Singapore, 23 May 2025 - Temasek Junior College has clinched the champion title at What’s The News?, a current affairs quiz competition organised by The Straits Times (ST) as part of its 180th anniversary celebrations. The competition saw a close fight among its finalists at the National University of Singapore (NUS) University Cultural Centre Theatre this afternoon, with St. Joseph's Institution, Outram Secondary School, and Presbyterian High School placing second, third and fourth respectively.
Guest-of-Honour Mr Shawn Huang, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Finance, presented the prizes to the winners. Chloe Natalie D' Mello, Guo Yatian, Melody Keiko Chua Le Shuan, and Rayner Ng Zheng Hao from Temasek Junior College, were awarded a $4,000 cash prize and trophy. Runner-up teams from St. Joseph's Institution, Outram Secondary School, and Presbyterian High School received $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000 respectively, as well as a trophy each.
In the finals, the teams consisting of four students each were challenged on their knowledge of current affairs and general knowledge in a stage game show format.
Students aged 15 to 19 from local secondary schools, junior colleges, polytechnics and Institutes of Technical Education took part in the competition. In the preliminary round in April, more than 6,000 students from 50 schools participated in an online timed quiz, with 16 top-scoring schools proceeding to the semi-final, where they battled for a spot in the finals through a series of four telematch games at Our Tampines Hub on 21 May 2025.
Mr Jaime Ho, Editor, ST, said, “Young people today are spoilt for choice when it comes to the media and options for their times. More than ever, news and current affairs will compete with entertainment and games for time; the imperative is for us to come up with unique ways to make the news come alive for our audiences.
To that end, we hope that’s what our quiz has done. From being an online experience on devices at the preliminaries, to a Squid Game-meets-current-affairs semi-final, to a game show finale, we gave our participants three very different ways to experience the news – and hopefully learn a bit more about the world we live in.
This event was one of my favourites of the ST180 events, and we hope we can bring it back year after year in some form. I’d also like to thank our various partners for helping us bring this event to life.”
In addition to the competition, ST designed a travelling showcase in a modular bookcase-style format, featuring informative panels and fun activities. The showcase aims to spark further discourse among youths on the relevance of today’s news and current affairs, encouraging them to maintain a balanced and healthy media consumption diet. The showcase will be available to the public outside Punggol Regional Library from 2 to 16 June 2025.
The first iteration of What’s The News? is a school programme that aims to pique students’ interests across a wide range of topics, from global news and politics to science and technology. The event is supported by the Ministry of Education and held in partnership with the Central Narcotics Bureau, with NUS as the campus partner.
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ANNEX
(Front row, from left) Dr Soh Kai Ruo, Lecturer, Department of Communications and New Media, NUS; Mr Shawn Huang, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Finance; Temasek Junior College team; Mr Jaime Ho, Editor, The Straits Times; and Mr Zhong Kangtai, Assistant Director of Planning and Development, Drugfree SG office, Central Narcotics Bureau. (Back row, from left) Outram Secondary School team; St. Joseph’s Institution team; and Presbyterian High School team.
[Photo credit : Shintaro Tay, The Straits Times]