A top student - with help from mum and grandma

TWO years ago, by her own admission, Wee Yen Jean was anything but a contender to be the top primary pupil in her own school, never mind Singapore.

Yen Jean, who transferred to Nanyang Primary School from the CHIJ Kellock in Primary 4 after qualifying for the Gifted Education Programme, had to confront a challenge when she arrived in her new school.

Coming from an English-speaking home, she struggled with Higher Chinese - in a Special Assistance Plan school where all her peers excel in the language.

She became dispirited - but only for a while.

Realising that the only way to excel was to work hard at her weakness, the 12-year-old enlisted her paternal grandmother's help as a Chinese coach.

To deepen her understanding of the language, she also started reading Chinese novels and took up Chinese calligraphy.

All that work paid off yesterday, when she was named Singapore's top student in the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) with a score of 287.

Speaking to The Straits Times, Yen Jean said she was bowled over by her feat.

'I am still shocked,' she said, 'I can't believe I received such good results...I think I did well because of hard work and support I got from my family and teachers.'

To her parents - opthalmologist Wee Tze Lin, 43, and Madam Tan Pei Fong, 42, a lawyer who quit her job seven years ago to be a stay-at-home mum - however, the results were unsurprising.

They described Yen Jean as a 'driven and self-motivated' girl.

Dr Wee said he had seen his daughter's skill in Chinese improve by leaps and bounds. 'From being hesitant to speak in Mandarin, she was confident enough to make school announcements in the language.'

Yen Jean, who has a younger brother, Yen Sean, nine, a Primary 3 pupil at Radin Mas Primary, credited her mother's support and encouragement with spurring her on.

She said: 'I could always turn to her when I didn't do well in tests or if I encountered problems. I want to thank her for all that she has done for me.'

Next stop for Yen Jean, who lives in a condominium at Mount Faber: Raffles Girls' School, to which she was admitted under the Direct School Admission (DSA) scheme.

And what of the future?

'I aspire to be like my parents because they are my biggest inspirations in life,' she said.