Sunday Spotlight: With care and creativity, Crest and Spectra groom a new generation of students

SINGAPORE — Secondary Three student Lee Hui Ling, 15, was jittery. Ahead of her was the big task for the day – to keep track of customers’ orders for the two-course French cuisine-inspired meal and relay them back to the kitchen stations.

Her classmates were preparing the dishes under the watchful gaze of their teachers in the kitchen, while Secondary Four students were on their feet as waiters and waitresses.

The occasion: One of the year’s biggest events for the hospitality services students at Crest Secondary School. Called the “Authentic Lunch”, they would serve meals to the school’s partners and teachers.

“Some of them are very excited because they get to wear the chef uniforms, but some are very, very scared, so we need to guide them,” said hospitality services teacher Chang Yi Ping, 40.

Chang Yi Ping (right), 40, a hospitality services teacher at Crest Secondary, guides a Secondary 3 class as they prepare an "Authentic Lunch" for teachers and guests. Photo: Nuria Ling/TODAY

Chang Yi Ping, 40, a hospitality services teacher at Crest Secondary School. Photo: Nuria Ling/TODAY

Hui Ling found it nerve-wracking making sure she did not mix up the orders, but eventually enjoyed the experience.

At Singapore’s two specialised schools for Normal (Technical) students, the youngsters get glimpses of real-world environments. Through a hands-on and skills-based curriculum blending the academic and vocational, the students are equipped to find their footing more quickly as they progress in their vocational journey and, in time, the workforce.

Crest began accepting students in 2013 while Spectra Secondary followed a year later.

While still in the early stages, the schools have celebrated “small successes” – as Spectra principal Krishnan Aravinthan put it – by way of enthusiastic students and regular attendances.

Krishnan Aravinthan, Spectra Secondary School principal. Photo: Nuria Ling/TODAY

Although the battle to win the hearts and minds of the public continues, “with the current crop of parents, we’ve earned their trust and this will continue to grow with future batches”, said Mr Aravinthan. Spectra has 660 students in total, while Crest has 706 students.

At the end of Secondary Two, students choose one of four tracks aligned with the Institute of Technical Education’s Skills Certificate programmes: Facility services, hospitality services, retail services and mechanical servicing. They also take Normal (Technical) subjects like English, Maths and Mother Tongue.

At Crest, hospitality services students start with the basics, such as learning to stir-fry rice or cook pasta. In Secondary Three and Four, they hone their skills further by mastering a grilled ribeye steak or sauteeing asparagus, and learn dining etiquette and the setting of tables, said Ms Chang.

Teachers and guests at Crest Secondary School enjoy a two-course "Authentic Lunch" prepared by Secondary 3 hospitality services students. Photo: Nuria Ling/TODAY

A Secondary 3 hospitality services class at Crest Secondary School prepares an "Authentic Lunch" for teachers and guests. Photo: Nuria Ling/TODAY

Hospitality is a “tough but promising” career, said the teacher, who runs a tight ship in the kitchen and stresses safety and hygiene.

Over at a plumbing services class, students assemble copper pipes and install kitchen sinks and water heaters under the watchful guidance of Mr Roslee Baba, 63, Crest’s facility and mechanical services teacher.

Using what he learnt in school – supplemented with YouTube videos he looks up on his own – Secondary Three student Joshua Mogan, 16, is now his family’s handyman. The teenager is able to fix a water heater or wire a main switchboard in about 25 minutes. “I love Crest because of all its hands-on workshops…I look forward to school because it’s something different every day,” said Joshua, whose family had wanted him to go to a different secondary school.

Secondary 3 student Joshua Mogan, from Crest Secondary, learning how to bend copper pipes at a class conducted by facility and mechanical services teacher Roslee Baba, 63. Photo: Nuria Ling/TODAY

He could not focus well in primary school but now aims to study aerospace.

Mr Aravinthan said the tracks students choose do not constrain their future options. “If you do hospitality in Spectra, it does not mean you’ll end up doing culinary (studies) in ITE. A whole slew of courses are available,” he said. Instead, students get a clearer idea of their strengths, which puts them in a better position to decide whether to pursue studies in aerospace technology, design, nursing or other courses.

