Forum: Exam season calls for calibrated CCAs, not a total shutdown
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I congratulate Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) on opening its new $250 million Coney Island campus (New Outward Bound Singapore campus opens on Coney Island with over 70 high-adventure elements, Sept 11).
It represents a major investment in developing confident, resilient young Singaporeans.
I hope schools will extend this spirit into daily life, rather than routinely standing down co-curricular activities (CCAs) as Term 4 examinations approach.
CCAs offer many of the same lessons repeatedly over several years: Developing consistency and responsibility while managing competing demands.
Blanket stand-downs remove that practice precisely when it matters most.
A student who learns to fit training and revision into the same evening is rehearsing self-management. Stopping CCAs does not guarantee more time for revision. The time freed up may just as easily be lost to distraction.
But continuing CCAs does not have to mean training as usual. Schools can practise managed continuity: shorter sessions, reduced intensity, flexibility for students experiencing genuine academic strain and clear communication so that no one feels torn between obligations.
Examination periods call for careful calibration, not a default off-switch.
Steven Quek Chin Hwee