Ice-Skating
Our St. Francis Academy Student (Batch 2007)
Ms. Sabrina Norhidayah
Our Ice-Skating Champion
Silver Medal in the National Age-Group Ice-Skating Championships 07
Bronze Medal at National Age-Group Meet 06
Gold Medal at National School's Meet 06
Chess
 In the 47th National Inter-School Team Chess Champions 2006, four of our students Ly Hong Nguyen John, Pham Chuong, Gan Yourong Bennett and Tee Tee Han won Gold Medal in Open West Zone Category and Bronze Medal in Open Category.
Two of our Vietnamese students Ly Hong Nguyen John and Pham Chuong won the 58th National Schools Individual Chess Championships in 2006
Two of our Vietnamese boys Ly Hong Nguyen John and Pham Chuong won the 57th National Schools Individual Chess Championships in 2005
 
Judo
Emily Sim, our Singaporean student won the National Schools Gold in 2005 for the Middle Weight Category
Gymnastics
Low San May won the Goh Chok Tong Sports Girl Award in 2004. She also won the SEA Games Individual Silver Award in in 2003
STAND UP FOR SURIYA
 HE'S SINGAPOREAN, 16 years of age, and will create history this weekend at the SingTel Singapore Grand Prix. Meet Suriya Bala Kerisnan, a student at St. Francis Methodist School, as he becomes the first Singaporean to drive a single-seater car in the Formula BMW category at this support race for the main Formula One event.
For half an hour, Suriya will race in his red No. 5 Asia acing Team car. It will be easy to spot him on the starting grid tough. He's last, and will start from 18th spot. Yesterday, he qualified with a time of 2min 32.798sec. The pole winner - F. Nasr of Euro- international - was 9.378sec faster.
While Suriya's more established, better-supported rivals had 40 days of testing such a car or are even racing the entire seasons - with some enjoying last year's experience - he has had only 10 days worth of testing time. On his virgin practice session yesterday (on a tougher street circuit), he had about only five laps to "acclimatise" when he could have had up to 12 in the 25-minute session, all because of practice stoppages and so on.
In qualifying, while a few other rivals spun or even crashed into the barriers, Suriya kept it nice and clean. To race today, and also for tomorrow's second race (at 4.30pm), Suriya first needs to avoid any major accident
"The track is still slippery and I had problems braking but luckily, I didn't overdo it," said Suriya. "In the first race (today), I will stay within the limits. “In the second race (tomorrow, with drivers earning points for each race in the series), I will push the limits as best I can”
SURIYA'S CHANCES
 SURIYA Bala Kerisnan might be starting today's race at the back of the grid but that does not mean he is lacking talent or anything like that. Unlike many of the other drivers on the circuit, Suriya is a guest driver which means he would want to make full use of his weekend here at the Singapore Grand Prix and stay out of any trouble early. Also because of his lack of practice time, he still doesn't feel absolutely comfortable in the car.
SURIYA'S SHORTCOMINGS
HIS PHYSIQUE, as compared to the other drivers in the field, is not great. He doesn't look as fit but this 16-year-old St. Francis Methodist School student isn't to blame. With his lack of support, engaging trainers to provide him with the right training routine and diet just means extra costs for him. As many top drivers have mentioned, fitness is just as important as anything else in racing. He needs some sports science help, for sure.
His parents don't watch him race because they cannot bear to watch him risk life and limb. But his father and construction businessman TM Bala Kerisnan Thevar willingly forked out 40,000 euros ($83,200) for Suriya to race in this weekend's races alone. On his car, Suriya has only one local sponsor -www.abiraamejewellers.com - on the side of his car.
On the prominent sidepod area, he could have easily chosen to publicise his father's business company, but chose to go with "Majulah Singapura". On the sides of his car's air intakes - behind his head when he sits inside - is the Singapore flag.
 PRESSURE
Suriya said: "I feel some pressure because I know I'm creating history for Singapore in a way by being the first single-seater car racer for the Singapore GP's support races, as opposed to the other locals in the Porsche and Aston Martin series.
"All drivers who dream of Fl have to go through the single-seater categories. But I hope I can do my friends and family proud, as well as Singaporeans who might come early to the circuit to catch me this weekend."
The New Paper believes that such an achievement from a local Singaporean student deserves mention, as much as the ongoing obsession with Formula One's fallout from Renault's recent Crashgate scandal and verdict.
Today, if you are heading for the Marina Bay street circuit to watch the likes of Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello, Lewis Hamilton or Kimi Raikkonen, why not head down earlier at 4.45pm? Remember, he'll be wearing a white helmet, in a red car No. 5, starting from the back of the Formula BMW field..
If you're there, stand up for Suriya, will you?
Excerpts From THE NEW PAPER
Saturday 26 September 2009
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