Favourite Poet - Sylvia Plath

Favourite Poet - Sylvia Plath

To be honest, I only chose Sylvia Plath because of the short introduction about 'deeply disturbed woman' in the blog prompt, but after reading about her story, I feel that she deserves to be my favourite poet.

"She went through a deep depression in 1953 and a subsequent suicide attempt."
"She committed suicide using her gas oven."
"In deep depression, she wrote her most famous book, Ariel."
As with these quotations, you can see that she is a real pessimistic woman whom of which puts all of her emotions comprising of total sadness into her works. Despite her depression since the age of eight when her father had died, she was one of the most promising students in her college, which explains her success in her stylistic and rhythmic poems.

Sylvia Plath was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on October 27, 1932. Her mother, Aurelia Schober, was a master’s student at Boston University when she met Plath’s father, Otto Plath, who was her professor. They were married in January of 1932.In 1940, when Sylvia was eight years old, her father died as a result of complications from diabetes.
In 1950, Plath matriculated at Smith College. In early 1956, she attended a party and met the English poet, Ted Hughes. Shortly thereafter, Plath and Hughes were married, on June 16, 1956. In England, she gave birth to the couple's two children, Freida and Nicholas Hughes, in 1960 and 1962, respectively. On February 11, 1963, during one of the worst English winters on record, Plath wrote a note to her downstairs neighbor instructing him to call the doctor, then she committed suicide using her gas oven.

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Her most famous poem, Daddy:
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You do not do, you do not do
Any more, black shoe
In which I have lived like a foot
For thirty years, poor and white,
Barely daring to breathe or Achoo.

Daddy, I have had to kill you.
You died before I had time--
Marble-heavy, a bag full of God,
Ghastly statue with one gray toe
Big as a Frisco seal

And a head in the freakish Atlantic
Where it pours bean green over blue
In the waters off beautiful Nauset.
I used to pray to recover you.
Ach, du.

In the German tongue, in the Polish town
Scraped flat by the roller
Of wars, wars, wars.
But the name of the town is common.
My Polack friend

Says there are a dozen or two.
So I never could tell where you
Put your foot, your root,
I never could talk to you.
The tongue stuck in my jaw.

It stuck in a barb wire snare.
Ich, ich, ich, ich,
I could hardly speak.
I thought every German was you.
And the language obscene

An engine, an engine
Chuffing me off like a Jew.
A Jew to Dachau, Auschwitz, Belsen.
I began to talk like a Jew.
I think I may well be a Jew.

The snows of the Tyrol, the clear beer of Vienna
Are not very pure or true.
With my gipsy ancestress and my weird luck
And my Taroc pack and my Taroc pack
I may be a bit of a Jew.

I have always been scared of you,
With your Luftwaffe, your gobbledygoo.
And your neat mustache
And your Aryan eye, bright blue.
Panzer-man, panzer-man, O You--

Not God but a swastika
So black no sky could squeak through.
Every woman adores a Fascist,
The boot in the face, the brute
Brute heart of a brute like you.

You stand at the blackboard, daddy,
In the picture I have of you,
A cleft in your chin instead of your foot
But no less a devil for that, no not
Any less the black man who

Bit my pretty red heart in two.
I was ten when they buried you.
At twenty I tried to die
And get back, back, back to you.
I thought even the bones would do.

But they pulled me out of the sack,
And they stuck me together with glue.
And then I knew what to do.
I made a model of you,
A man in black with a Meinkampf look

And a love of the rack and the screw.
And I said I do, I do.
So daddy, I'm finally through.
The black telephone's off at the root,
The voices just can't worm through.

If I've killed one man, I've killed two--
The vampire who said he was you
And drank my blood for a year,
Seven years, if you want to know.
Daddy, you can lie back now.

There's a stake in your fat black heart
And the villagers never liked you.
They are dancing and stamping on you.
They always knew it was you.
Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I'm through.
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Lady Lazarus:
--------------------------------------------
I have done it again.
One year in every ten
I manage it--

A sort of walking miracle, my skin
Bright as a Nazi lampshade,
My right foot

A paperweight,
My face a featureless, fine
Jew linen.

Peel off the napkin
O my enemy.
Do I terrify?--

The nose, the eye pits, the full set of teeth?
The sour breath
Will vanish in a day.

