She scores at N levels, thanks to love of football, support from others

At around 14 years old, Jenna Tang decided she did not want to be stuck in a bad place forever.

- Gabrielle Chan

Two years on, after falling out with her foster mother and twice running away from a children's home, Jenna has turned her life around.

On Dec 16, the Tampines Secondary School student received her N-level examination results. She scored an A in science and B in English, and did well enough in other subjects such as mother tongue and maths to qualify for her dream course - sports management at the Institute of Technical Education.

Her dream to go into sports management started after a social worker prompted her to think about her future.

Jenna, now 16, said: "I remember what she told me, and it hit me deep. My social worker told me that I could continue with whatever I was doing, like running away, but in the long term, would I want to be like a car where I can move forward, or a rock that will be forever stuck in a bad situation?"

The arguments with her foster mother started small, and became larger, more physical ones, causing Jenna to be placed in a children's home.