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SINGAPORE - Children enter the school system with different abilities, and the Government will help everyone to learn, grow, and realise their full potential regardless of their starting points, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. Here are some key changes to aid in this effort: The Gifted Education Programme (GEP) The new approach will stretch students with higher abilities across all primary schools. Currently, it targets the top 1 per cent of primary schools through a centralised programme, and is offered by nine primary schools including Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) and Raffles Girls’ Primary School. Primary schools will be equipped to identify their own high-ability pupils and run programmes for them. Pupils will be able to stay in their own primary schools, with friends and teachers they have bonded with. Beyond school-based programmes, there will be some pupils who can benefit from being stretched even further in particular subjects. They can come together for after-school enrichment modules in a nearby school, to learn and interact with one another. Currently, pupils have to get an overall score of eight or better at the PSLE to study their mother tongue at a higher level in secondary school. If a student has an overall PSLE score of nine to 14, he or she must also achieve a score of AL1 or AL2, the two highest possible scores, in mother tongue, or a Distinction or Merit grade in higher mother tongue at the PSLE. Moving forward, students whose overall scores do not meet the criteria though they did very well for mother tongue This adjustment is an effort to nurture wider proficiency in Chinese, Malay and Tamil. The learning environment and infrastructure of all schools in Singapore This includes re-designing libraries, science laboratories and learning spaces, as well as making better use of technology for learning. These changes are to ensure a conducive environment for teachers to work, for students to learn, and for interaction and collaboration. Schools that have more students from disadvantaged backgrounds will receive additional resources such as more funding, and more teachers and staff. The Government will do more to help these students build social networks that they can tap later in life.