NUS High School of Mathematics and Science
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| Name |
NUS High School of Mathematics & Science |
| Abbreviation |
NUSHS |
| School Code |
7801 |
| Chinese Name | 新加坡国立大学附属数理中学 |
| Malay Name | Sekolah Tingggi NUS |
| Location |
20, Clementi Ave 1, Singapore 129957 |
| Country |
Singapore |
| Town |
Clementi |
| Founded |
2005 |
| Community |
Urban |
| Type |
Specialized Independent School (Integrated Programme School) |
| Religion |
Secular |
| Students |
Mixed |
| Levels |
Year 1-6 (equivalents are Secondary 1-4, Junior College 1-2) |
| Colours |
Green, Grey, White |
| Motto |
Experiment. Explore. Excel. |
| Affiliation | |
| Website | |
The National University of Singapore High School of Mathematics and Science is a specialized independent high school in Singapore offering a six-year program leading to the NUS High School Diploma, which is recognized by the National University of Singapore (NUS), its parent institution. Students will also take Advanced Placement and Scholastic Assessment Test examinations in their senior years for credits for admission into foreign universities. Advance Placement examinations may allow students to get exemption from reading Year-1 university courses. The school offers an accelerated mathematics and science curriculum integrated with language, humanities, arts, sports, co-curricular activities, in a modular system. It is the second specialized school in Singapore after the Singapore Sports School and is technically the only high school in Singapore, although most students go to secondary schools instead.
Contents |
[edit] Campus
The permanent NUS High campus sits on 4.67 hectares of land off Clementi Ave 1, a few minutes walk from the outskirts of the National University of Singapore. The school shifted operations there from its holding site at the former Raffles Junior College in Mount Sinai where it had held classes in 2005.
Comprising nine science labs, over eighty classrooms, and other facilities such as a 700-seat auditorium and a 300-seat theaterette, a two block Hostel (NUS High School Residence), the campus can afford to accommodate a maximum of 1,250 students over six levels - more than double the current 500 over four levels.
The campus has many publicised facades like the DNA nucleotides, the Nano-Tube, Math Walk, the Periodic-Table, as well as two twelve-storey blocks of hostels with an observatory for astronomy on top. Other facilities include a field with a 400m running track, one basketball court, two tennis courts, a netball court, a school hall, environmental and eco-garden features, a long and airy concourse, and a library and canteen running alongside each other under the running track. The campus also has specialized art and music studios and CCA rooms, as well as facilities for the disabled. There is wireless internet and network access coverage throughout the campus. There is a fibre optic cable running from NUS to the school to link the school's network to NUS's network. Every student is assigned an individual network account to gain access to the school's or NUS network resources, such as the wireless network connection, eSpace, Email account, intranet, etc.
The school hopes the modern and open design of its building would help students pursue their interests and increase the school's "vibrancy" as a math and science hub in the region.
The campus is accessible via a slightly long walk from Mass Rapid Transit stations such as Clementi MRT Station or Dover MRT Station, or by SBS Transit bus services 33, 52, 96, 97, 151, 165, 166, 183, 196, 197, 198, or SMRT bus services 188 and 963.
[edit] School Logo
The logo is made up of a test tube, symbolising science, combined with the symbol for the unique number "pi", symbolising mathematics. A third element - the "sparkle" shows the dynamism of bringing the two disciplines together and the creativity that is to be found within the school. It is also representative of the six-faceted learning model that the school adopts.
The green colour symbolises growth and a nurturing environment, whilst the grey colour symbolises the solid base upon which the institution is built.
[edit] Curriculum
The curriculum of the NUS High School is built on a 2-2-2 structure, with the first two years being the Foundation Stage, the second two the Advancement Stage, and the final two the Specialization Stage. After each semester, students will be awarded a prelimenary Cumulative Average Point (CAP) score based on their semestral results, with a final CAP score calculated at the end of every stage.
The school offers a highly accelerated curriculum for math and science and a custom-made curriculum tailored for the school in the areas of the English language, humanities, and the arts. The school follows the Ministry of Education (MOE) mother tongue curriculum and taking a mother tongue is compulsory, although higher mother tongue students may be exempted from the mother tongue requirement from Year 5, and mother tongue students from Year 6. The NUS High School offers compulsory but non-intensive co-curricular activities, physical education lessons, and character education. Strong emphasis is also placed on project work, as the school now denotes the Friday of every week as no-class day to permit students to pursue research interests.
For able students, acceleration in mathematics and science is permitted - where students may skip a module of their level and take up a higher level module instead. However this option is not open for most of the school population - an average grade of A or A+ in previous core modules of that subject is a prerequisite before being allowed to take the acceleration test, and students must achieve a 90% grade in the test to be able to accelerate.
