LEAPS 2.0

A: LEAPS 2.0 is a framework to recognise secondary school students’ holistic development. Students will be recognised with levels of attainment in four domains: Leadership, Achievement, Participation and Service.

At the end of the graduating year, your child’s co-curricular attainment will be recognised according to Excellent/Good/Fair. The level of attainment will be converted to a bonus point(s) which can be used for admission to Junior Colleges/ Polytechnics/ Institutes of Technical Education (JC/Poly/ITE).

• Excellent (2 bonus points): Minimum of Level 3 in all four domains with at least a Level 4 in one domain. 

• Good (1 bonus point): 

Minimum of Level 1 in all four domains with any one of the following: 

1. At least Level 2 in three domains; 

2. At least Level 2 in one domain and at least Level 3 in another domain; or 

3. At least Level 4 in one domain.

• Fair: Attainment in co-curricular will not translate into any bonus points. 

The school offers a range of co-curricular programmes to help our students achieve a holistic education. There are ample developmental opportunities in each domain regardless of the CCA your child is in. 

• Leadership: Our school provides various leadership opportunities for our students to develop their leadership qualities and skills. The different leadership groups cater to the diverse strengths, interests and needs of our students.

• Achievement: All our CCAs provide representation opportunities for our students to actualise and showcase their talent as well as benchmark their level of mastery. Students who are disciplined and work hard will definitely be given the opportunity to represent the school.

• Participation: This domain recognises consistency and commitment to the CCA to ensure sustained engagement over the four/five years. Students require a minimum of 75% attendance yearly over four years to attain a Level 3 in this domain.

• Service: The CCE committee in our school organises VIA programmes for the students throughout their four/five years. If your child participates in the VIA activities or projects planned by the school, he will attain at least a Level 3 in this domain. External VIA commitments can also be recognised in the Service domain.

A: The LEAPS 2.0 system recognises all co-curricular involvements of a child. Once the recognition is accorded to the child, it will remain in his LEAPS records even if he changes CCA. 

A: CCA Involvement or bonus points are not an entry criteria for JC/Poly/ITE, but are used to recognise and reward students who have had good co-curricular involvement. At the end of the graduating year, students’ co-curricular attainment will be recognised according to Excellent/Good/Fair. The level of attainment will be converted to a bonus point(s) which can be used for admission to Junior Colleges/ Polytechnics/ Institutes of Technical Education (JC/Poly/ITE). 

These bonus points are deducted from the O-Level gross aggregate score to compute the net aggregate score. The gross aggregate score is used to determine eligibility for admission to the different JC or Polytechnic streams/courses. After your son indicates his preference, posting to the specific stream/course will be based on his net aggregate score.

A: Bonus points can be used to support admission to JC/Poly/ITE in the following manner:

The gross aggregate scores/grades for ‘O’ or ‘N’ Level are used to determine eligibility for admission to JC, Polytechnic and ITE streams/courses.

Students may then indicate their preferences for the various streams/courses. For some Poly/ITE courses, there may be other entry criteria or interviews held.

Thereafter, posting to the specific stream/course will be based on merit. Bonus points are taken into consideration at this juncture.

A: Yes. 

Polytechnic Foundation Programme (PFP): 

• Gross ELMAB3 score (excluding CCA bonus points) must be 12 points or less to be eligible for PFP

• Posting to a PFP course is based on the net ELMAB3 score (after deducting CCA bonus points)

Direct Entry Scheme to Polytechnic Programme (DPP):

• Gross ELMAB3 score (excluding CCA bonus points) must be 19 points or less to be eligible for DPP

• CCA bonus points will be used for computing the net GPA at ITE for selection and posting to a Polytechnic Diploma course

A: Bonus points are awarded for attainment in co-curricular activities (CCA), language grades and school affiliation.

These points are deducted from your O-Level gross aggregate score to compute the net aggregate score.

Students can get a maximum of 4 bonus points from a combination of any of these achievements:

• CCA grade: Excellent (2 bonus points)

• CCA grade: Good (1 bonus point)

• English and Higher Mother Tongue Language grade: A1 to C6 for admission to JC or MI (2 bonus points)

• Chinese or Malay Special Programmes or Bahasa Indonesia grade: A1 to C6 for admission to JC or MI (2 bonus points)

• Selection of your affiliated JC as your 1st or 1st and 2nd choices (2 bonus points)

Students can get an additional 2 bonus points if you are successfully selected for the Chinese, Malay or Tamil Language Elective Programme. 