In fact, about 85 students – or 40 per cent of the Spectra’s graduating cohort – this year gained early admission to ITE.

Spectra’s students also undergo month-long work attachments with more than 30 partners including Robinsons, Marks & Spencer and Park Hotel, said Mr Aravinthan. This year, Crest’s students are doing work attachments with companies like Miniso, and Pan Pacific and Mandarin Oriental hotels.

CREATIVE METHODS, GOING THE EXTRA MILE

Because the students at Crest and Spectra are less academically inclined, teachers get creative and inject fun into learning.

At Crest, students learn about ratio by playing with different quantities of syrup mixed with water – and even drink the concoctions.

And to boost their English oral skills, students may role-play a tour guide interviewing tourists at Gardens by the Bay about their time in Singapore.

Class sizes are kept to about 20 to allow for more one-on-one learning.

A Secondary 2 class at Spectra Secondary learn basic first aid skills during a physical education lesson. Photo: Nuria Ling/TODAY

These have made a difference to students such as Jason Chan, 14, who is in Secondary Two. He had struggled with maths in primary school and “did not expect it was going to be any different” at Spectra. But through the teachers’ patient coaching, simplified learning and the slower pace, he has grown more confident in the subject and is planning to specialise in mechanical servicing, a more maths-intensive track. “I have a good feeling about maths now,” he said.

Jason’s overall confidence has also grown through “horse play”, or equine-assisted learning, which all Secondary Two students in the school undergo for 15 weeks as part of their curriculum. Students learn to lead and handle a horse while working as a team, and Jason said the interaction with horses has made him more “calm and patient”. He was once afraid to get too close to the horses for fear they might bite, but now understands them better.

Amirul Shariff, 14, a Secondary 2 student at Spectra Secondary, leads Kary, a 10-year old Gelding breed horse, during an equine-assisted learning lesson at Equal-Ark. Photo: Nuria Ling/TODAY

Spectra’s head of department for student development, Mr SB Sivaganesh, said teachers are constantly looking out for “teachable moments” to make learning more vibrant. The school recently took advantage of the craze over a Japanese toy called kendama – where players try landing a ball attached by a string on a handle – and held mini-championships in school. This allowed students to practise their moves and learn the appropriate time and place to indulge in their hobbies, he said.

Teachers willing to go an extra mile for students have also made a difference, said Crest’s principal Frederick Yeo.

Crest Secondary School principal, Frederick Yeo. Photo: Nuria Ling/TODAY

Some students come from disadvantaged or needy backgrounds and teachers sometimes double up as “just-in-time social workers” or even surrogate parents, he said.

They also need to dig deeper at times to understand why some students may have anger management or other issues.

Crest has had its fair share of students with behavioural issues – including some with brushes with the law – but the school has not expelled any student for misbehaviour, said Mr Yeo, who will move to Raffles Institution next year. It takes the time to guide and support the students.

“We’re a school with a social mission,” he said. “The school’s mission will be that of helping every child find a purpose in school…and to help him get the skills so he can succeed (later).”

Over at Spectra, a teacher once went out of her way for a Secondary One student, driving to pick up the boy after realising he was not in school and visiting his family on weekends to help link them up with social agencies for financial help, shared Mr Aravinthan.

“That connection made a big difference to the child coming to school,” he said. The student is now in Secondary Four and about to do his N Levels.

If the joy and sense of purpose of some students are any indication, the schools’ efforts have already paid off.

Hui Ling’s parents are treated to her home-cooked meals and are proud of her, she said.

Her Secondary Three schoolmate Tan Yu Yang, 15, learnt to poach an egg after six tries at home and being on the verge of giving up. He is looking forward to his work attachment at the Pan Pacific hotel’s Edge restaurant and said: “I would love to spread my love of food to other people.”

Portrait of Secondary 3 hospitality services students at Crest Secondary School Lee Hui Ling (right) and Tan Yu Yang. Photo: Nuria Ling/TODAY