary School Leaving Examination with a top score of 287 points.
97% passed PSLE
OF THE 49,856 Primary 6 pupils who sat for the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) this year, 97.1 per cent passed and will go on to secondary school, said the Ministry of Education on Thursday.
The top student is Wee Yen Jean, 12, from Nanyang Primary School, with a T-score of 287.
Yen Jean said topping the nation in this year's PLSE took her completely by surprise as she had never been the top student in her school before.
However, she did achieve good results consistently and made it to the top five in the last two years.
Her parents said Yen Jean was frustrated when she entered NYPS at primary four, after getting into the Gifted Education Programme, and found her command of Chinese falling behind her classmates.
She had come from CHIJ Kellock where she spoke English most of the time. She felt the disparity in her command of Chinese with her classmates who had been in NYP since they were in primary one. The school is a Special Assistance Plan (SAP) school where Chinese is taught at a higher level.
Her mother Tan Pei Fong, 42, a housewife, said: 'She was afraid to speak up because she felt that her Chinese was not as good as her classmates. I saw that she was frustrated with herself.'
However, the 'driven' and 'self-motivated' girl resolved to brush up on her Chinese.
Her paternal grandmother coached her in Chinese and she would spend half of her revision time on Chinese. To deepen her understanding in the language, she also started reading Chinese novels and took up Chinese calligraphy.
And the improvement she made was astounding.
Her father Wee Tze Lin, 43, a optomologist, said: 'From being hesitant to speak in Chinese, she started to have the confidence to make school announcements in Chinese.'
