Level Playing Field for Student Athletes from Regular Schools and Singapore Sports School

Madam, the annual National School Games is organised by the School Sports Council for all its members, which include all Government schools, Government-aided schools, independent schools, privately-funded schools, and specialised independent schools, such as School of the Arts (SOTA), NUS High and the Singapore Sports School. It provides a platform for all athletes, regardless of which school they come from, to compete and be part of a shared learning experience.

The Sports School competes in less than half of the 28 sports that are offered at the National School Games (NSG). Where appropriate, the Sports School deliberately sends relatively junior players to compete in the NSGs, as part of their development. Based on last year's competitions, a total of 110 championships were organised for the "B" and "C" Divisions, which cater to students from all secondary schools. The Singapore Sports School contested in 46 of these championships and won 16 National titles. While this is a good performance, it also shows that other schools can also perform well when pitted against the Sports School.

Learning to lose graciously and win honourably is integral to character development. Strong teams in the National School Games raise the playing standards of our students, and provide valuable learning opportunities for teams to hone their mental strength, play intelligently, bond and to experience both successes and failures. In this light, the Sports School's participation in the National School Games has raised the overall level of competition while providing its student-athletes the opportunity to be part of a shared learning experience together with athletes from other schools.

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It takes great courage to face off strong opponents, whether they are teams from Sports School or other schools. On the ground, we see many instances of such courage from our students. Hong Kah Secondary, for instance, has a strong football culture, and its school football teams have, in the last three years, consistently finished among the top four at the Nationals. In fact, its "C" Division team won the National Title in the last two years, an outstanding feat for a sport that is contested by more than half of our schools, including the Sports School.

The School Sports Council will continue to monitor and review its inter-school competitions and will take appropriate measures when necessary to ensure that the National School Games fulfils our educational objectives.

I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the answer. I have three questions. First of all, will MOE consider re-allocation of resources for schools that have talent in other sports, other than Singapore Sports School that specialises in niche sports, for them to have a chance to compete in competitions? Second, have any medals been won by school students against the Singapore Sports School? And, third, has MOE taken steps to mitigate the effects of psychological impact on student athletes when they suffer huge losses to the Sports School athletes during the inter-school games?

Madam, I am not very clear about the third question. Let me try to answer the first two questions. All schools are resourced with the funds to develop CCAs, including sports, so they can choose the sports that they want to develop for their students, whether or not they want to compete at the zonal as well as the national level. All schools are given the funds to develop the students' abilities in sports and other CCAs.

I think I have answered the second question that other schools have also done well against the Sports School. I have said earlier that the Sports School contested in 46 championships out of 110 championships in various divisions and won 16 titles, which indicated that other schools have also the ability to do well even against the Sports School. Can I ask Mrs Chiam about the third question?

All wins and losses are taken very seriously by teams. I am sure every student wants to do well, but what is important is to be able to win and to lose graciously. If you play in a competition like the semi-finals of FIFA World Cup and lost seven to one, it must

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be a big blow. Like the Brazilian team, I am sure our schools which want to do well will analyse on how they can do better the next time, which is a good state. I am sure we want to develop this zeal and determination in our students, apart from just winning competitions.