Soon, soon the flesh
The grave cave ate will be
At home on me

And I a smiling woman.
I am only thirty.
And like the cat I have nine times to die.

This is Number Three.
What a trash
To annihilate each decade.

What a million filaments.
The peanut-crunching crowd
Shoves in to see

Them unwrap me hand and foot--
The big strip tease.
Gentlemen, ladies
These are my hands
My knees.
I may be skin and bone,

Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman.
The first time it happened I was ten.
It was an accident.

The second time I meant
To last it out and not come back at all.
I rocked shut

As a seashell.
They had to call and call
And pick the worms off me like sticky pearls.

Dying
Is an art, like everything else.
I do it exceptionally well.

I do it so it feels like hell.
I do it so it feels real.
I guess you could say I've a call.

It's easy enough to do it in a cell.
It's easy enough to do it and stay put.
It's the theatrical

Comeback in broad day
To the same place, the same face, the same brute
Amused shout:

'A miracle!'
That knocks me out.
There is a charge

For the eyeing of my scars, there is a charge
For the hearing of my heart--
It really goes.

And there is a charge, a very large charge
For a word or a touch
Or a bit of blood

Or a piece of my hair or my clothes.
So, so, Herr Doktor.
So, Herr Enemy.

I am your opus,
I am your valuable,
The pure gold baby

That melts to a shriek.
I turn and burn.
Do not think I underestimate your great concern.

Ash, ash--
You poke and stir.
Flesh, bone, there is nothing there--

A cake of soap,
A wedding ring,
A gold filling.

Herr God, Herr Lucifer
Beware
Beware.

Out of the ash
I rise with my red hair
And I eat men like air.
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Morning song:
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Love set you going like a fat gold watch.
The midwife slapped your footsoles, and your bald cry
Took its place among the elements.

Our voices echo, magnifying your arrival. New statue.
In a drafty museum, your nakedness
Shadows our safety. We stand round blankly as walls.

I'm no more your mother
Than the cloud that distills a mirror to reflect its own slow
Effacement at the wind's hand.

All night your moth-breath
Flickers among the flat pink roses. I wake to listen:
A far sea moves in my ear.

One cry, and I stumble from bed, cow-heavy and floral
In my Victorian nightgown.
Your mouth opens clean as a cat's. The window square

Whitens and swallows its dull stars. And now you try
Your handful of notes;
The clear vowels rise like balloons.
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Source - http://poets.org/

Figurative language

Figurative language

An Evil tree by William Blake
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I was angry with my friend;
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I watered it in fears,
Night & morning with my tears:
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine.

And into my garden stole.
When the night had veiled the pole;
In the morning glad I see,
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.
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Question 1:
How are the figurative language used in the poem? Give the specific word(s), explain what type of figurative language it is and why the poet chose to use this figurative language?
Answer:
In relation to the wraths 'growing' and 'ending', they are hyperboles that exaggerate the hatred for the writer's friend and enemy.
Quoting "apple" from the second line of the third paragraph, it is a representation of the tears of the tree and is thus symbolism.
The metaphor in the poem is "And I watered it in fears, Night & Morning with my tears." because it shows the picture in the readers' mind.
Question 2:
Tell us why you like this poem in no less that 100 words.
Answer:
This poem has the feelings of a tree that shows how it feels as it grows, just as if it were a human being. I was also attracted to the title of the poem because I would know what to expect in the poem, thus having some interest in it. With the rhythms and all types of figurative language, I liked it much more than other poems I glanced through because it gives the reader some challenge in picturing the emotions that the tree felt.

Who is your favourite character in Village by the Sea?

Who is your favourite character in Village by the Sea?

He used to be a worthless, seemingly-permanently drunken father whom his children thought was an eyesore and someone who only justifies hatred in their eyes. He was addicted to toddy, hence not performing his duties as a father, a husband. He neglected his work as a fisherman and rather spend time, or money, on toddy than care for his family members, especially his sickly wife. He was someone of no value to almost everybody, except that he was of worth to those whom he had owed money.
Yet, he has come to his senses and started to see light - the righteous path. He now is a father who is caring to his family members and mended his ways. He has never drunk toddy ever since he had turned over a new leaf.
Hari's father is my favourite character in Village by the Sea. You may call me sadistic once again, but his perseverance in trying to provide a better life for his family members after he had known that he was wrong had touched me. Although he was once a really bad person, at least he was repentant, unlike other male villagers who were similarly addicted to toddy.

