The Programme for Active Learning (PAL), currently being prototyped in 12 PAL Phase 1 partner schools, will be implemented in another 24 primary schools in Phase 2 next year. It will then be progressively rolled out to all primary schools in tandem with the implementation of single session primary schools. (The list of Phase 1 and 2 schools is attached at Annex A.)

As part of the Primary Education Review and Implementation (PERI) recommendations accepted by MOE in 2009, PAL was introduced to strengthen the emphasis on non-academic programmes for Primary 1 and 2 pupils. This is in line with a key desired outcome of PERI recommendations to balance the acquisition of knowledge with the development of skills and values. This is to prepare our children for a more dynamic future. Conducted within curriculum time, PAL modules provide pupils with broad exposure in two areas — Sports and Outdoor Education, and Performing and Visual Arts. It aims to facilitate the well-rounded development of pupils in the five learning domains (cognitive, moral, social, aesthetics and physical) and help pupils to develop social emotional competencies.

PAL modules are experiential in nature and incorporate learning in a creative, fun, and enjoyable way. Schools have the flexibility to select PAL activities to cater to the needs and interests of their pupils. Each PAL module will be conducted for at least 2 hours a week with each module lasting between 7 to 10 weeks. At the end of Primary 2, all pupils would have been exposed to at least 6 different modules, from the two areas of Sports and Outdoor Education, and Performing and Visual Arts.

The 12 PAL partner schools in Phase 1 have gained valuable experience managing resources and experimenting with different PAL modules. Some modular activities offered by these schools in the area of Performing Arts include singing and ethnic dance. In the area of Sports and Outdoor Education, modules offered include gymnastics and creative movements. Teachers and students of these 12 schools have seen positive changes since the implementation of PAL. These include pupils becoming more confident and vocal in class, exhibiting more leadership qualities and learning to be more mindful of the needs of classmates.

Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education, Ms Grace Fu shared, “The PERI recommendations aim to equip our children with skills and values, so that they grow up to be confident team players and independent learners. PAL is a key initiative introduced to achieve this, and I am heartened by the positive feedback received. MOE will facilitate the implementation of PAL in all primary schools to expose our young students to a broad range of non-academic activities to achieve a holistic education.”

Four exemplary teachers received the 2010 President’s Award for Teachers from President S.R. Nathan at the Istana during the Teachers’ Day reception on Wednesday, 1 September 2010. They are:

• Mdm Emelyn Soon Bee Hong, CHIJ Kellock;
• Mr Devindra Sapai s/o Indrasapai, Seng Kang Primary School;
• Miss Teh Wan, Townsville Primary School, and;
• Mrs Mohana Eswaran, Regent Secondary School

More information on the award recipients is in Annex A.

The annual President’s Award for Teachers recognises the commitment of teachers towards the total development of students and to nation-building. This year’s recipients are inspiring teachers who have demonstrated passion, innovation and dedication in teaching. From developing students into civic-minded citizens and going beyond the call of duty, to affirming and motivating students to achieve exceptional success, these teachers played multiple roles of educating, leading, caring and inspiring to prepare their students for the future.

More than 9,700 nominations for the Award were received from principals, teachers, students, parents and former students, a record high since the Award was introduced in 1998. The nominees included 2,601 teachers from 246 schools. A Selection Panel, chaired by Mrs Josephine Teo, Chairperson for the Government Parliamentary Committee for Education, and comprising prominent members of the community and senior officers from the Ministry of Education, selected the four recipients. The members of the selection panel are listed in Annex B.

More progression pathways will be added to the secondary education system to cater to students with different learning needs and interests. These include new progression choices for Normal (Academic) students, two specialised schools for Normal (Technical) students, and an extension of the Integrated Programme (IP) to more schools. Elaborating on these initiatives today, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen, explained that the new avenues further enhance the secondary education landscape. They facilitate the progression of students and enable them to achieve their potential.

(I) New Through-Train Pathways for Normal (Academic) Students

The majority of Normal (Academic) [N(A)] students1 progress to the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) or the polytechnics. To provide more progression pathways for N(A) students, MOE will expand progression to the polytechnics through two new “through-train” pathways for students who do well in their Singapore-Cambridge GCE N-level examinations: (i) a new one-year polytechnic Foundation Programme (FP) and (ii) a two-year Higher Nitec pathway. The latter builds on the existing ITE Direct Entry Scheme (DES). These new pathways will cater to about 30% of each Secondary 4 N(A) cohort.

