THIRD PLACE: PATHLIGHT SCHOOL

The boys were forced out of their comfort zones, but their desire to see their project reach fruition made them persevere.

In fact, it was Jason Ong Wei Boon's willingness to take on the challenge which set the gears to success in motion.

The Pathlight School student came up with his team's project idea after reading the series of Shop For Your School stories, published in Little Red Dot between February and March.

"They inspired me," said the 17-year-old Year 6 student.

"So, I asked my teacher, 'Why don't we join this competition?'"

With the support of his teacher, Mr Jack Chew, and teammate Joel Kee Wei Onn, 17, Jason came up with a plan together with 10 other classmates to improve educational resources for Pathlight students.

The first autism-focused school in Singapore, Pathlight prepares its learners by teaching them life skills, in addition to academic subjects.

The team will use their prize money of $2,000 to buy more reading material, such as books and magazines, to share among classes in the school.

"This will provide pupils with additional general knowledge, other than what they have learnt or are learning in class," explained Mr Chew.

Entering this competition has strengthened Jason's concept of resilience.

"To never give up whether we win or lose. We have to keep on trying our best," he said, with a smile.