My eyes widened when I first heard someone tell me about School of the Arts. It seemed so out-of-place in math and science-centric Singapore, so unfathomable that there could be a school where arts was intertwined with academics. The idea of a school where there were people who specialised in different forms of art seemed like something out of a Hollywood movie to me.

Then I heard, "Yeah, we have writing as an artform in SOTA too." and I was so, so excited.

I had always liked writing but I had never been able to channel this passion anywhere else but compositions for English in primary school, where I had to use specific idioms and phrases to get the A* that every student craved for. So when I heard that SOTA literary arts students were taught different genres of writing, like poetry, reportage, and so much more, the picture that was painted in my head seemed like an unattainable utopia.

When I applied, there was a part of me that was unbelieving of this dream school. There was also a part of me that told myself that I wasn’t good enough for these extremely talented strangers.

But then I got into the first round. And then the second. Then I was staring at the words, “Application accepted.” on my screen.

And I was elated.

One of the very first lessons I did in my artform was this - we were brought down to the steps of SOTA, and my teacher simply told me to write about people we observed on the streets. My class sat there for a while, confused. How would we write about people we didn't even know? We asked ourselves. As time went by, we started imagining backstories for the people on the streets, creating whimsical and wild stories - creating characters.

This was one of the first lessons that truly showed me what kind of school I was in for.

Instead of the usual standard textbook lessons, this style of teaching was applied to daily lessons. When we did the playwriting genre in our Literary Arts lessons, we were taught elements of theatre and acting to help us better grasp the dimensions of the genre. For the recent documentary genre we are learning, we were brought to the National Museum of Singapore for inspiration on what we could do and who we could interview in local context.


Visit to the Growing Up exhibition at National Museum of Singapore (2021)

For my academic subjects, one of the biggest changes as I entered Year 1 was the projects. It was a big switch from a test-based track to one that requires creative thinking and pushes me to ponder what I could do within given boundaries. Instead of the usual memorising and regurgitating to attain marks, these projects activated a different side of me. I had to think outside of the box and research, as well as collaborate with others. The best part about these projects is that academics and arts were interlaced. For example, projects where Literature and Theatre are put together, or Mathematics and Visual arts, and many more. As I had never been exposed to these types of projects in primary school before, this was a big challenge for me in Year 1, and I struggled a lot. After three years at SOTA, these projects are one of the big things I love about school.


A Mathematics and Visual Arts project where students had to use Math to deduce the length of the windchime (2019)

Then there are the people who create the atmosphere of the school. The very first thing I noticed about SOTA was how everyone was so comfortable in school. The teachers didn't seem like a governing authority, they seemed more like our friends and approachable figures. The students had found ways to have fun in school, and at the same time, keep respect for the rules. When I stepped into the towering building on the first day, I immediately felt like the students didn't think of the school as a foreign place they had to come to every day, it was like an extension of home.


The 2019 Year 1 cohort (2019)

One of the extremely striking things about this school is the diversity of people. People from all across the spectrum, from different schools, different cultures, and different backgrounds. The one thing that brought us all here together was our love for the arts. It is one thing all of us have in common at school. I hear a lot of my friends tell me that they've found people they can relate to so much as artists, and I wholeheartedly agree. There are people who seem completely different in every aspect possible, and yet there's so much I've learned from them.

“Are you happy in SOTA?”

That was one of the questions someone had asked me when I volunteered at the SOTA open house a year ago.

Because despite waking up at 6am, the insurmountable amount of homework, the long hours and the crazy project deadlines?

Yes, I really am. There’s never been a better place where I can be the best version of myself - the place where I can call home.

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In Literary Arts, students learn to critically appreciate a range of literary works from the point of view of a writer, and to ideate and create original works. They will explore a range of literary forms such as prose, poetry, and drama, as well as a variety of writing forms, like short stories, playscripts, comics, creative non-fiction and different types of poetry.

Students in this four-year creative writing programme will learn the conventions and techniques of each form to understand how to apply these in their own writing. They will also learn to discuss and reflect on the choices they make in writing and editing.

Find out more about SOTA at our e-Open House, held online from 10 April to 18 May 2021 HERE.

READ OTHER STUDENTS' EXPERIENCES.❖ Photos provided by Maegan Tan