(A) One-year Polytechnic Foundation Programme

Students who have performed very well in the Singapore-Cambridge GCE N-level examinations (expected to be among the top 10% of the Secondary 4 N(A) cohort)2 will have a new option of completing a one-year Foundation Programme (FP) at the polytechnics, instead of taking their O-Levels in Secondary 5. The FPwill offer a practice-oriented curriculum taught by polytechnic faculty, using applied teaching methods. This will better prepare polytechnic-bound N(A) students for entry into relevant diploma courses.

For the first phase beginning in 2013, polytechnics will offer a total of about 1,000 FPplaces that would articulate into a range of diploma courses. Students will gain admission into specific diploma courses upon entry to the FPand continue on to these diplomas if they complete their FPs satisfactorily. The FPcould be expanded over time to cover more diploma programmes and offer more places.

(B) Progression via Higher Nitec

A second option for students who have performed well in the N-level examinations and can benefit from a more hands-on and experiential preparation at the ITE is to take up a Higher Nitec programme at the ITE and subsequently be assured of either a first- or second-year place in a related polytechnic course, provided they achieve the qualifying GPA scores in their Higher Nitec programme.

This new option builds on the ITE Direct Entry Scheme (DES) which was introduced in 2008 as a pathway for students who do well in their N-Levels to progress to ITE, instead of taking their O-Levels in Secondary 5. Eligible3 Secondary 4 N(A) students enrol in ITE in January after the N-Levels. They take a 10-week preparatory course before joining the O-Level intake in Higher Nitec courses in April. The first batch of 377 DES students in 2008 has done well, performing on par with O-Level Higher Nitec students.

The new option will be available to students admitted to the ITE DES, who meet eligibility criteria, from 2013. When ITE College Central opens in 2013, MOE will also double the number of places for the DES to 1,000. The new option is expected to cater to the next 20% of Secondary 4 N(A) students after the FP.

A diagram summarising the current and new pathways for N(A) students is at Annex A (64kb .pdf).

(II) New Specialised Schools for Normal (Technical) Students

Normal (Technical) [(N(T)] students form about 13% of each cohort. Over the years, MOE has made several enhancements to the N(T) course. These include revisions to the N(T) curriculum to focus more on practice-oriented learning; the introduction of Elective Modules to develop students’ interests and strengths in various areas; and the designation of three secondary schools as N(T) Mark II schools offering new specialised subjects developed in partnership with the ITE. These enhancements have resulted in improved student learning experience and engagement.

Building on these enhancements and lessons drawn from the setting up of Northlight School and Assumption Pathway School, MOE will set up two new specialised secondary schools as an additional option for N(T) students. A whole-school approach will further enhance the quality of their learning experience. The new schools will admit students from 2013.

The specialised secondary schools will offer a four-year customised programme that will prepare students for subsequent studies in ITE or employment. In addition to the N(T) subjects, students will also be able to offer industry-focused modules in a range of areas, developed in conjunction with ITE and the industry. The schools will adopt a strong focus on interactive, practice-oriented and ICT-enabled teaching methods. To ensure a holistic education experience, there will be integrated modules on Aesthetics and Physical Education throughout their four years of learning. There will also be special programmes to address their socio-emotional needs, personal development, and the learning of life skills. To better support the teaching of industry-focused modules that entail the handling of equipment, the new schools will have a higher teacher-to-student ratio.

The schools will work in close partnership with ITE and industry partners to develop their curriculum and programmes, and to provide opportunities for attachments and internships for their upper secondary students.

The new schools will be led by experienced principals with the passion to work with the N(T) students. The schools will have a good mix of MOE teachers, seconded ITE lecturers and individuals with relevant industry experience.

(III) Expansion of the Integrated Programme

The Integrated Programme (IP) was introduced to provide clearly university-bound students with a broader educational experience. The initial batches of IP4 graduates have performed well. The feedback from IP students is that they enjoy the learning environment which has allowed them to stretch their intellectual potential, while equipping them for self-directed learning. MOE will expand the IP so that more university-bound students will benefit from an enriched educational experience.

MOE will expand the Integrated Programme to seven more secondary schools, namely, Victoria School, Cedar Girls’ Secondary School, Methodist Girls’ School, Catholic High School, CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School, Singapore Chinese Girls’ School, and St. Joseph’s Institution. These new IP schools will offer both IP and O-Level tracks, so that late-bloomers or those who find themselves better suited for the O-Level track can make lateral transfers. Temasek Junior College will also extend its four-year IP to a six-year programme beginning in Secondary 1. The expansion of the IP landscape, which will take effect from 2012 onwards, will allow our top talent to be nurtured in a more diverse group of schools.

