Taking a Tour of Crest Secondary School

Crest Secondary School, a very new (2-year old) school is located at 562 Jurong East Street 24, Singapore 609561, is Singapore's first specialised school for Normal Technical students. They offer a very different approach to teaching and grooming the students and have facilities within the school premises itself that we had never expected.

When one steps into the huge and spacious building, we see very normal but essential facilities as follows:

Multi-purpose hall where students hold their assembly sessions and are encouraged to
do more public speaking

Small class size of 1 Teacher to 20 students so that more attention and focus could
be given to each individual student

The workshop for what is similar to Design & Technology learning / training

School canteen where students go for staggered recess breaks and enjoy different
 kinds of cuisine available

Large and well-kept football field that is open to public as well

Lovely garden where students may be required to do gardening as penalty for wrongdoings - why not? Can keep fit as well as a learning experience not available in most parts of Singapore

Now this is where the tour gets interesting.

Besides the usual academic curriculum, students undergo vocational training as well - for the first 2 years they have to take all 4 types - Facility, Mechanical, Hospitality and Retail.  From Secondary 3 onwards, they will choose to specialise in their preferred vocation and focus on in-depth learning in that sector. This makes for a more fun, engaging and conducive learning environment for those who are not academically-inclined.

Facility

Lessons and workshops in a very real environment consisting of tubs, pipes, cisterns at toilets etc, for students to learn how to work the pipes.


Mechanical

This is where the students are taught and trained to repair / fix tyres and vehicle parts.


Hospitality

This subject has two very interesting components - a restaurant where they learn to do everything from cooking, baking to servicing and making mocktails / beverages. Look at the pretty setting - how could students not feel excited at learning to excel here? And they even have an industrial kitchen, completely resplendent of what's in restaurants out there, preparing students for the real deal.

Partnering with a prestigious hotel group in Singapore, the other component of this subject deals with hotel management. Here they learn how to upkeep the hotel rooms and front-desk duties - another very useful skill to posess in this bustling industry.


Retail

Here we are, the partnership with Giant Hypermart and Home Fix store - real retail outlets within the school grounds for students to facilitate learning. Besides being taught how to manage a store, like cashiering, stock taking, storeman tasks etc, basic arithmetric lessons (problem-based learning) are conducted herein as well.

Crest Secondary School offers an alternate way of learning for a select group of students. They have an open house coming up in November 2014, so parents and students who are interested may attend to get a feel of the school.

In the meantime, do check out their website for more information and a better understanding:
http://www.crestsec.edu.sg/

Special thanks for permission granted for photography and allowing me to write this piece on an interesting education institution as this.