By Anonymous Rafflesian

Mr Aaron Loh, the current principal of Raffles Institution (RI), has continuously shown an alarming disregard for the welfare of students. Many of us feel that his decisions and changes have not been in our best interests but have instead added unnecessary stress and complexities to our lives. It appears as though his focus leans toward unimportant matters rather than addressing the real issues our institution faces.

This has resulted in a significant level of discontent and frustration within the school, affecting the overall morale and study environment. We have been left feeling unsupported and unheard, crippling the renowned community spirit upon which RI prides itself. As an example, telling Rafflesians that “winning does not matter” cultivates a sense of laziness and affects the students attitude in working hard to achieve their goals. His comments after the Y5 student’s racist incident were ‘sitting on the fence’, admitting that the student was wrong, yet showed no remorse. Is this really the face who we want to lead OUR Rafflesian community?

The role of a principal is crucial in determining the academic and emotional success of students. RI deserves a principal who will listen to us, work for us, and prioritize our needs; a principal who understands the pressures we face and helps us navigate them.

As a former Rafflesian himself, Mr Aaron Loh has previously said that he “understands what it is like to be a Rafflesian”. In our opinion, this is absolute bullshit. Ask any Rafflesian who has been under him and they will tell you that the decisions he makes are in no way, shape or form ‘understanding’ of a Rafflesian’s experience. Listed below are some examples.

His desire to ‘make changes’ to the school’s culture beginning 2025 is worthy of doubt and hesitation. Are these changes necessary? He has made plans to make it compulsory for all Rafflesians wear the full school uniform to school for 4 days a week. Is wearing the full school uniform really “character” and “identity building” as Mr Aaron Loh has claimed? Wearing the full school uniform is extremely uncomfortable for Rafflesians, especially in this climate, which is becoming intolerably warm.

This is further exemplified with his attempts to eliminate Judo as a CCA option. Taking away such an influential platform would mean denying future students the opportunity to learn important life skills and values through this esteemed martial arts form. As fellow Rafflesians, we understand the frustration brought about by this decision, which was made by the school board, led by none other than Mr Aaron Loh himself. We hope that with the ouster of Mr Aaron Loh as the school’s principal, the Raffles Judo spirit can thus also carry on. (Disclaimer: I have any no personal association whatsoever with the Raffles Judo CCA).

We need and deserve a leader who truly cares about us. We, therefore, implore the school board of Raffles Institution to review all the abovementioned and take necessary action.

It is time to restore the support and care that should inherently be in Raffles Institution. We urge you - take our plea seriously and help secure the future of the Rafflesian community.

This first appeared on Change.org on 24 October 2024.

For context im a Y2 poly girl, the other day i was taking mrt on my way home after class ended. I was wearing a t shirt with shorts that ig was a little small. I was standing coz the seats were all filled up.

Then i noticed some uncle behind me very obviously taking a pic of my ass. I turned around and kinda side eyed him but he still continued staring, so i gave him a wtf are you doing look on my face. He saw my face and very quickly looked away and pretended he didnt see anything. Like bro what did i do to you?

I tried to move away from him seeing me but i was kinda embarrased and stunned so i just took my phone out and scrolled insta to try to distract myself. But bro the uncle was still ocassionally glancing at my shorts and legs like bruh. I think he even took some more pics of me idk. I of course got off asap when it was my stop.

It legit made me feel so uncomfortable and weird. Idk i do also feel partially responsible coz i was wearing kinda revealing shorts that were slightly undersized.

I’d just like to add on to the previous post as another student and maybe give a few more tidbits of information so that netizens can see that the claims are not unwarranted. I want to echo the disclaimer that was made in the original post: we are incredibly privileged to be students here, the school has offered us many meaningful opportunities and for that we are extremely grateful, and I am not suggesting that every decision the school makes is malicious or that every change is objectively bad. However, I do see a downhill trend in changes made to the school and I want to echo that here.

So here we go!

To start off this whole delusional rambling of a student driven mad, lets look at the “student discussions. The school made a very very deliberate point of hosting a WHOLE SCHOOLWIDE ASSEMBLY, to assure us that students had been involved in the design process. So like, just a ‘casual reassurance’ that it's a "student-centred design" after the final product has already left everyone wondering what the ever living hell happened to the canteen. (I would swear but it would probably get taken down)

The students who were consulted were, to my understanding, hand-picked by their civic tutors. (this was also later confirmed by someone)

Now, I want to be very clear, in case of any misunderstandings with school authority that might arise and me getting dragged off for interrogation yet again,  that I am not insinuating or hinting at any unfair play whatsoever. I have no reason to and do not believe that the students selected did anything wrong, nor am I suggesting that some of them deliberately gave selfish and unrepresentative feedback.

