Compassvale Secondary School gives Sengkang families a distinctive STEM programme to explore. Its enhanced Applied Learning Programme, ALP-ACES, brings together aeronautics, coding, engineering and sustainability.
The school’s current programme page describes lower-secondary learning through theory and practical work, linking ideas from Physics, Design and Technology, and Mathematics. Sustainability provides a common theme for the activities.
This guide explains what that combination can mean for a parent and offers an original family investigation with paper gliders. A simple comparison can become a useful lesson in measurement, fair testing and explaining a design decision.
Choose your reading route
Understand the school’s theme: read about the programme. Try an activity: begin a family investigation. Explore your school choice: read the parent questions.
Contents
Open the six-part guide
Compassvale’s published ALP-ACES page describes principles of flight, coding, engineering and design thinking during lower-secondary curriculum time. It also lists further opportunities through STEM activities and related CCAs.
For parents, a helpful question is how pupils connect the practical task with the idea behind it. A model that moves or flies attracts attention; explaining its behaviour, testing a change and recording the result makes the experience more informative.
For an independent home activity, compare two paper-glider designs using the same type and size of paper. Ask one question: under similar launch conditions, which design usually travels farther?
Use a clear indoor space with room for a gentle launch away from people and breakable objects. Decide where to launch and how to measure before starting. Your teenager can sketch each design and predict the result.
Try several launches for each design, using the same person and starting point. Measure consistently from the launch line to where the glider first lands. Record every attempt rather than keeping only the longest flight.
Discuss what remains difficult to control. The launch angle or force can vary even when you try to keep it similar. Acknowledging that variation is part of understanding the evidence, and it can suggest a better method for the next attempt.
Write the distances with their units. Compare the spread of results as well as a typical distance. A glider that achieves one spectacular flight may behave less consistently than another.
If the student knows how to calculate a mean, use it alongside the individual measurements. Ask whether the numerical summary matches what they observed. A result is easier to interpret when the table and the explanation tell the same story.
Modify one feature, such as a fold, and test again. Ask what changed and whether it helped the original goal. Keep the earlier design so the comparison remains visible.
Connect material use with the decision too. Can an existing sheet be reused? Does an added part justify the extra material? These are modest questions about design choices, allowing the student to explain benefits and costs without making sweeping environmental claims.
Read Compassvale Secondary School’s current enhanced ALP page and Distinctive Programmes directory. Ask how learning develops across levels and which additional opportunities depend on interest or selection.
Then consider the daily Sengkang journey, CCA commitments and time for homework and rest. Practical interests can make a school conversation more specific, but a sustainable family routine matters too. Bring your teenager into the discussion and ask what they want to understand better.
Sources and further reading
School programme information checked on 11 October 2026. This is an independent eduKateSengkang parent guide. The family activities are our suggestions; consult the school’s current information for its programme details.
Compassvale Secondary School: Enhanced ALP-ACES
Compassvale Secondary School: Distinctive Programmes
Continue exploring: Secondary schools in Sengkang · The Secondary 1 transition · Sengkang neighbourhood guide.