Classified under *Others*.

Which part of Village by the Sea do you like best?

Which part of Village by the Sea do you like best?

Quoting page 102:
'Debt, debt, debt,' Hari gnashed his teeth. 'Father's always in debt because of toddy.' He got up and turned away from the dead dog and his wailing sisters, and walked out of the house. He would get away. He would go to Rewas. To Bombay. And never come back to this sad house, his frightened sisters, his ill mother, his drunken father. He would leave them and run, run as far as he could go.

Although you may call me sadistic for liking this particular part, it shows that change was about to happen. Change that Hari was about to grow mature. Change that the village was about to go through while Hari was at Bombay, learning skills and making money. Change that was about to happen in the family itself, which was that their father would turn over a new leaf while their mother soon got well. This paragraph by itself shows alot of changes whereby the next sentence, or paragraph, or chapter would be an exiting part to read because things are about to change.

Classified under *Others*.

Is progress necessarily beneficial for society?

Is progress necessarily beneficial for society?

In my opinion, progress is NOT necessarily beneficial for society. Adaptability is a problem that many faces when it comes to progress and change, especially when it is a huge one.
Using reference from Village by the Sea, the villagers were totally unhappy when they heard about factories which are about to be set up in the village, taking away their land. Factories produce sewage which will pollute the sea will cause fishes, the main source of food in the village, to die. Also, most villagers would not be hired to work in the factory, leaving them with nothing left, but to die.
With the above example, I can conclude that progress may not only not be beneficial for society, but could also harm the natural way of it. Hence, once again, progress is NOT necessarily beneficial for society because of the fact that it may have more negative impacts than positive ones. Even if there were to be progress, I would feel that it would have to be a step-by-step progress instead of a huge leap where the people of the society has to adapt quickly to a huge change.

Classified under *Others*.

I rather be the city rat than the country rat

I rather be the city rat than the country rat

As the title has said, I rather be the city rat because of the high survival rate compared to being a country rat. Elaboration is as follows.
City rats have the advantage of more job opportunities and, with the aid of the government, shelter and no lack of food. With more jobs, the rate of being employed will be much higher and also a stable salary. Communication is also much more convenient because of the high modern telecommunication technology, hence making life easier.
With the lack of medical care in the city, health of the people in the countryside would go down despite the fact that there is fresh, unpolluted air there. In the city, there is modern technology and has a higher standard of living compared to the countryside. Besides, the city will breed people with high intellect because of the high standards of education.

Classified under *Others*.

Confessions of a student

Confessions of a student

As a student, we should be hardworking and strive to achieve perfection, yet I have failed to achieve either of the two... ...to any of the teachers reading this, forgive me!
I am a total slacker and I don't do my homework once in awhile as I spent time on what I enjoyed doing, like watching TV, surfing the Internet, etc. Hence, I have failed to achieve the virtue of 'hardworking'. To be hardworking, we have to place studies as the first target and finish all homework before you have time to rest. Or rather, finish revising everything you have learnt on that day.
I always did my homework in a rush and never EVER checked for errors. Hence, I didn't think I actually did very well on assignments. I rarely studied or revised on what the teachers had taught me, as a result, tests became something I rarely cared about. I should have studied harder for tests, and get what was something I should have been proud of, because it was the best I could do, but I didn't.
To sum up, I haven't exceptionally been a very good student, hence, I aim to achieve near-perfection in Term 3 and in future!

Classified under *Others*.

Maris Stella High School

Maris Stella High School

Maris Stella High School is an autonomous all-boys Catholic secondary school run by the Marist Brothers at Mount Vernon Road in Singapore. It has been headed by the current principal, Brother Anthony Tan, since 1984. It was placed in Band 4 in the 2008 School Achievement Table for Special and Express Course compiled by the ministry of Education and is considered to be one of the better schools in Singapore. its teachers and students are actively involved in various non-academic fields including uniformed groups, sports such as archery, badminton, basketball, bowling, softball, table tennis, information technology, life sciences and Chinese debate.
The school vision is 'A Marist Gentleman, Scholar and Sportsman', which means to be a vibrant and innovative centre of learning in a caring and conducive environment to nurture each student, with Christian values, to be a Gentleman, a Scholar and a Sportsman.

