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Sports School to cast its net wider

SINGAPORE – The Singapore Sports School (SSP) is opening its doors and broadening its horizons to help boost the standards of all youth athletes here, and provide more comprehensive, long-term sports and academic support for its student-athletes.

The Singapore Sports School. TODAY file photo

The Singapore Sports School. TODAY file photo

SINGAPORE – The Singapore Sports School (SSP) is opening its doors and broadening its horizons to help boost the standards of all youth athletes here, and provide more comprehensive, long-term sports and academic support for its student-athletes.

The groundbreaking changes are the result of a year-long review conducted by the SSP’s review committee, formed last January after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong challenged the school to “become a national sports academy of excellence 10 years from now”. Some 200 parents, students, and sports administrators were consulted during the review, with several focus group discussions organised for current- and ex-athletes, and the national sports associations (NSAs).

Aside from setting up a new National Youth Sports Institute (NYSI) to cater to all high-performance youth athletes — as reported by TODAY last month — the initiatives will see the SSP expanding its academic offerings and support. To help student-athletes looking to pursue sports without disrupting their studies, additional 6+ year through-train programmes will be offered. Student-athletes currently can choose to take up the Republic Polytechnic-SSP Diploma in Sports and Leisure Management or the International Baccelaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP). Those who are keen on a non-sports related discipline will soon be able to pursue a diploma at a local polytechnic, and the SSP will also work with the Institute of Technical Education to start a special sports class in fitness training for those on the vocational track.

The IBDP will be extended from two years to four to allow students to lengthen their study in order to plan for training, competitions and major Games. The SSP will be the only school here — and one of 12 in the world — to offer this option. The SSP has also been in discussion with all six local universities to grant high-performing student-athletes discretionary admission interviews. Links with overseas universities will also be strengthened.

“At the moment, 60 per cent of our student-athletes are on the through-train pathway, and the age of 16 or 17 is the critical age when they become more serious about their sport,” said SSP principal Tan Teck Hock. “Athletes, regardless of their educational abilities, will have a pathway that extends to six years…it’s important we offer these options for them to succeed.”

A more flexible admission will see the school extending its academic and boarding programmes to student-athletes from more sports aside from its 10 main academies. It will also be more open to accepting mid-stream students after Secondary 1 to allow late bloomers, or post-secondary students, to join the SSP. To help student-athletes develop a more scientific approach to their training, new sports modules such as sports physiology, nutrition, rest and recovery will be included in the curriculum. A satellite centre will be set up at Kallang’s Sports Hub to allow students training there to get proper rest and recovery, and study.

Strong partnerships with the NSAs, Singapore Sports Institute and NYSI will allow the school to enhance its coaching support, and help provide students with educational and career counselling. SSP principal Tan believes that the initiatives — particularly the NYSI — will be a game-changer for Singapore sports. “At the recent SEA Games, about one-eighth of the contingent were current or former SSP students and they won about 40 per cent of the (gold) medals, and that speaks volumes,” he said. “For Singapore to continue to do well, we need to look at what else we can do. During the review, the suggestion is that we can do better as SSP does not really reach out in a big way to others (outside SSP). The NYSI is (how we) can do more to help athletes outside the SSP.”

Added Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Grace Fu: “The Sports School has made significant positive impact to the education and development of young athletes. Over the last 10 years, it has accumulated valuable experience and expertise. It is now in a good position to share its expertise more widely to support the sporting aspirations of student-athletes in mainstream schools and make a greater impact in youth sport.

“These measures signify a broader commitment to continue support for youth sports. Our goal does not stop at nurturing champions, we aim to develop the youth athletes of today into sporting heroes of tomorrow.”

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