Hi, I’m Cheeky Sapphire.
The older sibling I wish I’d had, written down so you don’t have to work it all out alone.
In Sec 2, I came within a mark of failing Maths and having to retake the exam. I was in the Gifted Education Programme and still felt like one of the slowest kids in the room. That was the year I stopped treating studying as hours traded for grades and started treating it as a game of strategy.
I went on to finish the Integrated Programme at Hwa Chong with 90 rank points (the maximum under the old system) and a Distinction in H3 Chemistry. During NS I served as an infantry officer, and I ran a pro bono tuition project that reached about 2,000 students over two years.
I was offered two PSC scholarships, the SAF Overseas Scholarship and the PSC Scholarship, and I declined both. I also had offers from NUS Medicine, SMU Law, LSE and several US universities. I chose Oxford, where I read Economics and Management, got a First, and graduated in the top 10 of my cohort. Today I work as an investment banking analyst.
I’ve been teaching Math, Economics and Chemistry for years. This site is everything I’ve learned, given away for free.
A note on the name: Cheeky Sapphire is a pen name. I keep my real name off this site so it stays independent of my day job. Everything else here, the schools, the grades, the scholarships and the mistakes, is real.
How these articles are made
Every article starts from something I lived through or have seen up close: my own applications, interviews and mistakes, and the questions students ask me. I check every fact about schemes, deadlines, fees and bonds against official sources. Those sources are listed at the bottom of each article, with the date I last checked them.
I don't take payment, sponsorship or referral fees from any school, scholarship provider or bank.
Spotted a mistake?
Rules and dates change every year. If something here is wrong or out of date, emailcheekysapphire@gmail.com and I'll fix it. You can also say hi onTikTok.