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[Photo: Northlight School students (clockwise from left) Helen Muoi, 18; Chang Shu Ren, 18; Muhammad Zaid Abdul Latiff, 16; Muhammad Danial Ridzuan, 18; Durga Silva Raja, 16 and Marni Hidah Yuni, 16, will graduate with ITE Skills Certificates.]
By Jane Ng
A GRADUATION ceremony that will take place at Northlight School this month is going to be nothing short of extraordinary.
Itis to be a rite of passage for about 200 students from its first batch, who used to hate school and were consigned to becoming dropouts. Now, they not only love learning, but also see how education will build their future.
For the school, the ceremony will speak eloquently of the success of its methods with those who have failed the Primary School Leaving Examination or flunked out earlier.
With this 'last chance' school having done well, a similar vocational school, Assumption Pathway, was set up this year.
Northlight principal Chua Yen Ching, pleased with her students' performance, said: 'It means all the more because this is coming from students who used to think nothing of skipping school or failing subjects. Now, they actually feel upset when they fail a subject.'
Ten per cent, or about 20 students, did drop out along the way, but the remaining 200 will graduate with an Institute of Technical Education Skills Certificate in one of the four specialisations: mechanical services, electrical services, food preparation and services or retail operations.
These skills should land them jobs in hotels, restaurants and elsewhere; some will go on to join the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).
But Northlight is not about to wash its hands of its graduands: To give them a smooth transition into the workforce or the ITE, the school in Dunman Road will run night classes in workplace literacy skills so they will speak and read better.
The school will also keep in touch with its students via its website and give out the contact number of its security guard post so they know where to go for help.
Former dropout Chang Shu Ren, 18, is one of those who turned over a new leaf: He had dropped out of school in Primary 4 and spent the next five years at home or on the streets. Northlight's hands-on method of learning did it for him. Lessons came alive with touchscreen computers and real-life examples.
The teenager, who went to Northlight dejected in 2007, is now about to graduate with a certificate in retail operations.
Hospitality Year 4 student Helen Muoi, 18, identifies with him. 'In my previous school, we kept writing and copying things. In the end, I still failed mathematics. Here, we don't have to use pens and notebooks, but I understand better.'
The practical work experience final-year students go through played a big part in convincing them of the relevance of going to school.
Helen and Muhammad Zaid Abdul Latiff, 16, found their eight-week stint at the Ritz-Carlton hotel no walk in the park.
Zaid said: 'We had to work very fast, push a 15kg trolley to deliver room service, clean the pantries with smelly leftover food from Level 32 to Level 4. I was very tired.'
But they stuck it out, impressed their supervisor and landed part-time jobs paying $6.50 an hour after the eight weeks.
The support they got from their teachers had something to do with it.
Mrs Chua said: 'Students said the encouraging SMSes from their teachers helped when they found the going tough during their attachments. So we want to continue to hand-hold them for a year to make sure they adjust well to their next phase of life.'
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
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