WHILE other Secondary 4 students are hitting the textbooks and 10-year series for this year's O levels, Matthew Bellido and Premela Rajasegaran are preparing by watching films like Percy Jackson And The Lightning Thief.

The 15-year-olds from Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Secondary are among 20 students due to take their O-level exams in media studies (English) at the end of the year. In a two-year course, they analyse how newspapers, photographs and advertisements attract audiences and tell stories, and learn to make videos.

For them, preparing for the O levels is no longer a chore. 'Doing media studies is like taking a break after a long day of studying,' said Matthew, who has had an interest in shooting 'fun, upbeat' videos since he was in primary school.

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