Bedok South Secondary School held 3 online dialogue sessions on 27 and 28 November 2020.

Here are some of the frequently asked questions:

Admissions & Appeals

1) My child has missed the cut off by a few points for Bedok South Secondary based on 2019 data. What are his/her chances of being admitted to Bedok South Secondary School?

The Cut Off Point (COP) at Bedok South Secondary School (BDS) has been on an increasing trend. In 2019, the COP was 213 for Express, 159 for Normal (Academic) and 96 for Normal (Technical). We are not able to project the COP for 2020 because it is dependent on supply and demand, as well as MOEHQ’s processes.

However, if you find that BDS is a suitable school for your child, please feel free to put us as one of your choices.

2) How are appeals conducted at Bedok South Secondary?

It is important to keep the following in mind if you wish to submit an appeal:

- Your child’s PSLE aggregate should meet the school’s cut off point of the posting year.

- The school must have available vacancies.

The Sec 1 appeal form will made available be on the school website on 22 December 2020 and all appeals should be submitted online with the necessary documents attached.

Shortlisted applicants will be called for an interview by 30 December 2020.

For more information about appeals, please refer to this MOE webpage.

https://beta.moe.gov.sg/secondary/s1-posting/results/appeal-for-school-transfer/

Please refer to the school website again for a more updated timeline.

The timeline will be subjected to the release of the S1 Posting Results.

Academic Related

3) How do Bedok South Secondary School students perform academically in terms of eligibility for tertiary education institutions?

For the 2019 cohort, over half and 90% of Sec 4 Express students were eligible for Junior College and Polytechnic respectively. Approximately 10% and over 60% of Sec 5 Normal (Academic) students were eligible for Junior College and Polytechnic respectively.

Many of our students apply for the Early Admissions Exercise (EAE) in polytechnics, which is targeted at candidates who have strong aptitude and interest in a field related to the diploma course they are applying for. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed by the respective Polytechnics, and are granted a conditional offer if they clear the interview. Students will need to obtain a net ELR2B2 score of 26 points or better for the GCE ‘O’-Level examinations and meet the minimum entry requirements for the polytechnic course they have been offered under Poly EAE in order to enrol in the desired Polytechnic course.

4) How does the school address the needs of students who require academic support?

The school focuses on differentiated instruction, and teaching and learning in the classroom to ensure that students understand what is taught and teachers are able to check students’ understanding of lessons. Relevant changes are made to subsequent lessons based on this to ensure that students are able to keep to the pace of lessons.

For students who require more assistance, they can go on the Student Learning Space (SLS) to supplement their learning with self-paced revision of specific topics, or consult their teachers.

We encourage lower secondary students to approach their teachers for clarification on specific topics. These consultation sessions will come in useful for coaching and remediation purposes for the targeted group of students.

For upper secondary classes, especially graduating classes, the school holds structured supplementary lessons to provide them with more support leading up to the national exams.

Sec 1 Intake

5) What is the student intake for Sec 1?

For 2021, we are projecting an intake equivalent to four Express, two Normal (Academic) and one Normal (Technical) Secondary 1 classes. Students will be allocated to their classes in mixed ability grouping (by stream), taking into account the need to ensure sufficient diversity (e.g. in terms of gender) in each class.

6) What is the class size in Bedok South Secondary School?

On average, we have around 35 to 40 students in a class.

Subject Based Banding & Lateral Transfer

7) How do we apply for Subject Based Banding (SBB)?

On the day of Sec 1 registration, a letter of offer will be issued to eligible students through Parents Gateway or email. We would require the parent/guardian’s consent for the child to offer subject(s) at a more demanding level. Please refer to the details in the Parents Gateway announcement/email that will be sent during the Sec 1 registration period in late December.

If your child misses out on SBB at the start of the year, there are also possibilities of Mid-Year and End-of-Year inserts. We will assess students’ suitability based on their Weight Assessment (WA) scores and aptitude. Students must score a minimum of 75% for the subject(s) they intend to offer at the more demanding level and a minimum of 60% on average for all subjects.

