Woman who failed O-Levels shared how she bounced back through grit, determination, & a lot of hard work

SINGAPORE: In Singapore, as in many parts of Asia, any failure related to schooling or academics can feel like the end of the world because of the deep shame it can bring. One young woman, however, is showing that it doesn’t have to be that way, and that even if someone fails initially, they can get back up and emerge stronger.

While Shannen (@u4er1042) failed her O-Levels a few years ago, she has since gotten back on track and is exactly where she wants to be: studying Nursing at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

Her TikTok video on Jan 15, where she starts by saying, “I failed my O-Levels,” did not just go viral, but managed to get her featured on a local news site.

@u4er1042

My experience and journey after failing o levels in 2023. This is a one take wonder, so weird pauses incoming.. #olevels #retake #singapore #poly

♬ original sound – 🦨hannen – 🦨hannen

She explained that she had taken her N-Levels in 2022, going on to Secondary 5 the following year. Shannen applied and was accepted into the Early Admissions Exercise (EAE) to study nursing at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

However, she lost her spot when she learned in 2024 that she failed in the math section of the O-Levels.

Shannen admitted that she had grown complacent after learning that she had been admitted to Ngee Ann Poly, which, as she put it, landed her back in square one with an uncertain future.

“I was so deadly afraid of people knowing that I had to retake O Levels because it felt like a shameful thing to even say… It’s something that’s not talked about enough, because we live in a society where grades matter most,” she said toward the end of the video.

However, the determined young woman decided to retake the exam that year as a private candidate. This was a challenge on two levels. First, as the retake for each subject needed to be paid for, the total cost was between S$300 and S$400.

Next, she told MustShare News that studying for the exam on her own was no walk in the park, as she had days when she felt worried and overwhelmed.

Read related: ‘I’ve never felt more alive’: 16-year-old says failing O-Levels was the best thing that ever happened

On another note, Shannen also said in her video that the number of people retaking exams came as a surprise, as she initially thought she would be alone in doing so.

While admitting that her retake exam scores weren’t stellar, receiving two Bs and two Cs was enough for her to reapply for her desired course at Ngee Ann Poly, and she got in.

“Now I’m thriving in it,” she said, adding that while she had initially been too scared to “share her progress to the world,” she has grown proud of how far she has come.

Following the popularity of her first video, she has become a source of answers for others on the platform who began DMing her with questions about retaking the O-Level exams.

@u4er1042

My experience and journey after failing o levels in 2023. This is a one take wonder, so weird pauses incoming.. #olevels #retake #singapore #poly

♬ original sound – 🦨hannen – 🦨hannen

/TISG

Read also: MOE announces changes to junior college admission criteria from 2028, students to be assessed based on 5 O-Level subjects instead of 6