"I preferred the slower pace of lessons in the Normal course, but also wanted to stretch myself in subjects I was strong in," said Jonas, now 15.for the Secondary 1 cohort and decided to apply to the school.Under full SBB, students from the Express, Normal and Normal streams are placed in the same mixed form class and take six non-academic subjects together. Known as common curriculum subjects, they include art, physical education, and food and consumer education.
"I'm very interested in geography, so I felt really happy to take it at a more demanding level," said Jonas, who is now in Sec 3."Now that he knows he has his strengths, he is motivated. Interacting with students who are better also helps to motivate him. The environment helped to build his confidence," she said."Some of the students from the Normal stream are very hardworking and focused.
He also felt that certain kinds of behaviour seemed to be tolerated as students from the Normal stream were perceived to act in a certain manner. Compounding this was the fact that the school had decided to give each child a personalised timetable"so that it is not so obvious which stream they came from", said Mrs Selva."It was a lot of work, with different timetables for different combinations. It was tedious, but we did it," she said.
She eventually realised it was not that difficult to make friends from different streams as they attended classes such as art, design and technology, and food and consumer education together. "I like having friends from different streams. If I don't know anything, they can teach me," she added. "I'm quite shy and will try to stick to my circle of friends. During recess now, students from different streams sit together. It wouldn't have been possible for me without full SBB," he said.A classmate once drew a lifelike dish of chicken rice and sugar cane drink, and he asked her for tips on using different colours and techniques.
The same goes for English language teacher Chandrima Roy, who has come up with multiple ways for students to present their learning. "They have become more appreciative of the diversity in the classroom. They can accept the fact that someone might be different." "Structures drive behaviour. Now, with no more streams per se, students look at one another as individuals and enjoy being with one another because of common shared interests, instead of being bound by academic ability," he said.