A: The Leadership domain recognises the development of the student’s leadership dispositions - as an individual who can lead himself, work with others in a team and grow as a leader to become a confident person. 

The duration required for the leadership involvement depends on the appointment that your son is given. For example, House Captains/Vice-Captains serve throughout the year especially during Inter-house events. PB, council, CCA leaders, project, house 

The service duration of each role ensures that our students have sufficient time to perform their responsibilities and be developed in the relevant knowledge and competencies pertaining to their role. When your son is appointed, he is expected to clarify with the teacher-in-charge of the leadership body on the minimum duration and expectation of service in order to be recognised for his contributions. 

Recognition in the Leadership domain will only be given at the end of the service term. If the service is deemed as unsatisfactory by the teacher-in-charge due to poor conduct or expectations not met, recognition will not be given. However, rest assured that the teachers will provide the necessary guidance and support throughout your son’s leadership journey.

A: The National Youth Achievement Award (NYAA) Youth Leadership Development Programme is a self-development programme for young people between the ages of 13 and 30 years old. It is a holistic, balanced and non-competitive programme of voluntary leisure time activities, designed to provide our young people with a platform to develop personal qualities and skills to make a difference to themselves, their communities and the world. 

Participation in the NYAA Programme is voluntary. Students who have reached the age of 15 can enrol in the NYAA Silver Level programme directly with the NYAA Council. The school will support your child by endorsing the school activities that meet the criteria for the award.  

Under LEAPS 2.0, students with NYAA Bronze and NYAA Silver (or above) awards will be accorded with Level 2 and Level 3 respectively in the Leadership domain. 

For more information on NYAA, please refer to http://www.nyaa.org/.

A: The Achievement domain recognises different levels of representation and accomplishment in the student’s co-curricular involvement in school or external organisations. Representation refers to being selected and endorsed by an organisation (e.g. the school or community club) to compete or perform at an event. In general, involvement in events which require training, preparation or selection can be recognised in this domain. Self-representation or personal participation in an event with no endorsement from any organisation will not be recognised. 

We would like to clarify that every case is unique. Please approach the school to check if your child’s involvement can be recognised.

For external co-curricular involvements, please scroll down to the ‘External Co-curricular Involvements’ section.

A: If your child has represented the school at a local event for 2 years, he would have attained a Level 3 for his Achievement domain. If he has attained accolades or awards, his level of attainment may be higher depending on the number of years.

You may refer to the Achievement table in Annex A of the LEAPS 2.0 document for more information.

A: The Participation domain recognises the student’s sustained participation in a school-based CCA. The criterion is designed to reflect the progression of the number of years of participation in a CCA, with at least 75% attendance for each year. 

In calculating the attendance rate for students’ CCA participation, the school will derive the 75% attendance based on the total possible sessions that students can attend. Absences with valid reasons are usually not added to the total possible sessions. 

As attaining a Level 3 or higher in the Participation domain requires consistency in attendance throughout your child’s schooling years, we strongly encourage you to remind him to inform his CCA teacher personally of any absence such that attendance is recorded accurately. Any valid absence should be accompanied by a Medical Certificate, parent’s letter or official document indicating the reason for absence.

A: Schools have the autonomy to define and apply the term ‘exemplary conduct and active contribution’ to recognise the exemplary conduct and active contribution of a student to his CCA over the 3, 4 or 5 years of participation. It also provides an opportunity for a student who may not have been regular in attendance in certain years to have a second chance to work towards a good co-curricular experience. Students should not misconstrue that CCA is unimportant and use this provision as an excuse to skip CCA sessions. For example, if a student demonstrates exemplary conduct and contributes actively to his CCA for the first 3 or 4 years, but decides to absent himself and not contribute in his graduating year, such behaviour is not considered exemplary and hence, the student will not be recognised using this criteria. 

In ACSBR, feedback will be  sought from CCA and discipline teachers on graduating students to determine if any student meets the criteria. Do note that only students with at least 3 years of 75% attendance can be recognised.

A: While your child’s CCA participation in his final year will not contribute to a higher attainment level and help him to achieve more bonus points, CCA participation is still important as it cultivates his interest, inculcate values, build his character and develop 21st century competencies. We strongly encourage you to work with your child to engender meaningful co-curricular learning in Secondary 5 through other ways such as contributing actively to the CCA by being positive role models to his younger peers. He could also assist the instructors with the lower secondary members. 