Currently, the school offers SBB for English, Mother Tongue Languages, Mathematics and Science.

8) Is it possible for my child to be laterally transferred to a more demanding course (e.g. N(T) to N(A) and N(A) to Exp) at the end of Sec 1?

Yes. In Bedok South Secondary School, we encourage our students to take up such opportunities if they demonstrate the aptitude and willingness to do so.

The student must have scored a minimum of 70% on average for all subjects in order to be eligible for lateral transfer, as he/she will then be deemed able to cope with the demands of the other stream (N(A) for N(T) students, or Express for N(A) students).

Sec 3 Subject Combination

9) What are the subject combinations at Sec 3?

Bedok South Secondary School offers a range of subjects from Pure Sciences to Coursework, for diverse interests and aptitudes. While actual numbers vary year to year, we aim to meet the students’ interests and aspirations.

Whatever combinations they take at Sec 3 will enable our students to pursue a wide range of options when they move on to Junior College/ Polytechnic/ Institute of Technical Education.

10) Does the school offer Pure History/ Literature/ Geography every year?

Yes, Pure History/ Geography/ Literature is an option for our students.

Culture of Care & Holistic Development

11) How does the school develop a nurturing / caring environment for students?

To build a culture of care, we pay great attention to fostering teacher-student relationships through Teacher-Pupil Interviews (TPI). Time is scheduled for Form Teachers (FTs) to conduct TPI during FT time. The Year Heads (YHs) monitor the TPI every term and ensure that there is appropriate follow-up on cases surfaced by FTs. Appropriate support will be given where required, such as counselling, financial assistance and/or referral to social service agencies.

On top of that, we frequently hold Focus Group Discussions (FGD) with students to give them opportunity to raise their concerns directly to the YHs and/or School Leaders. We also conduct an annual survey with our students to gather their views on school processes.

12) How does the school ensure holistic development of students?

To ensure the holistic development of students in the school, we adopt a values-based curriculum with an emphasis on active student learning to complement the curriculum in the areas of (a) Co-Curricular Activities (CCA), (b) student leadership and (c) Values-In-Action (VIA).

To help our students develop and flourish, we expose our students to the following five domains through their various learning experiences: the cognitive, social, emotional & moral, aesthetics, physical & health, as well as service & leadership domains.

We also take reference from the Positive Education model by designing platforms that support students’ positive emotions, positive engagement, positive accomplishment, positive purpose, positive relationships, and positive health. These are underpinned by a focus on character strengths.

Character Development

13) What is the leadership development model in the school?

There are various leadership opportunities at class, CCA and school levels. We have a tiered leadership model for our Student Leaders, where each tier is mapped to a corresponding level in LEAPS 2.0.

In our annual feedback survey with students, the vast majority of them affirm the school’s approach to leadership development by indicating that they have been given opportunities to develop leadership skills in the school.

14) What is the school’s approach to discipline?

At Bedok South Secondary School, we believe that every student is able to learn from his/her mistakes and with guidance, is able to make good decisions.

Our Student Management Committee adopts a multi-tiered approach in line with the Positive Behavioural Interventions and Supports (PBIS) model, whereby we aim to focus on the prevention of problem areas before they emerge. The purpose of PBIS is to increase the opportunity for learning by reinforcing and rewarding positive and appropriate behaviours, hence keeping the learning environment safe and conducive at all times.

15) What is the school’s stand on bullying?

Our school has zero tolerance towards bullying, including cyberbullying. Necessary actions will be taken by the FTs or Key Personnel once the matter is reported.

Should there be a need for further intervention, the Senior Student Counsellor and/ or external agencies may be involved in the process of mediation, counselling or other additional support.

Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs)

16) What is the range of CCAs offered at the school? Are there selection processes?

