Curriculum, Please Mind the Platform Gap, Subject Previews 2022, Subjects

Please Mind The Platform Gap: Taking H2 Computing
Reading Time: 3 minutes

By Faith Wan (23S02B)

2022 marks the year Raffles Institution welcomed its first batch of 25 H2 Computing students since 2005. While Computing may sound like a niche subject that caters to only the wildly talented—think hackers in black hoods as portrayed on the big screen, the subject is open to all (yes, even those with no programming experience!). 

H2 Computing is modelled after computer science courses in universities, and is designed to cover foundational areas of knowledge usually taught in the first year. 

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Curriculum, Please Mind the Platform Gap, Subject Previews 2022, Subjects

Please Mind The Platform Gap: Taking H2 Chemistry
Reading Time: 4 minutes

By Tay Yu Ning (23S06E)

As one of the most popular subjects in Raffles Institution (second only to Mathematics), H2 Chemistry certainly appeals to many during the subject selection phase. Practically every Science stream student takes H2 Chemistry, unless they are one of the few who decided to replace Chemistry with Further Math or Computing.

This appeal, however, often does not last throughout the year. During the Promotional Exams period, it is common to hear complaints such as “I should have fled to the hybrid stream” or “What was I thinking when I decided to take H2?”

So, is it truly worth it to take Chemistry at the H2 level?

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Curriculum, Please Mind the Platform Gap, Subject Previews 2022, Subjects

Please Mind The Platform Gap: Taking H2 Physics
Reading Time: 4 minutes

By Noh Sangeun (23S06Q)

Cover image by Tay Yu Ning (23S06E)

Maybe you’re looking to take up the unfailingly popular PCME combination. Maybe your innate intellectual curiosity compels you to uncover the workings of the physical universe. Maybe you just appreciate the simplicity of equations like P=VI and F=ma. Whatever it is, H2 Physics has something to offer to everyone, so welcome to this short preview of the curriculum!

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Curriculum, Please Mind the Platform Gap, Subject Previews 2022, Subjects

Please Mind The Platform Gap: Taking H2 Biology
Reading Time: 4 minutes

By Shreya Singh (23S03C)

Cover image by Tay Yu Ning (23S06E)

Gene technology today has completely revolutionised the way we approach diseases.  Your very DNA can now be edited to blur the boundaries of the human experience. In all its versatility, the CRISPR method capitalises on our knowledge of the genetic code.

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Commentary

If: Singapore Writers Festival Preview 2022
Reading Time: 5 minutes

By Anamika Ragu (23A01A) and Raphael Niu (23A01A)

Cover image credits to Arts House Limited.

We have all at least once pondered the question: “What if?” What if you’d done things differently? What if you went back to that crossroad and chose the other path, if you’d said something else, if you knew then what you know now?

Or, to put things differently, what if we’d all had greater foresight during those first few months of 2020 — would we have been able to mitigate the pandemic’s effects? Even more emphatically for those of us mourning the loss of overseas trips, what if we were able to plan for the lifted restrictions in 2022 last year?

The theme for this year’s Singapore Writer’s Festival (SWF), celebrating its 25th anniversary, is one replete with regret and possibility: “If”. It is aptly named, as we are all standing at the intersection between our past decisions and our uncertain future.

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