There are two kinds of core modules - compulsory and non-compulsory modules. Compulsory core modules include that of languages, math, science and Character Education. Non-compulsory core modules are that of the humanities and arts, however students must take up a certain number of them in order to fulfill the curriculum requirements. Elective and enrichment modules are optional modules - the former graded and the latter ungraded. These are to be taken whenever they satisfy a student's interest. However due to difficulties in timetable scheduling the school may not accommodate all students wishing to take optional modules.
Students entering at Year 3 will have to take compulsory bridging modules in biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics, and may have to do the same for those wishing to take geography or literature modules. Students whom have failed core modules will take a viva to determine whether they can proceed to the next level without rereading the module. However, some modules such as English do not have vivas and students whom have failed these modules will automatically have the repeat the module the following year.
Examples of the advanced curriculum include topics not usually covered in the mainstream curriculum for the students' respective years when they take them. These include such as quantum mechanical models of matter being introduced in Year 2, a five-hour per week calculus course held in Year 4, the introduction of genetics in Year 3 and the theory of evolution in Year 4. Examples of accelerated curriculum include sections on solutions of equations and coordinate geometry held in Year 1 and 2 respectively, rather than in Year 2 and 3 in other schools.
The NUS High School allocates different agendas for the curriculim for the English language than it is in the mainstream. Instead of drilling students on grammar, comprehension, and vocabulary or text analysis, which would be covered in literature, the curriculum teaches students practical skills such as reading, writing, and public speaking effectively.
Elective and enrichment modules are also offered - but are mostly of humanities and arts subjects. Examples of electives include: forensic science, offered in year 3; microbiology, offered in year 1; and animal behaviour, offered in year 4. More cultural courses including French and violin-playing as beginners are also offered. Electives may also vary per year as their availability depends on the specialities of the individual teachers available.
[edit] Uniform
There are two sets of standard uniform for the students: Formal and Casual. The formal uniform is worn on Wednesdays and other special school days where important guests are invited. It consists of a white fitted short-sleeved collared blouse and green-grey culottes for girls, and a white short-sleeved collared shirt with a breast-pocket and green-grey long pants for boys. All students are required to wear the school tie (green-grey in colour with a pattern featuring the school logo) on days requiring formal uniform until 1.00pm, when it can then be taken off. Boys are required to tuck in their shirts at all times.
The casual uniform consists of a white fitted polo tee and the same green-grey culottes for girls. Boys are required to wear a white polo tee, but they can choose between wearing the same green-grey long pants or green-grey bermudas. For casual uniform, the tees need not be tucked in for both boys and girls. Students are to wear casual uniform from Tuesday to Friday unless otherwise instructed.
On both uniforms, the school badge is to be pinned on the small rectangle area outlined in stitched thread at the left shoulder, at all times.
The girls' PE uniform is a green and yellow short-sleeved shirt or the new crew neck unisex T-shirt and green and grey shorts with curving edges, modelled on FBT shorts. The boys' PE uniform is a green and yellow sleeveless shirt or the new crew neck unisex T-shirt and green and grey shorts with straight edges. The round-necked shirts are made of dri-fit material so as to prevent it from sticking to the body due to perspiration. The school name is printed on the lower left corner of both shirts, while the school logo is printed on the middle of the back, on top of the new crew neck T-shirt. The logo is on the top part of the shorts, at the back, right above the buttocks.
Track shoes and canvas shoes of any colour are allowed on campus, and sandals may only be worn with a medical certificate stating the reasons why. Socks must be white in colour and at least two centimeters above the edge of the shoe. Hair accessories may be black, dark blue or white. Boys are required to keep their hair short and neat, and sideburns are not allowed. Girls with hair touching the collar and below must tie their hair up neatly. The fringe must not cover the eyes in any way. Jewellery is not allowed to be worn, except for small ear-studs or earsticks for girls. This ban on jewellery is extended to religious pendants of any kind.
[edit] Schedule
Flag raising begins at 7.45am, and classes begin at 8.00am. Classes may start at the beginning of every hour or half-hour. The last classes end at 6.00pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursday, and 11.30am on Wednesday. The earliest time students are allowed to leave school during regular school days is 1.00pm, if the student has no more classes on that day. Students are not allowed out of the school between classes, even if the breaks stretch up to three or four hours. On Fridays, students have co-curricular activities from 2.00pm - 4.00pm. Wednesday is partly a project work day, also known as a Less-On-Less Day (Lessonless), Year 1s will attend an Innovation program, Year 2s attend a Future Problem Solving program, Year 3s and 4s have to complete an Independent Research project by the end of the year. Year 5s have the choice of completing a Junior Science research, or a Senior Science research.
Classes spend two hours every week solely being mentored by their form teachers or mentors. Classes will change only once at the end of Year 2, and there will be no subject groups, although form teachers or mentors change regularly due to reshuffle of duties or the relatively quick turnover of teachers. There is also a regular talk per week in which the whole school gathers to listen to invited speakers or inhouse events.
