hc j2 here, also a jae from a 240+ school. faced many of the same problems you did in j1, especially with the whole thing about lack of opportunities. the opportunities tend to lean towards ip students (the fact that many of them have had these activities in their high schools and know how they work and have an advantage), cca trials start during the december holidays so by the time school starts for jaes, all the ‘more popular’ ccas e.g. sports are all filled up, i could go on forever about the apparent lack of opportunities for jaes. it irked me a lot as well, but i had to let it go for my own sake. in terms of the teaching methods of hc, they generally don’t spoon feed you e.g have a teacher sit down and teach you, because i guess they believe students should take charge in their own learning. the lecture videos for math arent that bad, some of them are actually quite informative, my guess is that you still need time to settle in to the rigour of jc. i faced the same problem as you last year, especially because of the pandemic, i slept through hbl and suffered greatly because of that, and the whole lack of teaching of content by teachers didn’t help, i was several chapters behind for each subject. however, looking back, i feel it was just a great jump from secondary school to jc life. other schools may teach their students the content, but hearing from my friends from other schools, the teaching is mediocre at best, and because they have to spend time in school getting taught the content, they have longer hours/ finish the syllabus much later than us. it’s a give and take situation, even though it seems like the teaching methods in other schools are better (trust me, i complained so much last year and i hated the place with all my guts). also, i know many ip people who are struggling with schoolwork as well, it’s DEFINITELY not a jae-only thing. some ip students have also told me that they look up to the attitude many jae people have towards their schoolwork (in terms of discipline, humility, etc) all in all, hwa chong prepares you for the real world better than some other schools, because of the rigour. the grass is always greener on the other side, i wanted to go njc as well, but hearing from my friends, their teachers and teaching methods aren’t exactly the best as well. in the real world, some of us have more opportunities than others, some of us struggle more than others, and these problems are out of our control. choose to focus on the things you can control, and forget about the unfairness because you will just fall down the rabbit hole of insecurity. i felt so much unjust last year and i felt so insecure about whether i even belonged in hc (still do, but it’s a work in progress) but honestly, thinking back, life could’ve been worse. there is no perfect jc, every jc has its flaws whether you see it or not. take blocks as a stepping stone, find out how you can improve, and work hard for promos. it’s definitely not impossible to get As, once you get over the learning curve of A level subjects. hwa chong does have its pluses, many of the teachers are more than willing to help you, even providing extra materials just to help you get that A. learning environment is good, everyone studies hard together, and in my case, everyone is more than willing to lend a helping hand and there is definitely close to no backstabbing. everyone is generally friendly and you’ll find a safe space. jiayou! don’t be demoralised, don’t compete with others because it’s never going to be satisfactory, instead, focus and work on yourself. find strength through friends and family