Victoria School and Cedar Girls’ Secondary School will partner Victoria Junior College, and Methodist Girls’ School will partner Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) to offer the IP. St. Joseph’s Institution will expand to offer a six-year programme leading to the International Baccalaureate.

IP students from Catholic High School, CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School and Singapore Chinese Girls’ School will progress to a new Government junior college to be set up by 2017. Details on the new junior college will be provided later.

Students who wish to join the IP after some time in their secondary schools can also apply to these new IP schools at Secondary 3. There will continue to be sufficient access for non-IP students to enter the various junior colleges that will have IP student intakes.

The details on the IP in the various schools are in Annex B (48kb .pdf).

Footnotes:

1. N(A) students form about 30% of each cohort. ↩
2. After the GCE N-levels, students will be informed of whether they are eligible for the FP based on their N-level results. ↩
3. EL-Maths-B3 ≤ 19 (EL-Maths-B3 refers to the aggregate score of English Language, Mathematics and best 3 subjects at the N-Level examinations) ↩
4. The IP was one of the key recommendations of the Junior College/Upper Secondary Education Review Committee (2002). It allows secondary students to proceed to Junior College without taking the ‘O’ levels, so that they can use the time freed up to engage in broader learning experiences. ↩

To support holistic education and the use of engaging teaching methods in schools, MOE will provide all primary schools with additional facilities. MOE will also accelerate the roll-out of the Indoor Sports Halls (ISH) and scale up the implementation of the synthetic turf programme in schools. Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen, who announced these today, explained that these facilities are critical in enabling schools to deliver quality programmes to their students.

New Design Norms for Primary Schools

MOE will provide all primary schools with additional facilities that facilitate engaged learning in academic and non-academic areas. For academic programmes which support co-operative, independent and differentiated learning, facilities such as the Redesigned Classroom, Subject Based Banding Room and Learning Support Rooms will be provided.

The classroom lies at the heart of the formal curriculum in schools. It is the key space where collaborative learning and independent learning takes place. Classrooms will be redesigned and equipped with a rich array of learning resources and different learning centres to support a range of learning approaches.

Additional rooms will be provided to cater to more customised teaching for students with different needs. These include a Subject Based Banding (SBB) Room, to meet the needs of groups of students offering different subject combinations under SBB, and Learning Support Rooms, to help build pupils’ foundational literacy and numeracy skills. New outdoor learning spaces will also allow for hands-on experiences which are crucial in enabling the younger primary students to better understand concepts through self-discovery and physical activity.

For non-academic programmes which develop life skills, promote socio-emotional development and nurture confidence, facilities such as the Band Room, Dance Studio, Performing Arts Studio, outdoor running track and the Student Care Centre will be provided. These new facilities will encourage greater interaction and self-discovery, and facilitate experiential and hands-on learning. They will also support the implementation of the Programme for Active Learning (PAL)1, where schools will conduct modules in Sports and Outdoor Education, and Performing and Visual Arts. Please see Annex A (56kb .pdf) for further details on the facilities.

Presently, there are six schools which are piloting the use of redesigned classrooms and performing arts facilities. MOE will refine the designs based on their feedback before extending the facilities to the other primary schools.

The implementation of the enhanced facilities will be phased in as far as possible with the existing infrastructural programmes such as the provision of ISH to schools in order to minimise disruptions to the schools. MOE targets to complete the rollout to all primary schools by 2016.

Accelerated Roll-out of Indoor Sports Halls

The ISH is an all-weather sports hall that can accommodate a basketball court superimposed with four badminton courts, a volleyball court and a netball court. Currently, 97 schools have already been provided with the ISH and another 13 ISHs are expected to be completed by the end of this year. MOE will accelerate the roll-out of ISHs and target to complete the roll-out to the remaining schools over the next 6 to 7 years.

The ISH provides schools with greater flexibility to schedule Physical Education (PE) lessons. With an ISH, schools can conduct PE or co-curricular programmes throughout the day regardless of the weather. Students will benefit from more opportunities to take part in mass sports activities, and/or train in various competitive sports.

The community living near the schools will also benefit from the ISHs, which will be open for use by the public and the community, under a scheme operated in collaboration with the Singapore Sports Council.

