2 years ago, my daughter got L1R5 14 points for her ‘O’ levels. After deducting 2 points for getting an A1 in her CCA and another 2 points for school affiliation (she was from PLMGS) giving her a net of 10 points, she appealed for a place in ACJC (through her CCA – Drama). Alas, the cut-off point for Arts was 8, and she ended up being posted to SRJC instead.
Needless to say, she was visibly very upset, and I shared her disappointment, being an alumnus of ACJC myself.
She struggled during her 1st year in JC, getting (S)ubpass (35% to 44%) and (U)ngraded (<35%) for practically all of her subjects (when I was in JC in 1984-1985, such grades did not exist).
Depending on their scores, JC1 students are either
- “Promoted” to JC2 (for scores of 31 and above)
- “Retained” in JC1 (for scores of 20 and below) or
- “Advanced” to JC2 (for scores of between 21 and 30, subject to approval by the Principal)
My daughter ended the year with a score of 22, and was advanced.
JC2 students granted an advancement were not allowed to participate in the orientation activities with the JC1s, so that was psychologically another dampener for her.
Having said that, my wife and I were nonetheless thankful that she did not need to repeat her first year, and in retrospect also understood why God had closed the door to ACJC for her.
Had her appeal on the grounds of Drama been successful, she would have had to dedicate considerable time after school and even on weekends and term breaks on Drama rehearsals etc, allowing her little, if any, time for her studies. In SRJC, she scored 22. Who knows what her score would have been if she had to juggle both CCA and studies in ACJC. God knew what was best for her, and indeed all things work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28).
Fast forward to JC2 and her score improved marginally to 25 in her mid-year exams and then to 28 for her prelims. While grateful for the progress being made, we were mentally prepared for her to probably get between 30 and 45 for her A levels, and if we really dared to ask, perhaps even 45 to 60 points. We prayed over her and dedicated her studies to God, leaving the outcome entirely to Him.
Well praise be to God! She collected her results today and obtained an incredible total of 81 points, a 289% improvement over her prelim results, which actually puts her in the top 20% of her cohort, and guarantees her a place in NUS’ Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences!!! This goes to show that nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37).
In fact, God has blessed her with grades that surpass even those of both her parents, who are professional accountants.
God has truly exceedingly abundantly answered our prayers over and above what we can ask or imagine (Eph 3:20). Thank you Jesus for You are indeed an awesome God! Hallelujah!
UPDATE (22/04/2015)
My sweetie just received a letter in the post yesterday, informing her that she has been offered a place in NUS. Praise the Lord!
Amen, Praise God
Amen, in His time He makes ALL things Beautiful and Perfect.
Amen