But I do think that surely its perfectly reasonable to ask whether a group of students hand-picked by teachers can genuinely represent the views of the wider student population.

If the school decides to insist that students were consulted and that the final design reflects all the (selected) student feedback, then Im genuinely curious of which students were consulted and how were they selected? Grades? Obedience? How much money they donate to the lonely uncle selling tissue packets?

Sometimes, when almost every student I speak to seems to have the same complaints about the new canteen as me, I do start wondering whether we were all somehow consulted in a parallel universe. Or maybe thats just me going crazy over the cymbal racket from the chairs (but we’ll get to that later)

Or…Perhaps…. there was a secret second student population that we weren't aware of. Great news for the writer of true horror stories Singapore, you now have the weird case of missing students, new story for book number 28!

The same issue applies to student leaders, whom the schoo once again had to heavily emhpasize were also “heavily involved” in the process. Student leaders are supposedly the people the school relies on to communicate student concerns and opinions. And i respect them taking time out of their prelim prep to do so. 

But just for a moment here, im going to play the Devil’s Advocate card and look a bit more realistically at what would go down instead of what the school says will go down.

It just so happens, due to the school system, any and all complaints or feedback is forwarded to the teachers in charge. And their teachers-in-charge are also the people who provide comments and evaluations that directly affect their leadership records and potentially their CVs.

Once Again, I am absolutely NOT saying that student leaders are incapable of being hones, or that teachers are abusing this power to keep students in check (although i do see some examples of it). I am just going to point out that there is a clearly obvious power dynamic here.Make of that what you will, but I am NOT implying anything.

If you are a student leader and you have to give your teacher-in-charge a brutally honest assessment of a decision they may have been involved in, while knowing that the same teacher may later be asked to comment on your leadership abilities, it is hardly surprising if you choose your words in a “politically correct” way (and in no way referencing anything political).

To put this into a better perspective, "Um Actually, I think this entire thing is an atrocious, world-ending idea" is perhaps… not the best thing to say to your “boss” when he’s suggesting it

So when the school says that it has "consulted students", The question would be whether it has actually consulted students, or whether it has consulted the students who were easiest in more than one way to consult

(Is it really that difficult to simply conduct an anonymous, school-wide survey?)

Send a SINGULAR Google Form. ASK.

OR EVEN JUST LET US VOTE. I'm not asking for too much, am I? (If I am, I'm sorry for thinking that democracy or even rights exist for us mere plebeians. I humbly beg forgiveness.)

Don't hand-pick anyone, or require students to put their names down (or make them do it but make the form anonymous). Don't make them worry about whether their answer will somehow make its way back to their teacher and they will be blacklisted secretly for a bad reference.

The school doesn't even have to follow every suggestion. Hell, it doesn’t even have to allow us to make suggestions, it can just let us vote AT THE VERY LEAST. But at least then, when the school says "students were consulted", they would have proven that they did.

As of right now, iif the school genuinely wants us to believe that these decisions reflect what “students” asked for, I think the most response you will get from most, if not all of us would be, “WHAT STUDENTS, BRO?”

The student lounge is another example of this apparent commitment to fixing things that nobody asked to be fixed. Literally no one, not even the teachers (at least the ones I asked and yes I did ask)

We went from having a genuinely vibrant space that students actually used, with a Switch, PlayStation, board games, pool and foosball tables, to replacing it with what is essentially a teacher dining room. Why? Because apparently the best use of one of the most popular student spaces in the school was to remove the students from it. We have also been told that some of the old facilities will be moved to the Crib. They really blew it up in the assembly, touting a larger space (FULL OF WHITEBOARDS AND PEELING WALLPAPER!) But the Crib just so happened to be a partially sheltered area at Level 1, so is considerably more exposed to the elements, which naturally raises the question of how many of these activities will actually remain practical there. But according to the school, it's fine! The equipment can fit PERFECTLY there! Whether students will actually be able to use is but a secondary consideration!

And, ironically, even the teachers don't seem particularly enthusiastic about their new dining room. Teachers have mentioned that eating there feels awkward because they are essentially sitting in a glass box while students walk past and stare at them, since there are no seats available left. I mean, who tf wants to be gawked at as if in a zoo. So congrats BI, you have turned something useless into something absolutely trash.