Scaling Up Synthetic Turf Programme

In 2006, MOE announced the implementation of synthetic turf fields for schools with high field usage. To date, 37 schools have already been provided with synthetic turf fields. These schools have given positive feedback that synthetic turf fields are superior to natural turf fields in terms of performance, availability and maintainability. For example, the synthetic turf fields dry faster than natural turf fields after rain. Students have more opportunities to make use of the field for sports and games, which are integral to the holistic and well-rounded education that our schools provide. The life-cycle cost of synthetic turf is also now more competitive than natural turf.

Given the positive feedback from the pilot schools and the cost effectiveness of synthetic turf fields, MOE plans to offer synthetic turf fields to all schools that need it. The roll-out will be in phases with the installation of synthetic turf fields scheduled to start in another 30 schools later this year.

Footnote:

1. PAL, announced in April 2009, is one of the recommendations of the Primary Education Review and Implementation (PERI) Committee to enhance the quality of primary education. PAL aims to develop character and useful life-skills by providing Primary 1 and 2 pupils with early exposure to modular activities in Sports and Outdoor Education, and Performing and Visual Arts. ↩

To strengthen alumni ties and community support for tertiary education, the Government will provide funding to help our tertiary institutions to build up their endowments.

Enhanced Matching Grants for Endowed Donations to Universities

The Government will invest about $4 billion over the next 20 years to provide matching grants for the donations that the universities raise, of which $2 billion will be set aside in a Singapore Universities Trust, so that matching grants can be provided regardless of economic circumstances.

Currently, donations raised by the universities are matched dollar-for-dollar (1:1). The Government will enhance the matching of endowed donations for the universities, and provide 1.5:1 matching for all universities for up to 20 years. For the new institutions, viz. Singapore University of Technology and Design and the new medical school established at Nanyang Technological University, the Government will provide 3:1 matching for up to the first 10 years, and 1.5:1 thereafter.

Non-endowed donations raised by the universities will continue to be matched at 1:1.

Extension of Matching Grants to ITE, Polytechnics, SIT

The Government will also extend the provision of matching grants to help build up the endowments of the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), polytechnics and Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT). This will provide for more financial assistance, scholarships, and enrichment programmes for students.

Similar to the universities, endowed donations raised by these institutions will be matched at 1.5:1 for up to 20 years, while non-endowed donations will be matched at 1:1.

The provision of enhanced matching grants for endowed donations to the universities, as well as the extension of matching grants to ITE, polytechnics and ITE, will take effect for donations received by the institutions from 1 September 2010.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) will be providing funding for places in new high-quality degree programmes that the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) and Lasalle College of the Arts (Lasalle) will offer in partnership with reputable overseas universities. Based on likely market demand and to ensure quality of the graduates, MOE will fund up to 300 to 400 places across the two Arts Institutions per year. The degrees will be conferred by the overseas university partners.

Since 1999, MOE has funded places in diploma programmes in NAFA and Lasalle. These institutions provide a steady pipeline of skilled manpower for our burgeoning Creative Industries.

Opportunities in the Creative Industries will continue to grow over the next few years: the two integrated resorts, the new National Art Gallery, our film and animation clusters will generate more jobs. MOE’s plans to enhance the delivery of Art and Music related curriculum in schools will also require more Art and Music teachers. To meet the demand, we will need to train a pool of quality graduates in the arts, design and media fields.

NAFA and Lasalle have been invited to submit proposals to MOE on the new degree programmes and partners. In evaluating the proposals, MOE will consider the reputation of the overseas universities, the quality and rigour of their programmes, the alignment of the programme with the needs of the economy, and the standing of the universities’ graduates among employers. Potential students are expected to meet stringent entry requirements set by NAFA or Lasalle and its overseas university partner(s).

NAFA views this initiative as a positive step in the development of arts education in Singapore. Mr Choo Thiam Siew, President of NAFA, says, “This is timely and welcomed by NAFA as there is a steady increase in the demand by our Creative Industries for high-quality degree-level arts education that is conducted in Singapore. When fully implemented, this allows both fresh Diploma graduands and those who have already joined the workforce to upgrade their skills and knowledge and better serve the needs of the rapidly growing sector in Singapore and the region. NAFA is greatly encouraged by the opportunity to further promote quality arts education in Singapore.”

Lasalle also welcomes this move. Prof Alastair Pearce, President of Lasalle, says, “Arts degree programmes are indeed beneficial to raise the professional quality available in the Creative Arts. I am sure that they will be warmly welcomed by arts students who have the desire and ability to pursue higher-level studies in their specialised fields and broaden their creative experience. Lasalle is committed to finding a world-class foreign university partner who would work with us to deliver this new, high-quality degree programme in Singapore.”

