DSA @ Northbrooks

DSA @ Northbrooks

Thank you for your interest in Northbrooks Secondary School.

About DSA

The Direct School Admission (DSA) is an opportunity for Primary 6 students to directly apply for admission into participating secondary schools based on their talents and achievement which might not have been demonstrated at the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). 

Northbrooks Secondary School offers DSA in the following areas in 2022:

  1. Aerospace

  2. Outdoor Adventure

  3. Leadership

  4. Floorball (Boys)

  5. Guzheng Ensemble

  6. Modern Dance

  7. Concert Band

  8. Badminton

About Northbrooks

The school offers a variety of enrichment programmes to widen the students’ learning experiences for greater development in cognitive, physical and aesthetics domains.

The school’s distinctive Applied Learning Programme (ALP) in Aerospace provides our students an edge when applying for Aerospace-related courses in ITE and the Polytechnics, which in turn opens a career pathway for them in the rapidly growing Aerospace industry. All Lower Secondary students are equipped with basic knowledge in general Aerospace topics and essential Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) skills. Students who demonstrate passion in this field of study would be further engaged/stretched in related external competitions and programmes.

Our Learning for Life Programme (LLP) in Outdoor Education is known as A.C.E. and stands for Adventure, Character, Environment. The programme aims to develop character, inculcate values of grit and resilience and build leadership traits in all students as they learn adventure skills such as orienteering, rock climbing and abseiling as well as cultivate an appreciation for the outdoors and the environment during PE lessons and Level Camps. Students who excel at the various adventure skills may have the opportunity to participate at a higher challenge level in various outdoor competitions.

 General Criteria for All Talent Areas

1.    Applicants should have a keen interest and passion for the respective talent areas.

2.    Applicants should have a positive learning attitude and a growth mindset.

3.    Applicants should have demonstrated good conduct and leadership skills in school.

Criteria and Selection Process

Talent Area Criteria Selection Process
Aerospace Demonstration of
1. Positive attitude and conduct
2. Strong interest in Aerospace and STEAM fields
3. Highly motivated and resilient when faced with an unfamiliar setting
4. Good content knowledge on basic physics of flight and STEAM concepts
5. Demonstration of skills in the areas of critical thinking and reasoning, problem solving, adaptability and teamwork
6. Demonstration of skills related to Aerospace		 1. Online Test (Multiple Choice Questions) on Theory of Flight and Aerodynamics

2. Interview via video conferencing

*During the interview, applicants are encouraged to share their STEAM related projects done in their primary schools through portfolio.
Outdoor Adventure Demonstration of
1. Positive attitude and conduct
2. Leadership skills
3. Good physical fitness
Prior experiences in outdoor adventure-related activities		 Interview
Leadership Demonstration of
1. Positive attitude and conduct
2. Leadership skills
Prior experiences in leadership-related activities		 1. Interview
2. Leadership Challenge
*Both interview and Leadership Challenge will be conducted in person
Floorball (Boys) Demonstration of
1. Positive attitude and conduct
2. Good physical fitness
Prior experiences in Floorball/Hockey competitions		 1. Sports Trial
2. Interview
Guzheng Ensemble Demonstration of
1. Positive attitude and conduct.
2. Good performance skills and techniques in Guzheng
3. Participated in performances/ events in or outside school
4. Demonstrate high level of commitment and self-motivation
 1. Submission of any existing video recording of a performance. If a video recording is submitted, applicants must ensure that he/she is in the video frame and that the recording is not edited.
Applicants who do not have any existing videos will not be required to make a new video to support this application.
Details on video submission will be sent to applicants via email
2. Audition – Students might be required to demonstrate skills pertaining to musicality (pitching and rhythm) during the audition. This will not require an instrument.
3. Interview
Modern Dance Demonstration of
1. Positive attitude and conduct
2. Demonstration of good performance skills and techniques in Dance
3. Participated in performances/ events in or outside school
4. Demonstrate high level of commitment and self-motivation		 1. Submission of any existing video recording of a dance performance (Not longer than 3 minutes). If a video recording is submitted, applicants must ensure that he/she is in the video frame and that the recording is not edited.
Applicants who do not have any existing videos will not be required to make a new video to support this application.
Details on video submission will be sent to applicants via email.
2. Interview
Concert Band Demonstration of
1. Positive attitude and conduct
2. Demonstration of good performance skills and techniques in playing of a musical instrument
3. Participated in performances/ events in or outside school
4. Demonstrate high level of commitment and self-motivation		 1. Submission of any existing video recording of a dance performance (Not longer than 3 minutes). If a video recording is submitted, applicants must ensure that he/she is in the video frame and that the recording is not edited.
Applicants who do not have any existing videos will not be required to make a new video to support this application.
Details on video submission will be sent to applicants via email.
2. Audition – Students might be required to demonstrate skills pertaining to musicality (pitching and rhythm) during the audition. This will not require an instrument.
3. Interview
Badminton Demonstration of
1. Positive attitude and conduct
2. Good physical fitness
 1. Submission of a 11-points game video played between the applicant and their opponent. The video should showcase the following skills:
- Lobbing
- Service
- Netting
- Smash
- Footwork
- Ability to strategically place the shuttle to score a point
*The vidEo should capture the applicant’s full body movement as well as the shuttle’s projectile. Please refer to this video (https://tinyurl.com/NorthbrooksBadmintonDSAVideo) for reference on the acceptable video camera angle.

Details on video submission will be sent to applicants via email
2. Interview

Meeting all the criteria does not guarantee that the student will be shortlisted/ given an offer.

Application Process

Application for DSA-Sec can be submitted through the online DSA-Sec Portal. The application is free-of-charge and will be open from 5 May 2022, 11 am to 1 June 2022, 3 pm. For more details, please refer to MOE DSA-Sec website – www.moe.gov.sg/dsa-sec.

Parents and students are encouraged to choose schools wisely based on the student’s aptitudes and strengths, bearing in mind the schools’ academic and non-academic requirements, and the programmes available to develop the area of talent. Students who are successfully admitted to the school via DSA are expected to honour their commitment to the school, and participate in the activities related to the talent they are selected for from year 1-4.

Outcome

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of the application via a letter by Monday, 12 September 2022. The letter will indicate whether the applicant has been given a Confirmed Offer, put on the Waiting List or Unsuccessful.

Key Dates

Dates Process
5 May 2022 – 1 June 2022 DSA Application period
27 June 2022 – 12 September 2022 Selection and Interview period
By 12 September 2022 Release of Outcome of DSA Application
31 October 2022 – 4 November 2022 School Preference Submission by Applicants who have received at least one DSA-Sec offer
Late November 2022 DSA-Sec Allocation Results Release