Successful DSA-SEC Admissions In 2026 ~ Ms Valerie Woo
06 May 2026
DSA-SEC Admissions In 2026 - Our Student's Success Stories
In an academically driven society as Singapore where every parent's primary concern with school-going children is their educational results, we have encountered first-hand when dance is often sacrificed for extra tuition classes when a student's academic results need improvement. However, we are of the humble opinion that dance actually offers students an outlet to engage in an activity that betters their mental and physical wellbeing, leaving them recharged for their academic pursuits.
In recent years, our nation's leading education authority - Ministry Of Education has been pushing for a broad-based multifaceted learning approach as evidenced by the introduction of the new Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) scoring system - Achievement Level (AL) since 2021 and the introduction of Subject-Based Banding (SBB) in Secondary Schools from 2024 onwards. Thus, pursuing dance while striving for academic excellence at the same time is now a very viable option through MOE's DSA-SEC admission programme that takes into account a student's talent in Dance when they are vying for a spot in their preferred Secondary School. For our full in-depth review of this topic, please visit this link: https://stepup.sg/blog/DSA-SEC-How-Dance-Can-Complement-Your-Child-s-Admission-Into-Their-Preferred-Secondary-School.
In this article, we will be celebrating the achievements of Ms Valerie Woo who managed to attain the perfect 3 out of 3 confirmed offers from her preferred Secondary Schools through DSA-SEC via the talent area of Dance. Read on to find out more of her personal insights with regards to her successful DSA journey in 2025:
1. What are the most important personal attributes in a student for success in DSA using dance?
a. Discipline: Showing up for every DSA lesson and always working harder to make my dance better.
b. Resilience: Recovering quickly from setbacks and always not giving up.
c. Adaptability: Being able to pick up dances quickly and being able to think quickly under pressure.
2. How have the DSA preparations at StepUp contributed to your success in DSA?
a. Regular training: It helped me become more disciplined and consistent. My dance teacher, Ms Leong, gave me specific feedback, which helped me refine my movements and improve my dance. This made my performance cleaner and it helped me feel more confident.
b. Mock auditions and interviews: These mock interviews helped me have a better feel of how the DSA process would be like, and it helped me to adapt better under pressure during the actual DSA process.
c. DSA webinars: These webinars helped me have a better understanding of what DSA is, and it helped me be better prepared for the questions they would ask during the DSA interviews.
3. How has the dance journey at StepUp contributed to your success in DSA?
a. Regular RAD dance classes: It helped me have a strong foundation in dance and it helped me feel more confident during the DSA process.
b. Classes for competition and technique classes: It helped me further refine my technique.
c. Achieving consistent distinctions in RAD ballet exams: It demonstrates consistency, resilience and dedication.
4. Why did you decide to take up DSA-Sec?
a. I took up DSA-Sec because I wanted to increase my chances of joining my dream school. I also wanted to join a CCA that I really enjoy, which is Chinese Dance.
b. I wanted to reduce the stress for the PSLE papers, and it helped me feel more at ease after I got the confirmed offers.
5) Who would you recommend DSA-Sec to and why?
Students who want to go to their preferred school via dance. If they want to have a spot at their dream school while pursuing dance as a CCA, they should definitely take up DSA.
6) What was the toughest part of the DSA-SEC application?
I would say that the toughest part of the DSA-Sec application was the interview. I was a bit nervous because I felt like I couldn’t answer quickly under pressure, but when the teachers asked the questions, I calmed down and answered them just like how I practiced answering the questions at home.
7) If you could redo the entire DSA-Sec submission again, what improvements would you undertake?
a. I would better prepare myself for the interviews to help me feel more confident.
b. I would have more dance moves prepared in mind so that when the school asks me to improvise the dance, I can do so smoothly and confidently.
8) What was the differential between your average Achievement Level (AL) from Primary 4 to the acutal PSLE results, and the AL cut-off score required?
Being honest, I didn’t do my best for PSLE. The cut-off score required was 11, and the AL score I got was slightly over the cut-off point.
Thank you to Valerie for sharing her DSA-SEC journey and inspiring our juniors at StepUp with her success story!
a. Discipline: Showing up for every DSA lesson and always working harder to make my dance better.
b. Resilience: Recovering quickly from setbacks and always not giving up.
c. Adaptability: Being able to pick up dances quickly and being able to think quickly under pressure.
2. How have the DSA preparations at StepUp contributed to your success in DSA?
a. Regular training: It helped me become more disciplined and consistent. My dance teacher, Ms Leong, gave me specific feedback, which helped me refine my movements and improve my dance. This made my performance cleaner and it helped me feel more confident.
b. Mock auditions and interviews: These mock interviews helped me have a better feel of how the DSA process would be like, and it helped me to adapt better under pressure during the actual DSA process.
c. DSA webinars: These webinars helped me have a better understanding of what DSA is, and it helped me be better prepared for the questions they would ask during the DSA interviews.
3. How has the dance journey at StepUp contributed to your success in DSA?
a. Regular RAD dance classes: It helped me have a strong foundation in dance and it helped me feel more confident during the DSA process.
b. Classes for competition and technique classes: It helped me further refine my technique.
c. Achieving consistent distinctions in RAD ballet exams: It demonstrates consistency, resilience and dedication.
4. Why did you decide to take up DSA-Sec?
a. I took up DSA-Sec because I wanted to increase my chances of joining my dream school. I also wanted to join a CCA that I really enjoy, which is Chinese Dance.
b. I wanted to reduce the stress for the PSLE papers, and it helped me feel more at ease after I got the confirmed offers.
5) Who would you recommend DSA-Sec to and why?
Students who want to go to their preferred school via dance. If they want to have a spot at their dream school while pursuing dance as a CCA, they should definitely take up DSA.
6) What was the toughest part of the DSA-SEC application?
I would say that the toughest part of the DSA-Sec application was the interview. I was a bit nervous because I felt like I couldn’t answer quickly under pressure, but when the teachers asked the questions, I calmed down and answered them just like how I practiced answering the questions at home.
7) If you could redo the entire DSA-Sec submission again, what improvements would you undertake?
a. I would better prepare myself for the interviews to help me feel more confident.
b. I would have more dance moves prepared in mind so that when the school asks me to improvise the dance, I can do so smoothly and confidently.
8) What was the differential between your average Achievement Level (AL) from Primary 4 to the acutal PSLE results, and the AL cut-off score required?
Being honest, I didn’t do my best for PSLE. The cut-off score required was 11, and the AL score I got was slightly over the cut-off point.
Thank you to Valerie for sharing her DSA-SEC journey and inspiring our juniors at StepUp with her success story!
CATEGORIES
- All About Dance (31)
- Dance Competitions (20)
- Dance Examinations (15)
- Dance Performances (16)
- Direct-School Admissions (DSA-SEC) (19)
LATEST ENTRIES
-
Why Every Child Should Learn To Dance28 Jul 2022
-
-
-
-