Building up a pool of degree-level talent in these fields will fuel the growth of new economic activities in Singapore, and provide new opportunities and pathways for young Singaporeans with the passion in the arts, design and media fields.

To meet Singapore’s growing healthcare needs, a new medical school will be established at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), in partnership with Imperial College London. The new medical school will admit its first intake of 50 students in Academic Year 2013. This was revealed today by Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence, as he elaborated on the important role that the School would play in Singapore’s medical education landscape.

Healthcare demands in Singapore are expected to increase with a growing and ageing population. The new medical school will augment healthcare manpower needs by producing top-quality doctors and medical leaders who are attuned to the needs of patients and Singapore. It will also introduce innovations to medical education in Singapore and provide more opportunities for Singaporeans to pursue a high-quality medical degree.

The new medical school, an autonomous school of NTU which will be jointly managed by NTU and Imperial College London, will see Imperial developing and delivering a course overseas for the first time. On the partnership, the Rector of Imperial College London, Sir Keith O’Nions, said, “We are extremely proud to be working with Singapore, a country we have long admired for its support and application of world class science, engineering and medicine. Our newest partnership with NTU is extremely exciting and we are delighted to be joining forces with an institution that embodies many of our own aspirations, to develop a new generation of Singaporean doctors.

“The partnership gives us the chance to work with Singapore’s talented students and also provides a rare opportunity to pioneer a new medical curriculum. Singapore’s healthcare system will face a range of challenges in the future and we aim to equip our students with the skills they will need to tackle them. I hope that this agreement will open the door to a range of collaborations across our disciplines.”

President of NTU, Dr Su Guaning, said, “Partnering Imperial College London, one of the top five universities in the world, our medical school offers a new curriculum that features the strength of Imperial College’s world-leading medical expertise with NTU’s core strengths in engineering and business. It will also offer young students the opportunity to get a joint Imperial-NTU medical degree here in Singapore. This new medical school, which will have the National Healthcare Group as its main clinical partner, will start out not just training the best clinicians but also make a deep impact on the innovation of medical devices and the healthcare system as a whole.”

Key Features of the New Medical School

The new medical school will be positioned to meet the healthcare demands and needs of the future. Building on NTU’s and Imperial’s strengths in Science and Technology (S&T), it will tap on the increasing interface between medicine and S&T to advance healthcare delivery and practice, and further transform the way medicine is taught in Singapore.

The new medical school will offer a five-year undergraduate medical degree jointly awarded by NTU and Imperial. At steady state, the School is envisaged to admit 150 students per year.

The founding Dean of the new medical school will be Professor Stephen Smith FMedSci, Principal of Imperial’s Faculty of Medicine and Chief Executive of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Professor Martyn Partridge, who holds Imperial’s Chair in Respiratory Medicine, will be Senior Vice Dean and will work full-time on the project in both London and Singapore. (Please refer to the Annex (272kb .pdf) for their biodata.) An experienced team of Imperial professors will lead the curriculum development at the new medical school, together with NTU faculty. The curriculum will infuse the key elements of Imperial’s educational model and adapt these for the local healthcare context. Imperial will also be actively involved in the establishment and running of the School. Imperial senior faculty will form part of the core faculty of the new medical school, and students in the School will benefit from being taught by and interacting with top Imperial faculty.

As clinical training is an important component of a medical curriculum, the new medical school will work with healthcare institutions across Singapore’s healthcare system to provide students with a strong foundation in clinical training across multiple healthcare settings. The new medical school’s primary clinical training partner will be the National Healthcare Group (NHG). The NHG is a leader in public healthcare in Singapore, recognised at home and abroad for the quality of its medical expertise and facilities. With its integrated network of primary healthcare polyclinics, acute care hospitals, and national specialty centres, the NHG will provide good clinical training support to the new medical school. It will offer students access to a wide range of services and patients, as well as opportunities to accumulate experience in treating a variety of diseases during their training.

The new medical school will have its own governing board with representatives from Imperial College, NTU and other stakeholders such as the MOE, Ministry of Health and NHG. The partnership agreement between Imperial and NTU covers an initial term of 18 years.