CCA is compulsory and is an important aspect of the total curriculum in secondary school life. Every student must have at least one CCA.

Bedok South has a wide range of 17 CCAs from four groups, namely Uniformed Groups, Sports, Performing Arts and Clubs & Societies. For more information, visit the CCA section of our school website and BDS eOpen House website.

Our CCAs are held mostly on Wednesdays and Fridays, but some CCAs may have additional sessions closer to competition dates, major performances and external activities. CCAs normally end by 6 p.m.

Secondary 1 students indicate their top 3 choices for CCAs and rank their choices in order of preference. About 85% of students will get one of their three choices of CCA.

Each CCA has a group-size limit to ensure that every student will be able to benefit from the resources that are available. If a CCA is over-subscribed, selections will be done, e.g. some CCAs may require students to demonstrate interest and/or aptitude through interviews or trials.

17) Can a student have two CCAs?

Yes, a student can be recognised for participating in two CCAs.

Students are also allowed to take part in external CCAs such as sports programmes and swimming, and the school will support them administratively. However, students must still have an official CCA in the school so that they will have opportunities to interact with others outside of a classroom setting.

18) Can a student switch CCA?

Switching of CCA is not encouraged but is possible. Students will need to fill up a form to request for the switch with valid reasons. While there are no demerits for leaving a CCA, merit (through LEAPS 2.0) is given to students who stay in the same CCA throughout their secondary school journey.

19) I would like to find out more about a certain CCA in Bedok South Secondary School.

Please refer to the CCA section of our school website and BDS eOpen House website.

Administrative Matters

20) What are the school hours? Is there a day for students to report later?

Students must report to school by 0725hr on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and 0825hr on Thursday.

The ending time for classes vary from 1335hr to 1500hr, depending on their time table and class combinations.

Please take note that school might end later for certain students due to other school programmes and Co-Curricular activities (CCAs). School closes at 1800hrs daily.

21) Is there a direct bus to Bedok South Secondary School from Tanah Merah MRT?

Bedok South Secondary School is within walking distance from Tanah Merah MRT station.

Students may also choose to take bus service numbers 14 and 45 from Tanah Merah MRT station to the school (one stop away). These buses stop directly opposite our school side gate.

Special Educational Needs (SEN)

22) What is the school’s approach to Special Educational Needs (SEN) and students with Learning Needs?

We adopt a whole school approach towards Special Educational Needs (SEN) support. Our teachers regularly upskill themselves to cater to students with SEN through professional development.

The school also has intervention support for students with special and learning needs. Year Heads work closely with Form Teachers and subject teachers to discuss support measures that may need to be put in place for children with higher needs.

We currently also have two Allied Educators for Learning & Behavioural Support (AED(LBS)) who partner teachers, parents and external professionals in providing intervention support for our students with SEN. During the students' free periods or after school, our AED(LBS) meet with them to work on specific needs these students may have, such as social skills or organization skills. Our AED(LBS) are sited in a dedicated intervention room in school that is designed to facilitate a smoother delivery of group and individualised interventions and consultations.

Physical Environment

23) Is there vegetarian food in the school canteen?

We do not have dedicated vegetarian stalls. However, our canteen stalls prepare vegetarian options for staff and students who are vegetarians.

24) Is the food in the school healthy?

The stall holders in the Bedok South Secondary School canteen go through training to cook healthy food for our students. They follow the Health Promotion Board guidelines strictly.

25) Will there be major renovations happening in the next 5 years?

There are currently no plans for any major renovations in the next 5 years but there will be scheduled minor repainting and repair works done. This will generally only be done during the school holidays.

26) Are classrooms well-ventilated?

All of our classrooms are well-ventilated, with open windows and natural light. Only special rooms, such as the library (Oasis@BDS), computer laboratories and selected study areas are air-conditioned.

For more detailed information about the school, please feel free to visit the rest of the BDS eOpen House 2020 website.