Sample Passages of Primary 6 English Papers (2014)

Comprehension Passage

        This Friday, when year 4 student Cecilia dons her uniform to report for the first clay of school, she will not be wearing the grey blouse and skirt of Dublin High School, the school she attended for the past three years. Instead, she will put on the white blouse and blue skirt of Berkeley High School, which has merged with her school. 
        Mergers happen for various reasons, including falling enrolment because the school is located in an older estate with fewer young people. Schools are also merged when there is a need to optimise resources and provide more students with access to the latest facilities, said the Department of Education. While some teachers will be staying on at the merged schools with their students, others have chosen to be posted to schools closer to their homes or have opted for early retirement.
        Cecilia, 15, who was Dublin High School 's head prefect, is looking forward to using facilities that will be available, such as a gym and bigger classrooms among other things, she admitted, "It will be sad leaving Dublin. I feel a strong bond with it." 
        Madam Amanda, principal of Fremont High School which is merging with Utah High School, said, "No doubt students will have sentimental feelings towards their old school but we've also done a lot of groundwork in preparation for the merger." 
        The 180 or so year 4 and 5 students from Utah High School who are moving to Fremont High School, together with about 15 teachers, have been sitting for the same tests and examinations as their new schoolmates for the past year. Both schools' choir and band groups have also been rehearsing together. And on the last day of school this year, Utah High School students made a trip to their "new" school in Fremont East in their new white and blue school uniforms. 
        The two schools are not the only ones working to make mergers a success. 
        Next year's 250 year 4 and 5 students from West Virginia High School, which will be merging with Monterey High School, attended a one-day orientation camp at Monterey High School, where they toured the place, met their new student councillors and tried on their new light-blue tops and bottoms. 
        Said West Virginia High School student Candice, 15, "Coming from a school with a small population, I thought I'd find it hard to adapt to one with many students, but Monterey appears to have a great culture and I felt very comfortable there." 
        Student Nicole, 18, is excited over the prospect of being school councillor in the merged school. 
        "It will be a challenge getting students from both schools to feel united. However, that's where councillors can help," said the former Jacksonville Institution student.

Why did Cecilia put on the uniform of Berkeley High School instead of the uniform of Dublin High School?
From the passage, state two reasons for the merger of schools.

Name two options that are given to teachers in schools that are merged.
Why did Cecilia feel sad leaving Dublin High School?

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