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30 April 2007

Programme for School-Based Excellence for Primary Schools and Niche Programme for Secondary Schools 2007

1         Thirteen primary schools have been awarded the Programme for School-Based Excellence for 2007. In addition, the 24 schools which received the award in 2005 and 2006 had their awards renewed this year.

2         Nine secondary schools have been recognised as Niche Programme Schools for 2007, in addition to the 12 schools that were recognised in 2005 and 2006.

3         On 30 April 2007, at a visit to Yuhua Secondary School, a 2007 Niche Programme School recipient, RAdm (NS) Lui Tuck Yew, Minister of State for Education announced the recipients of both awards for 2007.

Programme for School-Based Excellence for Primay Schools 2007

4         The following are the 13 primary schools that are awarded the Programme for School-Based Excellence in 2007. Their niches are indicated as follows:

Niche Programme Schools for Secondary Schools 2007

5         The following 9 secondary schools are recognised as Niche Programme Schools for 2007. Their niches are indicated as follows:

School Visit to Yuhua Secondary

6         Yuhua Secondary School is well-established in Concert Band, both locally and overseas. It has received 6 consecutive gold medals at the Singapore Youth Festival competitions, and was also awarded the first prize in the First Asian Symphonic Band Competition in Bangkok, Thailand. In addition, it had numerous overseas exchanges and joint concerts with overseas schools like Nakamura-Gakuen High School, Japan.

Background

7         To develop more peaks of excellence in our education landscape, MOE launched the Programme for School-Based Excellence and Niche Programme Schools in 2005 to encourage greater diversity in our primary school and secondary school landscapes respectively.

Programme for School-Based Excellence

8         The Programme for School-Based Excellence helps to develop strong primary schools with distinctive character to give more opportunities for our students to develop different areas of excellence. Successful applicant schools would receive MOE funding so as to further raise the quality and outreach of their school-based programmes/initiatives.

9         Applications for the award were evaluated based on the strength of niche, sustainability, strength of the educational value of the programme, and involvement of stakeholders in the programme.

Niche Programme Schools

10         To be recognised as Niche Programme Schools, secondary schools must have good talent development programmes and a track record of achievements in their declared niches. They are supported with MOE funding, and they can admit up to 5% of their Secondary One intake on a discretionary basis through the Direct School Admission exercise, for the purpose of developing talents and building up their niche programmes.

11         Applications for the award were evaluated based on the strength of niche, sustainability and how Direct School Admission can support the development of the niche excellence in the schools.

Annex - Names of primary schools which had their programme for school-based excellence status renewed this year and secondary schools that were recognised as niche programme schools in 2005 and 2006.