From ST forum 2nd June 2007

Did son just miss the mark or ...?

I WAS disappointed when my son, with As in all four subjects (three sciences and mathematics) and distinctions in two 'S' papers (one of which was Chemistry) and a B4 in the General Paper, could not obtain a place in the pharmacy course at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

But I was more disappointed with not knowing by how far he missed obtaining a place or whether he should not have applied for the course in the first place because, with his results, he had 'no chance'. I wonder what the A-level scores of the last qualifying student for the pharmacy course were.

It seems far easier for an O-level student to 'know' why he did not qualify for a polytechnic course. I have seen the polytechnics provide booklets with information on the aggregate O-level score of the last student to be admitted to each course in the previous year. Special
requirements needed (e.g., minimum score for certain subjects) were also included.

There is also the Joint Admission Exercise booklet for secondary-school students with similar information.

I urge the local public universities to come up with the same. The universities should not refrain from doing so on the grounds that admission criteria change from year to year. The polytechnics do caution that the information they provide is meant as a guideline but the data remains very useful for students and their parents.

If there are non-academic criteria and other preferences for certain
courses, lay them out too. It cannot be too difficult.

Tan Tor Seng

Wah !!! This year intake so siong ah!!! Reminder to self - avoid having chewren in Dragon year.

It got F#$@!ed

Preggy liaoz. Dendrobium canaliculatum.

Johor Orchid Show - Exhibition area

The masde display bei Orchideen Röhl



Masdies a challenging to grow without stable temps and aircon locally. I call them the birthday candle orchids - look very nice then a month later the leaves fall off en masse.

The exhibit by the Danish Royal Orchid Gardener didn't interest me much but the entire lot of Phalaenopsis mariae is being shipped into Singapore soon - purchased by a grey-haired former bodybuilder.

Taiwan Orchid Growers' Association with their trademark flower:


Chinese exhibit with the Confucian orchids

Caused a bit of confusion with people comprening YYY no flower and only put pic?! Complaints came mainly from womenfolk who undermined the lovely leaves and scent of the (absent) flowers of the gentleman's orchid *run and hide*. Shisedo had made a parfum made exclusively from these orchids known as "Tantara".

The Italiano display (I think it was by Alexandro)

Cyps and some other terrestrials



Leaves and leaf markings remind me of Stenoglottis.


Harry Nagata's doing (Nagoya OS)








Swiss Display


Plant entries


Cattleya aurantica

I wanted to take a pic of the purpurata but flower already dong dong chianged *sianz*

Catt hybrid


Doritis pulcherrima


This equitant Oncidium has one of the flattest and broadest skirts I've seen.


The champion - Rhynchostylis retusa


The the other section winner swinging in the seabreeze - so not my fault for shaky pix hor!




A tua zhang Maxillaria tenuifolia

Coconut scented flowers that flower brown-orange in the tropics. Flowers deep red in the cold.

The Malaysian displays very colourful. I tot I was taking LSD


















Gamelan machine hammering away

Johor Orchid Show - Sales area

Red Sunflower


Pleutholid (SIC)

Cool growing, seedpod shaped like rambutan

Read name urself


Gongora galeata (may be SIC)


All the mini Catts:
























Paphiopedilum Gloria Naugle (micranthum X rothschildianum)


Paphiopedilum Vanda M Pearman (delenatii X bellatulum)


Paphiopedilum lowii


Paphiopedilum rothschildianum

Rather puny looking. Wonder if it this is a warm tolerant strain.

Angraecum magdalenae

One of the cuter easy growing angraecoids around. Spicy scent.

It's Grammatophyllum scriptum season!!! Got many forms, just that the photos too shaky to be put here




Can't remember the name of this pretty -leave one. Only remember it goes along the line of columbarium