Imperial College London as Partner

Imperial College London was ranked fifth in the 2009 Times Higher Education (THES) overall rankings and is renowned internationally for its excellent teaching and research quality in S&T. Established in 1997, Imperial’s Faculty of Medicine is one of the largest medical schools in the UK and Europe. It is known for its rigorous and innovative medical programme, as well as its ability to reap synergies between medicine and S&T, resulting in innovations and inventions in bio-medical engineering, bio-surgery and technology.

Both Imperial and NTU share a similar heritage, as well as a common vision for medical education. Imperial’s Faculty of Medicine built on Imperial’s long-standing strong reputation and foundation in S&T disciplines. These attributes make them a good partner for NTU, which has traditional strengths in S&T.

BEIJING, Aug 31 (Reuters Life!) - Chinese schools have to get their students to be creative and think for themselves, Premier Wen Jiabao told officials, in reference to the rote-learning deeply ingrained in the national education system.

Recess is a time to eat - and play! The Recess Freeplay programme includes options such as Jenga.

It felt almost like a rock concert. The crowd was full of energy and on their feet, waving their hands in the air. They knew the words to every song. When the magic words, "Who wants to come on stage?" were uttered, everyone started clamouring for a coveted spot on the platform. Never mind that these were just seven-year-old pupils. On a Wednesday afternoon at Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School (Primary) (PLMGS), the Grow in Faith and Truth (GIFT) programme was in full swing. It's designed to promote desirable values through games, story-telling and songs, and is carried out by parent volunteers. Believing that the home and school spheres should overlap, parent volunteer Mrs Renee Wee-van de Bult observes, "I see how much the children enjoy it when you are around and how they cherish the fact that you are interested in what is going on in school." Fellow parent volunteer Mrs Christina Chai adds that the children benefit from having the "Aunties" around, as their presence shows that "we are here to support you as a parent, and also as your friends." The GIFT programme is just one of many in place at PLMGS to promote better physical, social, mental and emotional well-being in the school community. Little wonder that the school's efforts have garnered them the Platinum CHERISH (CHampioning Efforts Resulting in Improved School Health) award from the Health Promotion Board, which recognises schools that have comprehensive programmes to foster good physical, social and emotional health. This caps off PLMGS's previous achievement: attaining the Gold CHERISH award for two CHERISH cycles (i.e. four years).

East Coast Park, Thursday, August 19, 2010 - Singapore's Clara Wong was the lead-off triathlete for a world team comprising Italian Livio Molinari, Puerto Rican Cristina Betancourt and Zimbabwean Boyd Littleford and they finished 12th out of 15 teams in the mixed team relay. Compatriot Scott Ang anchored another team comprising of Asians -- Enkhjargal of Mongolia, Kirill Uvarov of Kazakhstan and Mattika Maneekaew of Thailand -- to 15th and last position. The mixed team relay was the last of three events in the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) triathlon programme after the girls' and boys' individual events ended last Sunday and Monday respectively. Each of the four-member (two boys and two girls) teams, constituted according to continent (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania) and including a couple of World teams (a mixture of triathletes from different continents) had to complete a super-sprint distance triathlon -- 250m swim, 7km cycle, and a 1.7km run.

In the LTA Gallery, facilitators highlighted to Economics teachers some of the challenges faced by the transport sector.

"How do we strike a balance between the rising demand for cars and keeping the roads clear from congestion? How do we ensure a situation where transport operators compete 'for' the market rather than 'in' the market?" These were some of the questions that flowed fast and furious from Economics teachers during the event, "Land Transport Forum - A Dialogue with the Transport Minister", on 13 August 2010 at the LTA Auditorium. The event was an initiative to lend teachers a hand at weaving real world applications of economic concepts into "A" Level Economics lessons. The teachers had the opportunity to pick the brain of the Minister for Transport, Mr Raymond Lim, on a gamut of issues such as the use of technology in regulating traffic, taxi surcharges and the shift towards distance-based fares. It was also an occasion to unveil new teaching resources that were jointly developed by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Curriculum Planning and Development Division of MOE. These consisted of a series of four videos on the applications of economic concepts to the transport sector, and the launch of the LTA Land Transport Gallery Visit for Economics students.

Singapore Sports School, Thursday, August 19, 2010 - Singapore had a slow start to the Youth Olympic Games swimming competition, but they are riding a good wave on the penultimate day with three swimmers and the women's 4×100 freestyle relay team qualifying for the evening semi-finals and final. Rainer Ng won Singapore's first silver medal of the Games last night in the 50m Backstroke to set the standard for other Singaporeans. At the end of the morning session today, they did not disappoint.