21-05-2025
Four schools including Outram Secondary and Temasek JC advance to ST's What's The News? quiz finals
Judges and contestants at the semi-finals of ST's quiz competition What's The News? at Our Tampines Hub on May 21. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
SINGAPORE - All it took was a simple drawing of stick men that showed how drug abuse could cause strains within a family.
That illustration helped the team from Presbyterian High School in winning a ticket to the finals in ST's quiz competition, What's The News? on May 21.
The interschool interactive quiz competition, organised by The Straits Times as part of its 180th anniversary outreach, is supported by the Ministry of Education. The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) is a partner.
Secondary 3 student Daven Voo, 15, from Presbyterian High School, said: 'That game was the hardest as it required us to draw a picture, and since none of us here are particularly good at drawing, we had some trouble with that.
'The most important (insight we gained) is that group effort is the key to overcoming our challenges,' he said, adding that the team is nervous but excited for the upcoming finals.
His team is one of the four finalists that are on track to become the champion in ST's current affairs quiz competition, What's The News? during the finals on May 23 to be held at the NUS University Cultural Centre.
The other finalists include Outram Secondary School, St Joseph's Institution and Temasek Junior College, who will all be vying for a S$4000 cash prize for the first place winners.
Presbyterian High School students taking part in a Pictionary contest during the semi-finals of ST's What's The News? quiz competition on May 21.
ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
The schools that finish second, third and fourth will win $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000, respectively.
The competition, which kicked off with a preliminary round in April, drew more than 6,000 participants across 50 schools. Contestants had to answer a 30 question online current affairs quiz within 30 minutes.
Students aged 15 and above from local secondary schools, junior colleges, polytechnics, and the Institutes of Technical Education were tested on their knowledge of news and current affairs.
A total of 96 students from the top 16 schools then advanced to the semi-finals, which happened on May 21 at Our Tampines Hub.
The semi-final stage was conducted in an arena-style team game, where contestants engaged in four telematch games. Questions ranged from topics like sports and crime to popular culture and local and international news.
Yishun Innova Junior College students taking part in a game during the semi-finals of ST's What's The News? quiz competition.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
Students were first tasked to work in groups to guide their teammate – standing in a ball pit blindfolded – to find the placard with the correct answer as soon as possible.
They then moved on to a challenge, where teams were given 10 seconds to move forward to score more points for every correct answer to true-or-false questions.
Students' creativity and presentation skills were also tested in a Pictionary contest where they were given five minutes to create one drawing and three short answers to illustrate the impact of a given social issue on different stakeholders.
At the last stage, students were asked to answer questions by physically running to one of four zones - each representing one option. Points were awarded based on the number of team members in the correct zone.
ST editor Jaime Ho with Outram Secondary School students during the semi-finals of ST's What's The News? quiz competition.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
ST editor Jaime Ho said: 'What a power-packed afternoon it was. This semi-final was unlike other quiz games we've organised. Besides being familiar with current affairs, the teams needed to play strategically, have teamwork, think critically, and even enjoy a spoonful of luck.
'With Gen Zs and Gen Alphas, we know they are consuming media and news differently from their parents and grandparents, and we need to reach them differently. While we have had publications like Little Red Dot and IN for students, and current affairs programmes for junior college, polytechnic and ITE students for years, we need to continually evolve our offerings so that we continue to speak the language of our young people.'
ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo and Mr Dominic Nathan, SPH Media's managing editor of English, Malay and Tamil Media, viewing a presentation by Victoria School students.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
Students who took part in the semi-finals said the mix of physical activity and brain-racking questions was fun and thoroughly engaging.
Victoria School's Kenneth Pang, 16, a Secondary 4 student, said his most memorable question was being asked during the last game for the increasingly popular Korean term used to describe a middle-aged man - 'ajeossi'.
Faced with competition from three other junior colleges in their zone, Kenneth's team of six - who were all aged 15 to 16 - unfortunately did not make it to the finals. But th ey hope to be part of the competition the next round to challenge themselves again.
For Yishun Innova Junior College semi-finalist Zane Leow, 18, his biggest takeaway is to 'always be curious'.
Just seven points shy of the winning team in their zone, Zane's team still impressed spectators when they topped the charts after the second game, strategising as a team to move forward quickly.
Yishun Innova Junior College students taking part in a game during the semi-finals of ST's What's The News? quiz competition.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
On the other side of the competition, CNB's representative and competition judge, Mr Kangtai Zhong, found the Pictionary game most memorable.
Mr Zhong, who was one of the judges for the zone that was given a question on drug abuse, said: 'It is actually very heartening to see that all the groups that participated on the topic actually mentioned that drugs harm not only the abuser, but to their family members and loved ones.'
Mr Zhong, who is assistant director of planning and development at the DrugFreeSG Office, added: 'We believe that our youth have the ability to think critically, exercising their cognitive ability to glean information and come to decisions about issues that matter to their generation, including issues on climate change, cybersecurity, mental health and drug abuse.'
ST managing editor Murali Subramaniam (right) and Mr Kangtai Zhong, assistant director of planning and development at the DrugFreeSG Office, with Nanyang Girls' High School students during the Pictionary contest.
ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
CNB works with schools and partners to educate students on the issue of drug abuse.
Its DrugFreeSG office works with MOE to design curricula that helps students understand drug abuse, for instance, how it harms brain development and the nervous system in lower secondary science classes. In junior college, General Paper classes cover the topic of drugs and drug laws, while the economics subject includes the cost of drug abuse that society bears.
