How A Sekolah Kampung Beat 20 Elite Schools In An English Competition

On 28 July, a rural school in Kedah went against the odds and surprised everyone, including themselves, by doing exceptionally well in a district level choral speaking competition. The tiny Kampong school was placed 5th, beating 20 elite schools.

The school's teacher, Cheryl Ann Fernando, writing in a piece published on The Malaysian Insider, says that in almost any district level competition, the odds are never in their favour. She writes:

So how did a "hotspot" school with their low English proficiency, many of whose students could barely string a decent English sentence together, made it so far in a district level competition?

The school was entering the choral speaking competition for the third time in their school history. The students knew who they were going to go against – the big guns – the convents, cluster schools, maktabs and sekolah berprestasi tinggi.

"We didn't stand a chance," writes Cheryl, "it was unthinkable to imagine them memorising and then reciting three pages of text in English. But, they wanted to enter."

So they started training from March, all through the fasting month.

"We knew the odds are never in our favour so we only trained harder. My students went through word by word, memorising everything in the paper. We did our best to polish up our pronunciation and focused on enunciation. We put emotions into our speaking and wanted to do the best."

Half way through training, their teacher saw them looking tired

As she watched their spirits dwindle, she reminded them an important thing

And when the time came to compete on Tuesday, her students were a nervous wreck. However, she and her fellow teacher reminded the participating students that they are already so proud of them.

However, when they performed, they did exceptionally well, making both the judges and the audience laugh for all the right reasons

Their teacher, Cheryl, was however still skeptical when the results were announced. She thought to herself that they wouldn't win.

Writing in The Malaysian Insider piece, Cheryl asks, "What are the odds that a sekolah kampung would beat 20 other schools to gain a place in the top 5 amidst the cluster schools and convents?"

Cheryl with her students.

Image via Cheryl Fernando

How A Sekolah Kampung Beat 20 Elite Schools In An English Competition

On 28 July, a rural school in Kedah went against the odds and surprised everyone, including themselves, by doing exceptionally well in a district level choral speaking competition. The tiny Kampong school was placed 5th, beating 20 elite schools.

The school's teacher, Cheryl Ann Fernando, writing in a piece published on The Malaysian Insider, says that in almost any district level competition, the odds are never in their favour. She writes:

So how did a "hotspot" school with their low English proficiency, many of whose students could barely string a decent English sentence together, made it so far in a district level competition?

Half way through training, their teacher saw them looking tired

As she watched their spirits dwindle, she reminded them an important thing

And when the time came to compete on Tuesday, her students were a nervous wreck. However, she and her fellow teacher reminded the participating students that they are already so proud of them.

However, when they performed, they did exceptionally well, making both the judges and the audience laugh for all the right reasons

Their teacher, Cheryl, was however still skeptical when the results were announced. She thought to herself that they wouldn't win.

Writing in The Malaysian Insider piece, Cheryl asks, "What are the odds that a sekolah kampung would beat 20 other schools to gain a place in the top 5 amidst the cluster schools and convents?"

Watch the team's performance here:

Previously on SAYS' Feel Good Friday:

Read more trending stories on SAYS

You may be interested in:

How A Sekolah Kampung Beat 20 Elite Schools In An English Competition

On 28 July, a rural school in Kedah went against the odds and surprised everyone, including themselves, by doing exceptionally well in a district level choral speaking competition. The tiny Kampong school was placed 5th, beating 20 elite schools.

The school's teacher, Cheryl Ann Fernando, writing in a piece published on The Malaysian Insider, says that in almost any district level competition, the odds are never in their favour. She writes:

So how did a "hotspot" school with their low English proficiency, many of whose students could barely string a decent English sentence together, made it so far in a district level competition?

Half way through training, their teacher saw them looking tired

As she watched their spirits dwindle, she reminded them an important thing

And when the time came to compete on Tuesday, her students were a nervous wreck. However, she and her fellow teacher reminded the participating students that they are already so proud of them.

However, when they performed, they did exceptionally well, making both the judges and the audience laugh for all the right reasons

Their teacher, Cheryl, was however still skeptical when the results were announced. She thought to herself that they wouldn't win.

Writing in The Malaysian Insider piece, Cheryl asks, "What are the odds that a sekolah kampung would beat 20 other schools to gain a place in the top 5 amidst the cluster schools and convents?"

Watch the team's performance here:

Previously on SAYS' Feel Good Friday:

Boss Of Alcohol-Free Pub Convicted Of Drunk Driving After Found In Car Crash

How To Report Neighbourhood Problems To Your Local Council

"One Accidental Click, Bank Account Drained" — How Malware Scams Actually Happen

Read more trending stories on SAYS

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