Direct School Admission (DSA)

Introduction

DSA-Sec is an admission exercise which provides students with the opportunity to seek admission to a secondary school, based on a diverse range of specific academic and non-academic achievements and talents that they can demonstrate beyond the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). The objective of the DSA-Sec is to promote holistic education by giving participating schools greater flexibility in selecting students while holding on to the key principles of transparency and meritocracy. For students, the DSA provides them the opportunity to demonstrate a more diverse range of achievements and talents in seeking admission to secondary schools.

In Canberra Secondary School, staff and students alike are constantly engaged in developing new ideas for the digital media in teaching and learning. Our DSA talent area in Visual Arts, Design and Media – Media Arts / Film / Photography, is aligned with our Applied Learning Programme (Digital Media). Through our structured school-wide Applied Learning Programme (Digital Media), our students are given a headstart in Digital Media. The programme incorporates learning in authentic setting and integrates education and career experiences for the students. The exposure in depth and breadth gives our students the opportunity and skillsets to further their interests in Digital Media related fields later in their education and career choices.

The school has vacancies for up to 20% of our Secondary 1 cohort in 2021 for the DSA-Sec programme. Interested students can apply through the DSA process.

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.

Admission Criteria

• Keen interest and/or prior knowledge in learning Digital Media such as Photography, Videography and Animation. Exhibits high aptitude in creative and artistic areas.
• Must be in Primary 6 at the point of application or equivalent (international students).
• Candidates are encouraged to e-submit their e-portfolio for the interview if they have one.

Important dates

1. The application period is from 12 May, 9am - 5 June 2020, 3pm.
2. All short-listed candidates will be notified by 30 June 2020 to attend an interview via video conferencing. Selection phase is from 1 July to 14 September 2020.
3. All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by 14 September 2020.
4. Students who are offered a DSA-Sec place will need to exercise their School Preference within the period from 26 October to 30 October 2020. This can be done online through the DSA-Sec Portal.

How to apply

Application for DSA-Sec can be submitted through the online DSA-Sec Portal. The application is free-of-charge and will be opened from 12 May 2020 to 5 Jun 2020. For more details, please refer to MOE website – https://beta.moe.gov.sg/secondary/dsa/

For further enquiries, please email aw_yong_wai_keet@moe.edu.sg