Victoria School

Victoria School

Victoria School is an autonomous government secondary school, ranked as one of Singapore's premier education institutions. It was founded in 1876 and had its origin in an early English Class organised by Mr M. Hellier while Singapore was still a British crown colony. Victoria School has moved five times since it was established in Kampong Glam; well-known VS campuses include the Tyrwhitt and Syed Alwi campus, of which the latter is one of three institutions featured on the reverse side of the Republic's S$2 note. The school's new campus is located at the exclusive Siglap Link in Marine Parade, about 1 kilometre from Victoria Junior College. The school has produced numerous Queen's and President's Scholars, politicians, top civil servants, top military generals, academics, corporate figures, and sportsmen. It is also the former institution of the incumbent President of Singapore, His Excellency Mr S R Nathan.

Dunman High School

Dunman High School

Dunman High School (DHS) is an autonomous co-educational secondary school in Singapore. It is generally recognised as being one of the top schools and has always been the top co-educational secondary school in Singapore in terms of academic results. The school is located at Tanjong Rhu. Its Chinese name Démíng is a transliteration of Dunman, named after an English governor, Lord Dunman. The meaning of its name in Chinese is derived from a line in the Book of Rites which is a statement that has influenced the Emperors of the glorious Han, Tang and Song dynasties in Imperial China. Written in ancient and refined wenyanwen, reflecting traditional Confucian intellectual and moral scholarship, it can be crudely translated into modern English as the Dao to the greatest learning lies in understanding the brightest Virtues. Dunman High School is often confused with Dunman Secondary School, but is in fact a different school.

Saint Patrick's School

Saint Patrick's School

Saint Patrick's School is a Roman Catholic secondary school for male students in Singapore. It is more commonly referred to as St Pat's by general public. The school is well-known for its rich heritage, vibrant culture and award-winning Military Band. The Band has performed internationally and won numerous awards in local and international Band competitions. The school was founded in 1933, originally as a temporary branch school of Saint Joseph's Institution, another Catholic boys' school in Singapore, and was built on land acquired by the La Salle Brothers in 1898. The land was originally meant to be a resort bungalow for the brothers. But Brother Steven Buckley saw the growth in the eastern side of the island and petitioned the La Salle Brothers to build a school on this piece of land. The main school building was completed in 1932, and Saint Patrick's School became a school in its own right in 1933. In the war years, this school was used by the British as a hospital and by the Japanese as an administrative building. It was officially returned to the Brothers in 1946. In 1957, the primary section of the school was separated and became Saint Stephen's School. There was also a short period of time when the school went co-ed with the introduction of Pre-University classes in 1969. But it was phased out in 1978 and the school returned to be all-boys again. The full rich history of St Patrick's School and all its noted alumni members can be viewed either in the school website, the old boy's website or at the School Heritage Room. St. Patrick's School is affiliated to all four of the Lasallian Primary schools in Singapore, St Joseph's Institution as well as Catholic Junior College. It also maintains relationships with other Roman Catholic schools in Singapore, such as the CHIJ convents and Maris Stella High School.

CHIJ Saint Nicholas Girls' School

CHIJ Saint Nicholas Girls' School

CHIJ Saint Nicholas Girls' School is an all-girls' Catholic primary and secondary school in Ang Mo Kio, Singapore. The school is one of 11 Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ) schools in Singapore. SNGS has consistently been leading the group of schools with stellar results in both sporting and academic achievements. The school was founded in 1933 by Father Nicholas Barre, originally as a Chinese school. Today, SNGS is one of the premier educational institutes in Singapore, ranking third in the list of top secondary girls' schools in Singapore in 2004, and listed in the top 10 secondary schools in Singapore in 2005. There is generally affiliation for the students of the primary division during their PSLE. In this system of affiliation, which is also practiced in other schools, the students need to score less points in the PSLE to be accepted into their affiliate school, or in this case, the secondary sector of SNGS.

