BJSS Swimmer Sets The Standards In Both Sporting And Academic Achievements

Well done: Marina (left) and Ee Hong (right) presenting Emanuelle a replica of her SPM results slip.

SYNCHRONISED swimmer Emanuelle Mah Thil Da has proven that sport was no hindrance to academic excellence.

The 17-year-old, who represented Malaysia in the 2011 SEA Games in Indonesia, scored 11As in the SPM examinations. The lanky lass from Penang was also the top scorer in Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS). She attributed her success to the guidance she received from teachers in BJSS.

“I am particularly grateful and thankful to BJSS principal Datuk Marina Chin for her guidance. I was the only student who had signed up for Science and Technology in English. Marina took the initiative to teach me on Fridays. I am happy to have achieved excellent results in the SPM.

“It was just a matter of dividing my time between studies and training. I had to attend two sessions of training and also attend classes. There were also tuition sessions as well. I managed to plan my daily programme well. The teachers were certainly an inspiration and assisted me all the way,” said Emanuelle after a certificate presentation at BJSS recently.

Emanuelle, who won three gold medals in the SEA Games in Indonesia, is keen to pursue her studies in either actuarial science or business finance. As a student with 11As, she is looking forward to obtaining a scholarship. Currently, she is based at the National Sports Council (NSC) and is training for the Japan Open in May and the Malaysia Games in June.

Besides Emanuelle, nine other students also achieved excellent results in the SPM. Three spikers — Chia You Jing, Sim Jian Qin and Yew Weng Keong — from the Science stream were also impressive. You Jing had eight As, Jian Chin Qin seven and Weng Keong, six As.

The other six — Ti Wei Chye (badminton), Nurul Falena Gunasekara Muhammad Lazri (athletics), Norezatti Shasha Mohamad Rosli (athletics), Lee Wan Nin (gymnastics), Sylvia Kavita Kumares (badminton) and Lee Mei Yan (volleyball) — were from the Arts stream.

Wei Chye had eight As, Nurul Falena seven As, Norezatti Shasha and Wan Nin six As each while Sylvia Kavita and Mei Yan scored five As.

The top students in the PMR were Lim Wen Yi (athletics), S. Shankar Satish Chandran (cricket), Shahzan Shah Misfahul Muneer (badminton) and Mohamad Qayyum Mohamad Izlan (athletics). Wen Yi scored eight As while Shakar, Shahzan Shah and Mohamad Qayyum had seven As each.

Education Ministry sports division director Ee Hong said she was pleased with the excellent results shown by the BJSS.

“The students have proven that they can excel in both sports and studies. We would like to see them continue to be active in sports as well as studies,” said Ee Hong.

Marina, a former national hurdler, said the overall results achieved at BJSS were encouraging.

“The passing rate in PMR was 92% while it was 97.8% for SPM. It was an improvement from the previous years. We are now looking at raising the bar for the coming years. As a former national athlete, I would like to see all the students excel in their studies and sports.

“I have always believed that education and sports are both important. I have to thank the teachers for their commitment. Without their support and co-operation, we could not have achieved the excellent results,” she said.