Sometimes, students may find they have hours of free periods in a row, like having up to five free hours before having to attend a class late in the afternoon, or that many of their classes conflict. Some students can even face the exact opposite, having solid lessons from eight in the morning to six in the evening on most days of the week. The school has been experimenting with different approaches to the time-tabling issue but has not yet made a decision to keep to one.
[edit] School's Network
There is wireless internet and network access coverage throughout the campus. There is a fibre optic cable running from NUS to the school to link the school's network to NUS's network. Every student is assigned an individual network account to gain access to the school's or NUS network resources, such as the wireless network connection, eSpace, Email account, intranet, etc. Students in the school are issued with a student ID which also serves as the username for the school email address. The school, as an independent department of NUS, uses NUS email servers and network to give the students and teachers school email and network capabilities. The format of student IDs generally are: h (year of entry) (study Year at admission) (student number). For example, a Student ID with h0630092 indicates that the student entered the school in 2006, studied Year 3 at the year of admission, and is Student number 0092, which is derived from an alphabetical list of students.
[edit] Teachers
The mathematics department is staffed mainly by teachers formerly from other independent schools or junior colleges in Singapore. Science teachers are mostly fresh NUS research program graduates with others from IP (Integrated Programme) schools, mainstream schools or junior colleges. Humanities, Chinese language and physical education teachers come from mainstream schools while music and art teachers are mostly professionals in their own fields. The English department comprises teachers from junior colleges, mainstream schools and the media industry. At least half of the school's staff do not hail from the National Institute of Education, where most teachers in Singapore graduate from.
[edit] School's Population
The school also has a large Chinese majority with a significant Malay and Indian minority, reflective of the demographics of Singapore. The Primary School Leaving Examination scores of students admitted from primary school through the examination are mostly in the 250-270 range, with some having 270-285 while others dipping to about 235.[citation needed] There are also many foreign students mostly from Vietnam or China from Year 3 as the school hopes to have a 20% foreign enrollment. There are more boys than girls in the school; the ratio ranges from about 3:2 in Year 1 and 2, 2:1 in Year 3, 3:1 in Year 4, and roughly 1:1 in Year 5.
[edit] Mentor Groups
Mentor Groups in the past ("Classes") were not named conventionally by year number and alphabet, but were instead extremely taxonomic. All Mentor Groups (as they are called) begin with the prefix M-, followed by the current year (07), the level, and finally, the Mentor Group number (Year 1s have 7 mentor groups, Year 2s have 6 Mentor Groups, Year 3s have 8 Mentor Groups, Year 4s have 4 Mentor Groups and year 5s 5 mentor groups. Therefore a typical Mentor Group would be M07101 – Mentor Group 01 of Year 1 of 2007. This naming system has been criticised by some students of the school, confusion being their main concern. For example, Mentor Groups M05103 and M07302 would both be studying Year 3 in 2007. However a new system has been placed down in which all Mentor Groups will have new names according to the year. So even if you were in year 3 in 2006 and your Mentor Group was M0630x, when you move on to 2007, your Mentor Group will be now known as M0740x, just like any other school. Mentor Group sizes usually vary from 20-25 students. Students will usually have lessons as a Mentor Group only when having ACE programme, AXIS Research, Core Sciences/Mathematics/Languages Modules. Mentor Groups will remain the same for Year 1 and 2, where students will be reshuffled again into new Mentor Groups in Year 3 to blend the new Year 3s with existing students, where the Mentor Group will remain the same throughout.
[edit] Events
The school plans many events to foster a "school identity", which include house sporting events, annual level and leadership camps, celebrations of occasions such as youth or national day, and an orientation program for new students. These events are most often organized by the Student Councillors and Leaders - whose time is mostly taken up by these planning. Games in these emphasize teamwork and unity and may be regarded as clichéd by students.
[edit] Houses
There are four houses in the school, named after famous scientists and mathematicians:
[edit] Admissions
NUS High recruits students for Year One and Three. At each entry point, the school is planning to take in about 125 to 150 students (100 for Year Three). Year One students have to be taking or have completed primary six education in Singapore (or its equivalent). Applicants should not be older than 14 years of age at the point of application. Applicants for Year Three education must either be taking or have completed Secondary Two education in Singapore or its equivalent. The applicant should not be older than 16 years of age at the point of application. NUS High will also assess applicants based on the following set of indicators:
- Academic performance in school, particularly in (but not restricted to) the areas of Mathematics and Science
- Teachers' recommendations on learning aptitude and academic potential with supporting observation and analysis
- Performance in their Mathematics and Science selection tests
- Performance in activities during the Mathematics and Science Camp conducted by the School
- Results in the Primary School Leaving Examination (or its equivalent) (For Year 1 Phase 3 applicants only).
