Here's an article from the Straits Times today on what Singapore does with kids who flunk out of school (possibly on left of the curve):
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2B ... 99846.html
Nov 8, 2008
School offers boarding stint
Assumption Pathway aims to equip the less academically inclined with technical skills
By Jane Ng
A SECOND school for less academically inclined children will give them a taste of real life through a residential programme and industrial attachments.
From January, Assumption Pathway School will start taking in students aged between 13 and 16 who have failed the Primary School Leaving Examination.
Like the successful two-year-old NorthLight School, on which it is modelled, Assumption Pathway aims to give children a foundation in the basics as well as equip them with technical skills.
Schools like NorthLight and Assumption Pathway, which offer children an alternative to dropping out of the school system, are a recent addition to Singapore's education scene. They are meant to prevent students from being left behind.
NorthLight has been popular, and now has 630 students.
When Assumption Pathway opens its doors, its plan is for students to attain 'personal success' upon graduation.
'I'm not referring to the typical success where you earn lots of money,' said principal Wee Tat Chuen.
'It's about them coming to Assumption Pathway and finding out their talents and strengths, and creating a future out of that.'
The school replaces Assumption Vocational Institute, the last technical school in Singapore, which focused on subjects like car repair.
The vocational institute system provided youth with technical skills to prepare them for courses at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).
The staff at Assumption Pathway are excited about the school's programmes to equip children with life skills.
Mr Wee, a former vice-principal at NorthLight School, said its three- and four-year programmes will require students to live in a hostel with classmates for one week each semester.
'We want it to be very family-oriented with a lot of interaction. Working with others will hopefully help them find out more about themselves and what they are good at,' he said.
But school will not just be about life skills and work.
Like NorthLight, Assumption Pathway will offer foundation courses in English, mathematics and infocomm technology.
These courses, taken by the first group of 240 students, will be taught by 14 teachers who used to work in primary or secondary schools.
There will also be vocational classes preparing students for the ITE skills certificate in areas such as mechanical servicing, electrical servicing and food preparation.
A $28 million overhaul of the campus will see brand-new kitchens for cooking and baking, a hairdressing salon, a training restaurant and workshop space.
And all students will have to take up a co-curricular activity in sports or join a club.
'Even if they don't make it to ITE, they will be equipped with the skills and the character to survive,' said Mr Wee.
