Different aims mean different requirements for SOTA & SSS: Lawrence Wong

SINGAPORE: The School of the Arts (SOTA) has different academic prerequisites as compared to the Singapore Sports School (SSS), as the two specialised independent schools have different aims.

The Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong said that while the SSS is to nurture competitive athletes, graduates from SOTA may not necessarily go on to be professional artists.

Currently, students from all academic streams can be admitted to the SSS.

However, Primary Six students applying to SOTA are required to qualify for the Express stream.

Mr Wong added that SOTA students will sit for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme which is academically rigorous.

He said: "The School of the Arts (SOTA) was set up as a six—year through—train programme to develop students who would go on to provide creative leadership in their chosen field and become champions of the arts, whatever their eventual profession. While SOTA students benefit from a rigorous six—year arts education, the curriculum is intended to provide them with a wide range of options for admission into tertiary institutions of higher learning, and not necessarily a professional arts pathway."

— CNA/xq