2 low-pressure ways to rebuild your child’s confidence
this December

Quick Answer

Keep most of December for rest, and swap assessment books for a few short, low-pressure sessions. Scholars Hall’s Holiday Confidence Builder offers two: Creative Storytelling & Writing for Primary and Lower Secondary students, and Speaking with Confidence for P5 students going into P6. Each has three standalone 2-hour lessons, online or at home.

Every November, parents across Singapore face the same question. Should the December holidays be for pure, unstructured fun, or for catching up on schoolwork?

The most restorative holidays make room for both. Rest matters. So does a little low-pressure curiosity, the kind that reminds a child they enjoy learning before the new school year begins. Another stack of assessment books rarely does that.

01

Why December is the window

Many capable children spend the school year in what we call academic freeze. The idea is in their head, but the pen won’t move, or the words won’t come when the examiner asks a question. It is rarely a lack of ability. Pressure narrows thinking.

That pressure is common. In the OECD’s PISA survey, 76% of Singapore 15-year-olds said they feel very anxious for a test even when they are well prepared.

Source: OECD PISA 2015, Students’ Well-Being.

When exams are over, there is space to undo some of that. With no marks at stake and no red pen in sight, children can try again, make mistakes and find out they are more capable than they thought. At Scholars Hall Singapore, we built two pathways for exactly that, for Primary to Secondary students.

02

Creative Storytelling & WritingFor the child who freezes at the blank page

Many imaginative children dread composition. Not because they lack ideas, but because they are afraid of writing the wrong thing. After a year of memorising “good phrases”, they stare at the topic and wait for a perfect idea that never comes.

In Creative Storytelling & Writing, English Mentor Durgashini S. helps Primary and Lower Secondary students rediscover the enjoyment of writing. Durgashini has 8+ years of private mentoring experience, specialising in essay anxiety, writer’s block and composition structure. Her three 2-hour lessons build on each other, and each can be taken on its own:

01

Unlock Your Story

Moves away from memorised templates. Students use character prompts, “What if…?” scenarios and low-pressure challenges to generate their own ideas, with simple grounding and breathing techniques for when they feel stuck.

02

Build Your World

Develops characters, settings and plot with a flexible story mountain. “What happens next?” challenges teach students to adapt when an idea stops working.

03

Find Your Voice

Practises strong openings, show-not-tell and dialogue. A simple “pause, identify, try again” habit helps students take feedback and edit without losing their own voice.

Explore Creative Storytelling & Writing
03

Speaking with ConfidenceFor the child who relies on memorised oral answers

When preparing for oral exams or class presentations, many children memorise model answers. Then the examiner asks a follow-up question the script didn’t cover, and the words dry up.

In Speaking with Confidence, Senior English Mentor Cynthia Su helps P5 students going into P6 answer in their own words. Cynthia has over 15 years of experience teaching English as a Second Language across Japan and Singapore. The programme has three standalone 2-hour lessons, each on a common PSLE theme: Shopping & Neighbourhood, Transportation, and Sports & Healthy Living.

Input before output. Every lesson moves from listening, to reading and vocabulary, to speaking. Children take in ideas and words on a theme first, so they have something to say before they are asked to say it.
5W1H for the photo. Students unpack a picture with Who, What, Where, When, Why and How, and build their own response.
TREES for opinion questions. Thought, Reason, Example, Elaboration, Summary: a simple shape for sharing a view backed by real experience.
Explore Speaking with Confidence
04

Which pathway fits your child?

If your child has ideas but freezes when it’s time to write, start with Creative Storytelling & Writing.
If your child is in P5 and relies on memorised oral answers, start with Speaking with Confidence.
If your child is going into P6 and could use both, take both: each lesson stands alone.
In short

Both programmes run online or at home, with 2-hour lessons taught by Mentors trained in student wellbeing. Every lesson ends with a small win your child made in their own words.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Keep most of the holiday for rest, and replace worksheet drilling with a few short, curiosity-led sessions. Creative writing or speaking practice, with no marks at stake, lets children recharge while rediscovering that they enjoy learning.

It is 1-to-1 mentorship, not exam drilling. Our Mentors are trained in student wellbeing and connect first, before they teach. They use simple breathing and reset techniques to help students work through blank-page freeze and nerves, in a calm, judgement-free space.

Creative Storytelling & Writing is for Primary and Lower Secondary students. Speaking with Confidence is for P5 students going into P6.

No. Every lesson stands alone, and each is 2 hours, online or at home.