Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced, during the recent National Day Rally, that the Gifted Education Programme (GEP) will be discontinued in its current form, and instead is to be updated and expanded to benefit high-ability students in all Primary Schools.

The main gist of the changes to the GEP would be:

• All Primary Schools will be equipped to identify high-ability learners and have their own school-based programmes to stretch these students in their areas of strengths and interests.
• Students no longer have to transfer to a school offering GEP and can continue in their current schools with their friends.
• Students who excel in particular subjects can attend after-school enrichment modules, about once a week, at nearby schools with their peers.

Parents of current GEP students generally welcome such a move, however most feel that it is a waste to scrap a perfectly good Gifted Education Programme, where their children can mix around and feel at home with other intellectually gifted children.

Some are concerned that their children will no longer be motivated to excel and gain recognition for their intellectual achievements. Also, there are fears that the prestige of the GEP will be diluted once it starts catering to the top 10% of the cohort.

On the other hand, we at NickleBee Tutors strongly applauds and supports the move to replace the Gifted Education Programme with a more egalitarian and inclusive form of learning, to benefit a wider range of high-ability students across all primary schools.

After all, a 40 year old programme deserves a much needed overhaul to fit the needs of an increasingly multi-modal and adaptable generation.

Further more, the resources and manpower previously devoted to the top 1% of the cohort, can now be marshalled towards providing differentiated and accelerated learning to a larger number of identified high-ability learners in their areas of strengths and interests.

Also, while Gifted Education Programme screening tests (1^st round) will still be conducted at Primary 3, we are glad that MOE has recognized that the potential gifts and talents exhibited by each child may have different developmental trajectories.

As such, the Gifted Education Programme selection tests (2^nd round), which involves English and Mathematics tests as well as a general ability paper, will be scrapped.

Students will instead be selected for the high-ability programmes at “multiple junctures” between Primary 4 and Primary 6 based on day-to-day observations, teacher recommendations and their work.

Now that MOE is providing alternative pathways and multiple entry points for high-ability children at different stages of their education journey, we would like to remind parents that high-ability students are unique individuals with varied and multifaceted talents and interests that develop at various points in their lives.

Having MOE committed to helping every student learn, develop, grow, and realize their full potential, regardless of their starting points, is indeed a step in the right direction.

NickleBee Tutors Advanced Primary Math Programmes

Want to help your high-ability Primary School child gain a Fast-Track Pass to TOP Integrated Programme Secondary Schools?

Score in PSLE Math, Olympiad Math and Gifted Education Programme (GEP) Math with the #1 rated Advanced Primary Math programmes by NickleBee Tutors, a popular math tuition centre for upper primary school students.

ELITE EXPERTISE

The NickleBee Tutors Math programmes are led by Mr Zhou, an Alumnus of Raffles Institution (Gifted Education Programme) and National University of Singapore.

He is a multi-award winning Math Olympiad Gold Medallist (Ranked 23rd in Singapore), High Distinction holder in the Australian Math Competition, and Distinction holder in the American High School Math Competition.

Mr Zhou is a member of the Association of Mathematics Educators (NIE) and a popular Math Olympiad Trainer & DSA Coach at top Primary Schools

PROVEN CURRICULUM

NickleBee Tutors equips all students with the necessary skills and confidence to tackle challenging math problem sums, by teaching GEP Math and Olympiad Math components such as investigative math, non-routine questions, higher-order thinking skills, creative problem-solving techniques and advanced heuristic tools.

Using NickleBee Tutors’ unique C3PO™ Problem Solving Framework and proprietary UNITARY™ Method, they ensure your child can solve even the most complex problems in the PSLE Math Exam and Math Olympiad Competitions swiftly and accurately.

REMARKABLE RESULTS

87% of our Advanced Math students scored AL1 for the PSLE 2023 Math exams!

3 in 4 of our 2023 Math Olympiad students won GOLD & SILVER awards or better in the NMOS, SMOPS and SASMO.

While we are rated #1 in Singapore for our prowess in PSLE Math & Olympiad Math, our students’ DSA success is just as amazing!

More than 30% received Direct School Admission (Math) Confirmed Offers from TOP Integrated Programme Schools such as Raffles Institution, Hwa Chong Institution and NUS High in 2023.

 

Find out more about NickleBee Tutors’ GEP Math / Advanced Math / Olympiad  Math Small Group Classes here.

You can also learn about NickleBee Tutors’ Advanced PSLE Math Masterclass here.

 

 

ABOUT NICKLEBEE TUTORS

NickleBee Tutors is Singapore’s premier PSLE Math & Olympiad Math Tuition Centre, and we have been featured in The Straits Times, The Sunday Times, The New Paper, Capital 958FM and Channel 8 for our comments on issues ranging from GEP Math tuition to Math Olympiad questions.

Visit https://nicklebeetutors.com/ to find out how our programmes have helped hundreds of students score AL1 in PSLE Math and win Gold medals in prestigious Math Olympiad Competitions.