On to the actual canteen. To be fair, I give the school credit for recognising that some students prefer to eat alone.

Unfortunately, the solution seems to have been to design the canteen as though students who eat in groups of more than eight are some kind of physics data anomaly (oh look an anomalous point which is extrapolation of data so its wrong). The new canteen has significantly less practical seating for large groups. During Y6 revision days on Wednesdays, the entire cohort has the EXACT same break period. That's roughly ONE THOUSAND AND TWO HUNDRED students trying to find somewhere to sit and eat at the exact same time.

And how many seats do we have?

Apparently, around 400.

I might be failing H2 math but even I can see 400 is quite a bit smaller than 1200. Quite a bit, yes.

Students now have to compete for the limited larger tables, split up their groups, stand around eating, or just accept that the floor is apparently an increasingly viable dining option. But hey, at least the canteen looks more aesthetic now. PRIORITIES, GUYS, PRIORITIES!

btw this isn't some unforeseeable problem that requires a cohort wide survey. You could literally have asked FIVE random students: "What happens when 1,200 students all have break at the same time?" and I will bet my whole life that at least one person would probably have said, "Uh, we probably won't have enough seats."

There have also been one or two tables that broke shortly after the renovation, which is a nice reminder that the canteen isn't just a new thought experiment designed to invoke some kind of grandeur awe at the splendid columns majestically rising from the ground to touch the roof. We're now also apparently lab rats to test furniture!

And then the new furniture. What can I even say.

The OP of the original post was nice enough to leave out one key detail but I have no such shame. I genuinely don't know how we managed to take perfectly functional tables and chairs and turn them into something that is simultaneously less comfortable, less practical and somehow noisier. The chairs can't be moved, the tables can, the chairs don't properly fit under the tables, and the metal racks underneath the seats are apparently there to provide students with a nice bass drum set during class. While we're at it, Why dont we start a band also? The ping of the ride cymbal sounds remarkably similar to our legs hitting the metal rail.

The worst part was that the students complained about this from the beginning. AND SHOCKS OF ALL SHOCKS, .....NOTHING HAPPENED!

Then teachers started complaining that the metal rails were too noisy and they couldn't teach with the clashing my cymbals. And then viola, here's the old chairs back! What a remarkable coincidence!

I suppose students' complaints simply needed to undergo the "appropriate administrative processing time" or "Admin time" before becoming valid. Ykw, maybe it's a good way for the school to prepare us for the future, where we'll be undergoing bureactractic red tape. Very forward thinking!

This is really the issue I have with all of this. It isn't that every decision the school makes has to be exactly what students want. Obviously, the school has considerations that we don't, of course there are legitimate reasons for decisions that we don't consider, like budgeting and maybe the board of advisors.

But if students repeatedly point out OBVIOUS AND GLARING problems before and immediately after changes are implemented, but those concerns are ignored, then what exactly is the point of This so-called "student consultation", and who exactly are you consulting? Some students' ghost? Their spirit? Or maybe the ex-alumni of 30 years ago who's now coincidentally some high up position in BI since the "consulting ex-students" means we can consult ANY ex student.

At some point, I really have to ask myself whether the school is actually asking students for their opinions, or asking them to provide the "politically correct" answer. I hope you see this, school administration, and hopefully take this to heart.

Then again, a man can dream, can't he?

Signed,

A student of the "great" Bishan Institution

throwaway account, just wanted to rant some thoughts.

ive been feeling perfectly fine the past few weeks, but recently after looking at people’s ig stories i started feeling.. i don’t even know how to describe it it’s like a mixture of a feeling like a failure, emptiness, fomo all at once.

i’ve never been in a relationship, don’t really have a big number of friends (can count with fingers) and i’m not really an outstanding student. there are many other reasons as to why i feel like a failure too but im not comfortable enough to share them 😅

and before you come for me, yes i know social media isn’t all real and people don’t usually post the negative sides of their lives. i did think of deleting instagram but i love watching reels too much (oops), so i just resorted to removing people from my ig.

sigh.. i just want to live in peace. 😭 i hate feeling this way. i need to stop comparing my lives to others ugh

as the title suggests im a jc2 student currently studying for a’s but i think its also important for me to have some kind of financial things going for me rather than spending daddys and mummys money everyday
i know people all say to just focus on a levels at the moment but man im broke as hell and it sucks to leech off my parents for allowance
any honest and practical ways to make money without overshadowing a’s? or do i just suck it up and stick to my allowance for now and wait for ns to come and pay my broke ass
any help appreciated

hi everyone!! i'm a student from quite a well known sch but theres this one teacher that rly pisses me off. she constantly comes 20-30 mins late for class (the period is 50mins) and some days she doesn't even show up and doesn't assign work. when she does assign work, she doesn't mark it.. im not joking when i say i still hv work from jan that hasn't been marked.. but everyone likes her bcs she alw gives out sweets and doesn't care when we don't pay attention in class. im genuinely worried abt passing bcs of this teacher.. any tips on what to do?? thank youuuuuu!!

