If I failed again, I was going to get kicked out of school. 

In 2020, I was a year one student at Tampines Meridian JC. I got into the school on a conditional basis because I had failed my “O” level French in 2019. I had to retake my “O” level French and at the same time take my “A” level French. As I said, if I failed my Os again, I would get kicked out of school and had decided I would try the poly route. On top of that, my goal was to get into a local university and to do that, I had to get at least a sub-pass for my “A” Level. 

The odds were stacked against me. 

Let me take you back to the start of my French journey. Throughout primary school, I was exempted from the mother tongue languages. When I reached secondary school, I had to have a ‘mother tongue in lieu’ to sit for my “O” levels. When I was rejected from the MOELC, I tried to self-manage my studies, but I didn’t know what I didn’t know. As a result, I wasn’t learning any French, and I failed my end-of-year exams miserably: 4% and 5% respectively! 

This pushed me to realize that I needed some serious help. So, when a friend recommended The Agape School of Education (ASOE), I signed up immediately! At that point, it wasn’t looking good for me because I had next to no knowledge of French. I had to learn the whole secondary school curriculum in less than 2 years! At the end of Sec 3, I only had 25% for my end-of-year. It was a decent improvement, but I still had a long way to go, and that worried me because time was not on my side.

Despite my anxiousness, the kind teachers at ASOE understood my plight. They were willing to go the extra mile and work overtime to help. And that they did. While it was too late for me to recover my grades in secondary school, I knew with ASOE’s help, I could do better in junior college (JC). 

Despite the countless failures I’ve endured, the crazy thing is that the ASOE and its staff did not give up on me; they even offered to give me extra lessons and resources to help me. With the support of my French tutors at the ASOE, I worked hard to reach my goal.  

Despite the stress of sitting for both my “O” and “A” Level French exams at the same time, I finally succeeded! My hard work paid off, and I overcame adversity against all odds. I definitely could not have pulled off this seemingly impossible feat without everyone’s belief and help at the ASOE. I am now standing in triumph on top of the mountain; I am ever so grateful for everyone that helped – especially The Agape School of Education.

Take it from me. I wasn’t the brightest student nor the most hardworking at first. But because I had faith in my French teachers and my French teachers believed in me. They made learning not only a fun activity but something I wanted to do for myself. I succeeded. It does not matter what your language learning journey has been like so far. With Agape, you can succeed. I guarantee it. 

-Matthew Magsakay

Agape School of Education Response

When Matthew first approached us, we were concerned about his level of interest as he was not among the best students in his class. However, we saw that Matthew was determined and his parents were very supportive throughout his exam preparation.

Moreover, with over 14 years of teaching experience in foreign languages, the Agape School of Education (ASOE) has always been able to offer outstanding courses to any type of student. As the Director of the ASOE, I took Matthew’s great success as an opportunity to showcase the strength of our teachers and unique teaching methodology. Our students master the curriculum and syllabus of the Ministry of Education Language Centre (MOELC) because we tailor our curriculum.  

Matthew’s case was a challenge, but this success is based on the joint effort of Matthew, his parents and the ASOE. This collaboration and holistic view has been the key approach in delivering our courses.  

We take this opportunity to wish Matthew further success in his studies.