SINGAPORE – Students who sat the O-level examinations in 2023 fared better than previous cohorts, achieving the best set of results in at least three decades.

Out of the 23,503 students who received their results on Jan 11, 20,389 or 86.8 per cent of them attained five or more passes.

This is up slightly from 86.2 per cent in 2022, and 85.6 per cent in 2021.

Among the students who collected their results on Jan 11 was 16-year-old Janelle Tong Jing Xuan. The Nan Chiau High School student fared “better than expected”, but declined to disclose her results.

She achieved them while juggling preparations for two sporting competitions in 2023.

A Team Singapore para swimmer, Janelle was born with cerebral palsy, a neurological condition that affects her mobility and sense of balance.

She bagged a silver and three bronze medals at the latest Asean Para Games in June 2023, when she was the youngest athlete on the team, after competing in the 2023 Para World Swimming Series in May.

Janelle took a month off school to focus on swimming in April, when she attended a two-week-long training camp held in Phuket.

To keep up with her studies while missing school, she would take with her revision materials for self-study while overseas.

Her friends recorded lessons she missed, and she would then watch the recordings during her breaks. While overseas, she also turned to her senior teammates for help when she did not understand any concepts.

“My teachers and my friends were very accommodating about my competition schedule. My teachers opened up consultation dates for me and my friends collected all the notes and worksheets that I missed,” she said.

She said her parents were her biggest pillar of support during her journey as a student athlete thus far. Her mother is a housewife, while her father works in IT support.

Janelle suffered a chronic injury to her left arm during a training session in November 2022, which had cast doubts on whether she could participate in the para games. But with physiotherapy, she managed to recover in time, and her parents supported her emotionally as she was “very stressed” during that period, worrying about whether she would be able to perform.

Keeping on top of her studies helped her get desirable results for the preliminary examinations two months before the O levels.

“I felt like I have done my best and tried to manage (all of my commitments) at once,” said Janelle, who hopes to study sports science in the future.

Another student, Chin Zhi Lin, 16, also received her results on Jan 11.

The School of Science and Technology student scored six points for her L1R4 subject combination, and plans to apply for a pharmaceutical science course in Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

Zhi Lin attained an A2 for Higher Chinese, which she had scored a C for in the prelim exams.

She credited her good results to her teachers, and expressed her gratitude for their consultation sessions. In the lead-up to the prelim exams, her school ramped up support for students in the form of night study sessions and specialised lessons based on what students needed to improve on.

“I think there were lots of mixed reactions today. Most people were pleasantly surprised with their results, but one of my hard-working friends whom I thought was extremely well-prepared was disappointed that her results fell short of her expectations. But overall, I am proud of myself and my friends.”

The Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board said in a joint statement on Jan 11 that 96.7 per cent of the class of 2023 passed at least three or more subjects. Nearly all the candidates, or 99.8 per cent, passed at least one subject.

Students who wish to apply for junior colleges, the Millennia Institute, polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education may do so through the Joint Admissions Exercise using their O-level results. Registration opens from now to 4pm on Jan 16.

Students who wish to inquire more about their options can do so by approaching their teachers or their education and career guidance (ECG) counsellors. They can also refer to the MySkillsFuture portal or MOE’s CourseFinder website.

Alternatively, they can make an appointment with a counsellor from MOE’s ECG Centre via this website. The centre will offer counselling services until Jan 18.