Top SCGS student ahead of her peers

Top O level student from SCGS is a year younger than the rest of her classmates; credits her parents for her 9A1s.

She may be a year younger and slightly shorter than her peers, but 15-year-old Julia Fung proved she is certainly no pushover when it comes to her studies.

The cheerful and eloquent Singapore Chinese Girls' School (SCGS) student scored 9 A1s and 1 A2 in the 2010 GCE O level results released today, making her the school's top student.

She scored A1s in English, Full literature, Combined Social Studies and Geography, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, E Math, A Math and Higher music. Her only A2 was for her second language subject, German.

She chose German as her mother tongue because French and German were the only foreign languages she studied from her years overseas as a child. Julia's father works as a banker and had to relocate the family for work; her mother is a lawyer.
Julia grew up in New York and London before coming to Singapore when she was 10, and was placed in Primary 6.

Speaking with AsiaOne, she credits her family's support for her excellent results. "They were my chauffeurs, and PAs (personal assistants)," said Julia with a laugh.
Julia, who has a younger brother in Primary 1 this year, also thanked her 'amazing teachers' for helping her not only with school work, but providing pastoral support as well.

Studying for the exams was not all a breeze though, as she was involved in the Youth Olympic Games up until August and had to cope with the hectic schedule on top of her studies.

Her advice for those taking their O's this year?

"Don't just focus on studying. I didn't want to spend my last year of a happy time in SCGS just studying. The good thing about being in SCGS is that the teachers don't stress you too much and don't over-emphasize on exams. It's a balanced education and I think it helps us cope better. I kept up all my extra-curricular activities all the way through and enjoyed them."

Julia will be entering Anglo Chinese School (Independent) next week, and hopes to pursue her passion in Science.

But for now, her extended family will be celebrating her results with her favourite meal of chicken rice - proof her years away from home have not eradicated her taste for some things Singaporean.

Candice Cai | Edvantage | Tue Jan 11 2011