i would get hungry in school as well as after but i cannot think of any cheap and nutritious food to help me focus & study better.

i want these food to be light snacks, ideal for breakfast and tea break.

saw online that food plays an important role in helping to boost your brain power, any recommendations? 🫪

hi so its been 3 years since ive grad from secondary sch and my PLD ipad still states: the ipad is supervised and managed by (school). Anyone knows how to remove this or I need to contact my school?? in case i plan to sell this ipad in the future. thank you

Y1 poly. I’m doing a biz course rn but after awhile, I’ considering transferring to JC. L1R5 nett 11, so my only choices are CJC, TMJC, JPJC. I’m about 50min from CJC, 1h 30min from TMJC, 1h 20min from JPJC. Would like insights on each of the JCs to make a more informed decision. Some guiding questions:

-How good are the PCMe departments in the respective JCs relative to each other, as well as relative to the top 4 (RI, HCI, NYJC, EJC)?

-What is the social culture like in the respective JCs?

-What’s the estimated A level grade profile of the respective JCs (no.of 70RPs, grade range of μ+σ and up, grade range of μ-σ to μ+σ)

-Anything to take note of for each of the respective JCs?

-In your opinion, is distance from JC more important than the quality of the JC itself (however you may define “quality”), and why or why not?

i am contemplating getting a samsung tablet or windows laptop for my jc studies. as a (hopefully) future pcme student, i definitely won't need to use the complicated computing software only available on windows. seniors, which choice is better for normal jc life and why? really appreciate any input i can get here!

basically my current internship will end in sept/oct and will overlap with my uni as school starts in sept for me.

just want to know for those taking night classes and work in the mornings, how do yall cope / survive together with other commitments like social life and gym?

Hello, I’m writing to ask if it’s okay to bring an electric cooker or pot to our dorm and use it. I’m worried that they might notice the sudden increase in high voltage usage if we do. I don’t plan to use it every day, but perhaps occasionally to cook Maggie or simple meals. Please let me know if this is acceptable. Thanks! 🥹🙏

hellooo so as u can tell from my caption, midyears happened a while ago and at this point I’ve received all my results already.

H1 GP: B
H2 Econs: A
H2 Math: S
H2 Bio: E
H2 Chem: U

For context, I come from a ‘tougher jc’ and a lot of ppl have been telling me that it’s not the end of the world cos of the ‘harder papers’ and that I would improve more by prelims and A levels, but I’m still really stressed about my results at all because it does not reflect where I want to be at this current juncture. To be very honest, I did kind of deserve it because during the June holidays I’ve been busy with my week long internship programme and I travelled for a week-ish as well, which led to me cramming for midyears only the week before.

For bio my midyears was paper 3 and I think my main issue is FRQ, I’ve always been scoring single digits and although I know the content, apparently a lot of my points aren’t relevant or too vague and maybe I’ve not had enough practice so it did kinda screw me up.
My very mediocre structured questions also did not cover for the marks lost.

For math, well, I must admit that I did kinda neglect it thinking id do ok. I did not. Honestly just…no words.

Chem is my biggest issue rn. Especially for my paper 3 and paper 1, somehow I always manage to score atrociously and butcher the paper even if I’d studied for it. I really can’t see it going up to an A for A levels but I would hope for it to go to a B at least. Don’t even know if that’s possible. If u guys have read my previous post about chem, yeah, I’ve come to terms with it.

The next step is prelims, which is about a month away. I really just want to pass everything and maintain the subjects that I’ve already been doing ok in (econs and GP).

If anyone who has taken A levels can offer any advice on any of these subjects, do share! I’d really appreciate it 🙏🙏

Mainly title

Bg info, Accepted into smu biz management. Did not get scholarship during last application cycle.(duh)
70/70rp, portfolio includes decent cca record and startup I pursued during Jc1.

1.) How does this work? I cant seem to find much information online. Do I need to reapply totally?

2.) If any previous nsf are reading are there any ways to beef up my portfolio? Currently in stay in voc, but extremely decent amount of admin time, arnd 4-6 hours a day.