Raffles Institution

Raffles Institution

Raffles Institution is an independent boys' secondary school in Singapore. Founded in 1823 as Singapore Institution by Sir Stamford Raffles, it was consistently ranked as one of the top secondary schools in Singapore in the now-defunct official school rankings released by the Ministry of Education. RI was also recognised for excellence in both education processes and outcomes, and was awarded the pinnacle award of MOE's Master plan of Awards, the School Excellence Award. Raffles Institution offers the Integrated Programme, also known as the Raffles Programme , together with Raffles Girls' School and Raffles Junior College. It also offers an internal Gifted Education Programme, but the stream recently merged with the Special/ Express Stream into a single stream in 2007. In 2007, the current batch of Secondary 3 students has also been merged into a single stream. A new programme, the Raffles Academy, was also introduced.

Nanyang Girls' High School

Nanyang Girls' High School

Nanyang Girls' High School is an all-girls secondary school in Singapore. It participates in the Integrated Programme with Hwa Chong Institution under the Hwa Chong Affiliate Programme. It also offers an internal Gifted Education Programme, the Art Elective Programme, the Higher Music Programme, Bi-cultural Programme and the Secondary 3 End Of Year Programme.
It has been consistently ranked as one of the top among secondary schools in Singapore in the official annual school rankings published by the Ministry of Education. The first school logo of Nanyang Girls' High School was a diamond-shaped motif with the school name in Chinese printed in white against a light blue background. It was designed by Madam Chen Jun Wen, a former art teacher of the school. In 1968, the logo was changed. The diamond-shaped motif was superimposed on top of a yellow ring emblem with the words 'Nanyang Girls' High' printed on it. The ring emblem was positioned above a yellow banner printed with the school motto, in Chinese. The school motto, when translated into English, reads 'Diligence', 'Prudence', 'Respectability' and 'Simplicity'. The school logo represents the school's vision that all students of Nanyang will obtain an all-rounded moral, cognitive, physical, social and aesthetic education.

Singapore Chinese Girls' School

Singapore Chinese Girls' School

Singapore Chinese Girls' School is one of the oldest schools in Singapore with 110 years of history. It is a full school with both primary and secondary divisions, thus taking in most students between the ages of 6 and 16. The secondary division was among the first schools in Singapore to be accorded the status of an independent school in 1989.The school is well-known in the performing arts and recently, in 2005, received a gold streak for all performing arts items in the Singapore Youth Festival. SCGS is especially well-known for its dancers. Academic-wise, the school is well known for its strong Literature department. The school's debate team has also had remarkable achievements, winning the Singapore Secondary School debate competition, coming in top over other schools like Raffles Institution and United World College. The school has also made remarkable achievements for the Singapore Youth Festival 2007. The following CCAs: Band, Chinese Drama Society, Choir, Dance, DRAMA, Handbells have achieved the Silver, Bronze, Gold, Gold with Honours, Gold, Gold with Honours and Gold with Honours Awards respectively. They have also received numerous Sustained Achievement Awards in the past years.

Saint Joseph's Institution

Saint Joseph's Institution

Saint Joseph's Institution is a Catholic secondary school for male students in Singapore. It was founded in 1852 as St. John's Institution, and is the 3rd oldest educational institution in Singapore. SJI is recognised as one of the top secondary schools in Singapore, providing a value-added and all-round education to boys of all races and religions. The school is consistently ranked among the top secondary schools in Singapore. In September 2005, the school is one of the few in Singapore to be awarded the coveted School Distinction Award as part of the Ministry of Education's 2005 Masterplan Awards. In addition, it has been awarded the Best Practice Award for teaching and learning. SJI has also received the Sustained Achievement Award for Sports and the Sustained Achievement Award for Uniformed Groups for the third and seventh consecutive year respectively. In 2008, the school was re-validated with the Singapore Quality Class Award, obtained for the second time the Best Practice Award in the MOE External Validation exercise. In addition, the school sees more consecutive Sustained Achievement Awards in Academic Value-Added, Sports, Uniformed Groups and Fitness.

