The NUS High School of Math and Science, also known as NUS High School or NUSH, is a specialised independent

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

in Singapore offering a six-year

Integrated Programme The Integrated Programme (IP) is a scheme that allows high-performing students in secondary schools in Singapore to skip the GCE Ordinary Level (O-Level) examination (typically taken by students at the end of their fourth or fifth year in secon ...

(IP) leading to the NUS High School Diploma. Its parent university is the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...

. The school offers an accelerated mathematics and science curriculum integrated with language, arts, humanities, and sports, in a modular system. Over 70% of its graduates have pursued Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine-related courses in university.

Curriculum

Academic curriculum

NUS High School is an

school, which allows students to bypass the GCE O Levels. However, unlike other

schools, it does not offer GCE A Level or

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...

programmes. Instead, it offers an NUS High School Diploma, which all universities in Singapore recognise, as well as universities worldwide. The diploma's curriculum is based on a modular system similar to its parent university NUS. Core modules are compulsory, elective modules help deepen the student's knowledge and may be compulsory for a major in a particular subject, and enrichment modules are purely for the student's interests. The school uses the cumulative average point (CAP) system, a 5-point system similar to the

grade point average Grading in education is the application of standardized Measurement, measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentage ...

used in the United States. This is unlike most other schools in Singapore, where subjects are graded according to the British GCSE System. The school's mathematics and science curriculums are accelerated. Topics are usually covered earlier than other schools. For example, the

mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole" * Golden mole, southern African mammals * Marsupial mole Marsupial moles, the Notoryctidae family, are two species of highly specialized marsupial mammals that are found i ...

is introduced in Year 2 instead of Year 3,

kinematics In physics, kinematics studies the geometrical aspects of motion of physical objects independent of forces that set them in motion. Constrained motion such as linked machine parts are also described as kinematics. Kinematics is concerned with s ...

in Year 1 and Year 2 instead of Year 5, calculus in Year 3, and

molecular biology Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...

and

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

in Year 3 instead of Year 6. Examples of the accelerated

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

curriculum include sections on solutions of

equation In mathematics, an equation is a mathematical formula that expresses the equality of two expressions, by connecting them with the equals sign . The word ''equation'' and its cognates in other languages may have subtly different meanings; for ...

s introduced in Year 1 instead of Year 3, and three-dimensional vectors and

matrices Matrix (: matrices or matrixes) or MATRIX may refer to: Science and mathematics * Matrix (mathematics), a rectangular array of numbers, symbols or expressions * Matrix (logic), part of a formula in prenex normal form * Matrix (biology), the ...

in Years 2 and 4 instead of Year 5. Students may also take accelerated subjects (usually mathematics) where they learn concepts a year earlier than other non-accelerated students. The school offers elective programmes which may or may not count toward the CAP. Students may choose up to two electives which will be held at the end of the day. Examples of electives include Physics/Chemistry/Biology Olympiad Training, Computer Science. The school also offers honours courses in the Specialisation Stage for mathematical and scientific disciplines. The curriculum in these honours courses usually covers university material, such as

linear algebra Linear algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning linear equations such as :a_1x_1+\cdots +a_nx_n=b, linear maps such as :(x_1, \ldots, x_n) \mapsto a_1x_1+\cdots +a_nx_n, and their representations in vector spaces and through matrix (mathemat ...

in mathematics, calculus-based

electromagnetism In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge via electromagnetic fields. The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. It is the dominant force in the interacti ...

in physics,

organic synthesis Organic synthesis is a branch of chemical synthesis concerned with the construction of organic compounds. Organic compounds are molecules consisting of combinations of covalently-linked hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen atoms. Within the gen ...

and

spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets electromagnetic spectra. In narrower contexts, spectroscopy is the precise study of color as generalized from visible light to all bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. Spectro ...

in chemistry, and

proteomics Proteomics is the large-scale study of proteins. Proteins are vital macromolecules of all living organisms, with many functions such as the formation of structural fibers of muscle tissue, enzymatic digestion of food, or synthesis and replicatio ...