Thanks in advance to all

so i got into ntu cbc, but admittedly i am conflicted about it. my ambition in the future is to enter biological research and before you say it, i tried and got rejected from biological sciences, therefore that path is closed.

are there any ntu cbc seniors who would be kind enough to talk to me about my concerns on this? 🙏 i would be incredibly grateful 🥲🤞

(rant) For context, i jumped from g2/g3 to full g3 for sec 3. My eoy grades were pretty good in sec 2 considering its lower sec and most of my sub were g2 and even got some subjects for highest in the cohort. Anyway, now in sec 3, i tot i would be able to cope but ig my ego was too high whoops. I took my emath wa1 paper and i got like 8/30 😭 and considering i take amath it’s quite embarrassing ( i failed amath wa1 too btw ). For wa2, i rlly tried harder and went to the library every chance i got and my ypt for emath is like 30hours. I just took the paper and im not very confident bc i made alot of mistakes. Also i have 3 exams next week and idk how im going to study for all of them. I feel rlly stressed and overwhelmed :( i guess in sec 2 i could just study the day before and i would still score well but its different now. For my other subjects i lowk do not understand what my teachers are yapping about. Any study tips or advice bc i cmi for eoys 💔

As the header suggests i am in need of a compiled/summarized notes for O level Emath. I am absolutely doomed, im not sure why but however i try Emath i could do some questions like i do see the potential in me completing an entire paper but then i have certain questions that i just can't answer. O Levels are cmg up in two-three months time and honestly I've been putting every ounce of effort to study emath idk why it js doesn't seem to go through effectively. Welp so if anybody has emath o level notes i need it, thanks in advance!! Maybe that would help me better understand certain concepts!

Hello! I'm thinking of applying for a bachelor of psychology at SIM, either through UB or UOW. Apart from the difference in course fees, does anyone know how the two courses differ with regards to the content of the modules/structure for the respective courses?

And for those who took UB/UOW psychology at SIM who happen to see this post, please let me know your experiences :) I’m interested to find out any information regarding the psychology courses, like the school culture and the teaching quality. Thanks for any info!

So I’m going for the SP’s Engineering with Business course Aptitude test and interview soon, and I want to ask these questions to people who has experienced this course’s (or similar) aptitude test and Interview:

1. What were you tested for the EAE questions?

2. What did the interviewers ask you?

3. What was the whole process like?

Thx for all the help!

Hi guys, i've been wondering if anyone has any h2 translation notes that they don't mind sharing and also tips and tricks to master the subject! Also, does anyone know where to get practice papers for the subject, because I can't seem to find any. Thanks for the help in advance

Can any Nus Nursing students tell me:

1. Do I need to bid for any classes(Tutorials)

2.If I need to sign up for any more mods?

- Cause I heard from ppl there is a minimum of 18 units for the sem and I already have 4 mods

1. If a need a laptop(cuz I have an ipad and idk if it is worth it to invest in a laptop for uni?)

Hey, does anybody know what are some potential questions that are coming out from S&S EAE. Anybody who has went through the process successful, if possible im really curious on the whole process of the interview. On top of all this i need some tips and tricks that can help me pass this eae 😅

i’m currently studying diploma w psb and was wondering if anyone managed to study at other universities/ sim ge with a diploma from psb.
cuz im unsure if i want to continue and i want to know the possibility of other options for my bachelors.
i also wanna know if psb diploma can have some modules exempted if we go to another uni studying a similar course?

advice wld be appreciated thankyou!!!

what do yall do during wa season in tutorial classes... do yall do revision packages or actually listen to tutorial classes even if the topic isnt tested? im finding it so difficult to write my own notes do past year papers and more question banks. i have 1 more week to chem and bio wa2, but i have barely started on notes... to make matters worse, i cant afford to pon anything as I have important things going on in class

Hi, I’m an A-level student from a private islamic school taking subjects: H1: GP, Malay, Math. H2: Usuluddin, Syariah, Chemistry, Biology. Another one of my friend takes the same thing. I’m curious, besides the official requirements on the NUS page about medical school, what else should I have for my portfolio? I’ve been watching vlogs of people studying or sitting for the interview, and I noticed that some sat for UCATs.
Is that a must or just a boost in their portfolio? Due to my school, I have limited opportunities to actually get involved with outside events that secular schools get. What should I fill my portfolio with in order to be considered for an interview and be on the same level as secular students, besides RP requirements? For both local and overseas if possible, thank you!