PSLE forum on July 11 empowers parents to guide their children in English and science
SINGAPORE – Most pupils do only a few English compositions a year that are marked in school, with no answer keys. They do not get graded when they practise writing at home, and parents often lack the confidence to assess their children in this area. This situation described by Moses Soh, deputy chi
By Venessa Lee
SINGAPORE – Most pupils do only a few English compositions a year that are marked in school, with no answer keys. They do not get graded when they practise writing at home, and parents often lack the confidence to assess their children in this area.
This situation described by Moses Soh, deputy chief executive and head of academic innovation at Mind Stretcher education centre, is what he will be addressing as a speaker at the PSLE Prep Forum organised by The Straits Times on July 11.
“When a child receives an essay back from school, more often than not, the feedback will focus more on technical errors, punctuation and grammar,” says Soh, a former President’s Scholar.
“We provide phrase and paragraph-level rewrites to demonstrate how to reframe and rewrite a passage, use descriptive language, plug the missing links and achieve plot coherence.”
At the forum, Soh will explain why pupils need roughly 10 times more practice than school typically provides, and will offer high-impact techniques on how to hone a child’s composition-writing skills to gain more marks.
He will also demonstrate how to use artificial intelligence-powered tools such as Mind Stretcher’s CompoCoach, which gives every child an expert-level grader and a library of model compositions within reach.
Besides providing detailed, actionable feedback, it draws on the experience of former school heads of department who have marked thousands of compositions over the years.
CompoCoach is part of cher.ai, Mind Stretcher’s personal tutor AI. Those who subscribe to PSLE Companion by end-July will get 30 per cent off cher.ai subscriptions until the end of the 2026 PSLE.
The PSLE Prep Forum on July 11, from 10am to 12.30pm, is titled “Essential exam strategies: What can you do in the final stretch of PSLE revision?”.
Open to PSLE Companion subscribers to attend online or in person at SPH Media News Centre, it has two expert speakers and an English masterclass for Primary 5 and 6 pupils running alongside.
Participants also get exclusive access to a series of PSLE Science Challenge Cards, plus a set of challenging questions from past-year PSLE science papers with full answers, put together by BlueTree Education. Click here to download a sample Science Challenge card, which asks pupils to apply their knowledge of photosynthesis and carbon dioxide.
Jolene Ang, co-founder of BlueTree Education, is the other speaker at the forum.
The former PSLE chief presiding examiner and PSLE science marker will show participants how to spot common thinking traps that cause the needless loss of exam marks. She will also teach parents how to decode mistakes, and help their children stay calm and confident under pressure.
In the two-hour masterclass in English, Primary 5 and 6 pupils will be guided to look at ST stories to help them use English effectively not just for the exams, but also for lifelong application.
It will be conducted by Soo Kim Bee, a former gifted education senior specialist and a former master teacher at the English Language Institute of Singapore.
Soo says: “Different sections in the newspapers offer specific language learning opportunities and the application of exam-taking strategies.
“Understanding text cohesion, for instance, helps them read comprehension texts quickly and more effectively. They also learn how to stay relevant and paragraph properly when writing their own compositions.”
Pupils can also be taught to notice and understand semantic fields, she says, such as which specific words typically come together and are used to describe a crime scene or a sports event. They can apply this understanding when writing about a crime or football match.
Ang adds: “If a child starts now and needs a marked improvement, he or she has to double down. Parents often ask at this point in the PSLE year: Is it too late? I want to tell them it is not. It is possible to revise well with expert tips. I have seen it. ”
Event details
Date: July 11, SaturdayTime: 10am to 12.30pm (registration starts at 9.30am)Venue: SPH Auditorium, SPH Media News Centre, 1000 Toa Payoh North
Registration details
Sign up at https://stsub.sph.com.sg/article or scan the QR code before July 6, while vacancies last. For inquiries, e-mail stevents@sph.com.sg