in biology. To graduate with the NUS High School diploma, students must major in mathematics and at least two science subjects (including computer studies). Students may choose to take a fourth subject from any subject group (sciences, humanities & the arts), or take any mathematics or science subject at the honours level. In addition, students must complete an Advanced Research Project under the school's Da Vinci Research Programme. Finally, students must have a CAP above 2.5 (C+). Students are also encouraged to take

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board. AP offers undergraduate university-level curricula and examinations to high school students. Colleges and universities in the US and elsewhere ...

and

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

examinations in their senior years for credits for admission into foreign

universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, though these are not necessary for graduation.

Research curriculum

All students go through a research curriculum called the Da Vinci Programme. As part of the curriculum, all students must complete an Advanced Research Project which is included in the student's school grades.

Sports

NUS High School offers various sports to choose from as part of its options for co-curricular activities. The compulsory

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

modules from Years 1 to 6 also cover sports such as football, netball, basketball, badminton, floorball, baseball, outdoor education, and so on.

Houses

Students are sorted at random into one of four houses upon matriculation. The four houses, named

Faraday Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the study of electrochemistry and electromagnetism. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic inducti ...

Fibonacci Leonardo Bonacci ( – ), commonly known as Fibonacci, was an Italians, Italian mathematician from the Republic of Pisa, considered to be "the most talented Western mathematician of the Middle Ages". The name he is commonly called, ''Fibonacci ...

, Fleming and Nobel, bear the colours yellow, red, blue and green respectively. An annual house challenge is held between the houses.

Admissions

Students are admitted to the school in Year 1 or Year 3 after a selection process comprising tests and group activities in which they are assessed for their understanding and passion in mathematics and the sciences. The school attracts the top 10% of Singapore's national cohort of primary school students. Annually, it receives around 2000 applications from both local and international students for its Year 1 admissions but only enrols up to 170 students, giving an admissions rate of below 8.5%.

Campus

Location

Currently, the NUS High School campus sits on 4.7 hectares of land off Clementi Ave 1. The school moved operations from its temporary campus at the former Raffles Junior College grounds at Mount Sinai Road in 2005.

Building features

Due to the school's specialisation in

and

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

, the building features many designs relating to mathematics and science. These include, but are not limited to, a drawing of the four

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

bases ( ACGT) on the roof of the concourse, a timeline of major mathematical discoveries, and coloured metal shades to represent the digits of pi.

NUS High School Residence (Boarding School)

The campus includes a boarding school (NUS High School Residence) consisting of two blocks that can accommodate around 500 residents. Facilities include studying areas and rooms, a gym, pantries, media rooms (TV and relaxation), game rooms, music rooms and laundry rooms. The boarding school is also open to scholars studying within or outside of the school and serves as the site for the school's boarding programme. Students are required to live in the NUS High Boarding School in Year 5.

NUS Libraries

The library at NUS High School (known as the Node) is part of the NUS Library system. NUS High School students and staff can access the loaning, catalogue and transaction resources of NUS Libraries from the Node. NUS teaching staff can request books in other NUS Libraries to be transferred to the Node.

Key partners

Parent institution

* National University of Singapore (NUS) NUSH is the only high school in Singapore to be supported by a parent university. For example, NUS provides the school with a swimming pool for water-related sports, and much of the school's students graduate to NUS.

Principals

* 2005 – 2007: Associate Professor Lai Yee Hing * 2007 – 2015: Dr Hang Kim Hoo * 2016 – 2019: Lee Bee Yann * 2020 – Present: Soh Lai Leng Magdalen

Deputy principals

* 2019 – Present: Doreen Ganyer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:NUS High School of Mathematics and Science Educational institutions established in 2005 2005 establishments in Singapore Schools offering Integrated Programme in Singapore Secondary schools in Singapore National University of Singapore University-affiliated secondary schools