19-year-old S'pore girl gets 4 As and 2 Bs in A-Levels -- despite not attending school till JC

A female student from Pioneer Junior College scored an impressive 4As and 2Bs in her A-Levels examinations -- despite not having attended school until her enrollment in junior college.

Liu Qing Qing, 19, did not attend a formal institution until junior college, reports Lianhe Wanbao.

Her mother had been interested in homeschooling as an alternative, as she felt that it granted her child greater flexibility and gave her control over her daughter’s learning.

Liu was an avid reader of history books and had started on history textbooks used by secondary schools from as early as 10 years old.

She then attended a Christian private school for her secondary school education, before she entered Pioneer Junior College.

At first, she was unable to adapt to the curriculum and did badly. Although she did well enough to move on to second year, she made the hard decision to repeat her first year and chose to switch from the science stream to the arts stream.

Much to her dismay, her repeating a year led to many people doubting her capabilities.

She told Lianhe Wanbao:

"What made me saddest was that when my friends comforted me, I could feel their pity for my grades..."

However, she found unexpected comfort in a taxi driver who, upon finding out that she had repeated a year, said: "Very good!"

The taxi driver explained that he had been unable to enter the Institute of Technical Education, and explained that even if Liu were to spend an extra year, she would still be on the road to success.

After entering the arts stream, Liu became one of the top performers of her cohort. At the preliminary examinations, she was the top student, said Lianhe Wanbao.

Liu is intending to pursue a degree in architecture in the National University of Singapore (NUS).