SINGAPORE – The Ministry of Education (MOE) is considering having more co-curricular activities (CCAs) for secondary school students at centralised venues, beyond what is offered in their own schools.
This follows a pilot that started four years ago that now allows students from different secondary schools to train together weekly in athletics, water polo and ethnic dance.
About 150 students from 86 schools have since joined the three CCAs, as part of the Strategic Partnership-CCA (SP-CCA) programme.
Athletics is offered at the Home of Athletics, a facility beside the Singapore Sports Hub, as well as at Bukit Gombak Stadium, while students who take up water polo go to the MOE Evans Road Swimming Complex.
Those in ethnic dance have a mix of online and in-person sessions at places such as Lasalle College of the Arts.
An MOE spokesman said the programme allows students from different secondary schools to come together to pursue a common interest and build friendships with peers from different backgrounds.
It is exploring adding more SP-CCAs with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth.
Apart from tackling the lack of “critical mass” needed to sustain some CCAs, educators and observers said such non-school-based CCAs may be an avenue for social mixing.
Mr Francis Ng, head of department for physical education (PE) and CCA at Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary), said four of its students have joined the athletics and water polo CCAs outside school.
The school has never offered water polo, and used to have track and field, but had to stop the CCA several years ago because few students were interested in it.
“Only a select few would be interested in these CCAs – they are not your typical sport with mass appeal. So this (SP-CCA) programme has given students an extra option to pursue water polo or athletics if they are interested, without putting a burden on school resources,” said Mr Ng.
“It also allows students to train with student-athletes from other schools who may come from different backgrounds and form friendships outside their usual social circles.”
Ms Teresa Lin, Zhonghua Secondary School’s head of department for PE and CCA, said the school had in previous years observed that a handful of students – some from their primary school athletics CCA – would express interest in athletics each year.
“But that’s not enough students to make up a CCA,” she said. “The SP-CCAs widen students’ choices, especially for schools that don’t offer these CCAs.”
Zhonghua Secondary student Ling Yong Chu, 14, who joined athletics in 2022, said he started running around his primary school track with a friend at the end of Primary 6, and it “felt good”.
“I also wanted to try a sport to make more friends. In sports, we go through hardship and training together, and even though it’s tough, we persevere together,” said the Secondary 2 student, who has made about 10 good friends from other schools through his CCA.
“Sometimes after training, we go out together to get dinner. We suffer together and we play together,” he said.
Associate Professor Jason Tan from the National Institute of Education said: “For a long time, people have thought of CCAs as being school-based, so it might take some time to get acquainted with inter-school CCAs.
“It would be interesting to see more combined teams across schools. It’s also a signal that CCAs need not be thought of as being confined to the boundaries of any particular school.”