The Singapore Sports School

The Singapore Sports School

The Singapore Sports School is a specialized school providing a good academic and training environment for talented young athletes. The idea for establishing a specialised school for young athletes was mooted by the Committee on Sporting Singapore in 2000. The CoSS had noted that Singapore's demanding academic environment places a lot pressure on young athletes, leading most of them to abandon their sporting aspirations in favour of their studies. In mainstream schools, it was also observed, resources given over to elite sports development are often limited as their focus is usually directed towards a quality academic education. Following the Government's decision, the hardware had to be put in place -- a S$75 million complex in Woodlands that eventually took only 13 months to complete. Mrs Deborah Tan, the school principal, is assisted by Mr Chua Choon Seng who heads the Corporate Services Division, Dr Irwin Seet, who is the Director of Sports, and Mr Raymond Mak and Mr Seah Poh Chua, who are the Deans of the Academic Division. No other school in Singapore connects sports and studies so closely as the Sports School, which comes under the auspices of the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports. Apart from providing a modular curriculum to enable students to meet the rigorous demands of training and competition, the Sports School puts each student on a personal journey towards excellence. It helps its students to be the best they can be both in the competition arena and in class. The Sports School's focus is not on winning, but on reaching the student's potential. In this culture, a student not only learns about discipline and mental focus, but also cultivates a desire to excel.

NUS High School

NUS High School

The National University of Singapore High School of Mathematics and Science is a prestigious, specialized independent high school in Singapore offering a six-year Integrated Programme leading to the NUS High School Diploma, which is recognized by the National University of Singapore - its parent institution, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University and various prestigious and famous overseas universities like Harvard, Oxford, Imperial and Yale Universities. Students will also take Advanced Placement and Scholastic Assessment Test examinations in their senior years for credits for admission into foreign universities. Advanced Placement examinations may allow students to get exemption from reading Year 1 university courses. The school offers an accelerated mathematics and science curriculum integrated with language, humanities, arts, sports, co-curricular activities, in a modular system. It is the second specialized school in Singapore after the Singapore Sports School.

A Quiz

A Quiz

This quiz was taken from Jeremy's blog. I don't really have anything to do

so I shall use this to waste my time.

Name 20 people.

1. Jeremy

2.Joel

3.Ernest

4.Brandon

5.Kenneth

6.Shawn

7.Shaun

8.Evan

9.Joshua

10.Sherwin

11.Xin Yuan

12.Pin Jia

13.Benjamin

14.Marcus

15.Hong Jun

16.Chong Cheng

17.Chuan Hao

18.Jian Wei

19.Justin

20.Jonas

1. How did you meet 14?

We were in the class since Primary 3 for primary school life.

2. How would you do if you never met 1?

Life would still be the same =).

3. What if 9 and 20 date?

That's practically impossible.

4. Will 6 and 17 date?

It is totally impossible that they will date.

5. Describe 3.

He is a great friend of mine and currently studying in SOTA.

6. Is 8 attractive?

I would puke. He's fatter than me.

7. Describe 7.

His name is Shaun Seow and he was my great friend since Primary 3. He

does great in sports as well as in studies.

8.What would you do if 8 confesses to you that he likes you?

I would probably commit suicide.

9. What language does 15 speak?

He speaks... English and Chinese.

10. Who is 9 going out with?

He's Single.

11. How old is 16?

He's 13 this year.

12. When was the last time you spoke to 13?

That was exactly 2 weeks ago.

13. Who is 2's favourite band or singer?

I seriously don't know.

14. Would you ever date 4?

My answer is no.

15. Would you ever date 1?

Absolutely no way, once again.

16. is 19 single?

I think so, unless he's dating someone behind our backs.

17.What is 10's last name?

His last name is Tan.

18. Would you ever be in a relationship with 11?

That would be the day when there are no humans left.

19.School of 3?

That would be SOTA.

Classified under *Others*.

Cedar Girls' Secondary School

Cedar Girls' Secondary School

Cedar Girls' Secondary School is an all-girls educational institution established in 1957. The school went single session in 1992 and gained autonomous status in 1996. All classes are in the Express or Special Stream. According to the new school ranking system put in place in 2004, Cedar is a Band 1 school, making it one of the top secondary schools in Singapore. In Cedar, the classes are lettered according to the word CHAMPIONS. Thus, the classes for Secondary One and Two are lettered from 1C to 1S and from 2C to 2S respectively. For Secondary Three and Four, in order to provide for more flexible subject combinations, the classes are lettered according to CHAMPIONSZ, with an extra Z class as compared to the lower secondary levels. For the first time in 2008, however, the new Secondary 3 level stuck to the traditional class lettering system, where there are only 9 classes, the final class being 3S.