More than Grades — a new series by ST to spotlight remarkable youth

For the longest time, The Straits Times has covered the release of every national examination's results.

- Amelia Teng

Like clockwork, the season of results coverage would kick in from November, starting with the Primary School Leaving Examination, followed by the N, O and A levels from December to February, and the International Baccalaureate somewhere in between.

Some time back, when the Ministry of Education stopped revealing the top scorers along with their grades, the stories that started appearing in the media also began to change.

No longer was it about straight-A students and overachievers—the focus shifted to those who were all-rounders across their studies and other extracurricular activities, as well as others who had faced insurmountable challenges at a young age and fought hard to do well in school.

In 2025, ST went a step further by deciding not to cover the routine releases of exam results.

Instead, the team of education reporters hopes to tell the stories of young people behind their academic grades and transcripts throughout the year and not only in the results season.