A: The CCE committee in our school organises VIA programmes for the students throughout their four/five years to ensure meaningful Character and Citizenship Education. If your child participates in the VIA activities or projects planned by the school, he will attain at least a Level 3 in this domain. 

However, if he would like to serve the community outside of the school and take part in external VIA programmes, these involvements will also be recognised in the Service domain.

A: The Achievement domain records the different levels of students’ representation of the school, or external organisations which are endorsed by the school. Examples of external organisations endorsed by the school are UG HQ, Community Sports Clubs (CSCs), Singapore Schools Sports Council, etc.

You may contact the CCA key personnel for clarification of any external involvement by your child. 

A: The school understands the parent’s concern about balancing the child’s intensive CCA involvements, as well as his personal life and academic commitment. However, under LEAPS 2.0, exemption is only allowed for students who are training under National Sports Associations. As your child is training under an external instructor and not under Singapore Golf Association (NSA for Golf), he will not be categorised under this exemption. 

A: We would like to share that the CCA Programme indeed provides students with a platform to discover their interests and talents. Well-organised and implemented, they can fuel the individual’s life-long love for a particular activity, be it a sport or a musical pursuit. Schools enable all students to have active and meaningful CCA participation when they provide a balanced, inclusive and diverse CCA programme which caters to a broad spectrum of interests and talents.

As CCA is an integral part of students’ holistic education in school, participation in a school-based CCA is compulsory at the secondary school level. Participation in a school-based CCA allows the teachers to guide and chart the development of students beyond the learning from the subject disciplines in the classroom, in areas such as leadership and character development, and the 21st Century Competencies. At the same time, students get to learn about social integration, engendering a deepening of their sense of belonging, commitment and responsibility to the school.

Students who have an interest in activities that are not offered in their own schools are encouraged to pursue these interests externally. Such external involvements however should not be in-lieu of a school-based CCA as we do not want to short change the students CCA experiences that could only be found in a school setting. 

In your child’s case whereby the external involvement in an external sport/Karate seems to require heavy commitment on his part, he can work with the school to opt for a lighter-load CCA so as to better manage his time. You could get in touch with us to work out an arrangement that will best benefit him.

A: Please refer to this link for the list of recognised NSAs: www.myactivesg.com/Sports/Find-a-National-Sports-Association 

For external organisations, do write in to us so that we can advise you further.

A: Overseas/returning students who join the schools mid-stream will still be recognised fully under LEAPs 2.0 for their co-curricular involvements. The student’s involvement in the Participation, Achievement and Leadership domains in his previous overseas school during his secondary school education (or equivalent) will be recognised with the submission of proper documentation, subject to endorsement by his school in Singapore. In addition, the student’s involvement in external (non-school based) activities during that time-frame, for example his involvement in community clubs, can also be recognised because there may not be similar provision for co-curricular activities within the school system in other countries.

We understand that your child may not have been in a sustained co-curricular program due to the differences in our education system. However, he may still submit certificates of extracurricular related activities such as certificates, endorsement letters or emails from his previous school. With approval from the school leaders, we will try to find the closest match of these involvements in the current LEAPs 2.0 grading system.

Leadership

• School, Class and CCA-based leadership appointments were recognised to ensure the continued leadership development of our students. Their responsibilities were re-scoped and enacted viably, safely and meaningfully.

Participation

• CCA attendance for the year was pro-rated based on the total possible number of sessions when CCA resumed. Attendance for e-CCA was optional. Similar to school attendance, students affected by valid absences (e.g. SHN, LOA, AA) were excused from CCA.

Service

• Despite the cancellation of  VIA activities due to the disruptions, the school found opportunities that arose from the circumstances. 

• In 2020, three VIA programmes were designed to ensure the continued learning in CCE and involvement in the Service domain: 

  1. Cards of encouragement for frontline and migrant workers

  2. Packing of ACS Care Packs for migrant workers

  3. Snack Packs and Videos for migrant workers

Achievement 

• Despite the loss of opportunities to represent the school,  a special provision was implemented for this domain. All students who were selected to represent school across all categories of competitions and performances were recognised regardless of the completion status and outcomes of the events. Recognition was also given for events that were planned but did not start. 

• This special provision would have been reflected as ‘Represented School at Local Event under Special Provision’ in your child’s co-curricular records.

• For Uniformed Group CCAs, there was a reconfiguration in the criteria for the attainment of UG badges.