She was so determined to do well in her
O-level examination that she deleted her social media accounts and
brought her social life to a standstill as the days drew
closer.
Yesterday, that discipline paid off for 16-year-old
Haziratul Zakirah - who was one of the top scorers from Hong Kah
Secondary School with an L1R5 score of 13, which included three
distinctions.
The class of 2016 set a record with yesterday's
results. Students who took the O levels last year outperformed
their seniors with 84.3 per cent attaining at least five passes,
surpassing the 83.8 per cent set by the 2015 cohort.
When Zakirah's result was flashed on the screen in
school, she started to cry.
She told The New Paper later: "I felt so relieved that
all my hard work and sacrifices have paid off."
She recounted how she had spent about four hours each
day studying after returning home from school at around 6pm. On
weekends, she would study for about nine hours on one day and spend
the other day resting.
Zakirah, who has three siblings,
said she was inspired by her mother, who is the sole
breadwinner.
She said: "My mother works very
hard so that my siblings and I can be successful in life. I don't
want to waste that effort." Madam Siti Rodiyah, 48, a planning
engineer, told TNP: "I wasn't really surprised with Zakirah's
result because I had seen how hard she worked. But whatever her
results, I am very proud."
Zakirah scored eight for her L1R4,
and based on last year's criteria, she's eligible for her dream
course - biomedical science at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
Zakirah, who grew up watching
doctor shows on television, hopes to become one in the future.
She was also her school's student
council president and National Police Cadet Corps squad leader. She
even found time to volunteer.
Zakirah said: "I have been through
a lot of challenges, and I know what it feels like to need help.
This made me want to help others so they have a reason to
smile."
Her mathematics teacher, Mr Dao Jun
Sun, 35, said that he was not only proud of her grades but also her
character.
"That, to me, is her real success,"
he said.
