It’s not every day you hear of a 44-year-old man walking into an exam hall filled with teenagers, clutching the same exam timetable, the same entry proof, the same sharpened pencils. But that’s exactly what Linus Lin does — every year.
He finds his seat among a sea of restless sixteen-year-olds, hears the rustle of papers, and feels the collective hush as the invigilator calls, “You may begin.”
For almost a decade, Linus has been taking the O-level exams on purpose. Not just once to prove a point, but every single year since 2015. Sometimes in physics and chemistry, the subjects he teaches.
Other times in biology, business studies, or history-subjects he has no formal training in. He signs up, he studies late at night, he sweats under the time pressure. Then, just like any other candidate, he waits for his results.
This isn’t a midlife whim. It’s a philosophy. “After taking the first O-level exam, I realised — oh man — there are so many things I didn’t know about my students,” Linus says. “The kind of mental stress, the time management skills, the anxiety — I could only understand it after I took the exam again as an adult.”
And so, year after year, he goes back. Because in his view, the only way to truly guide his students is to share the battlefield with them.
From side hustle to lifelong mission
Linus’s story starts back in 2001 as a computer science student at the National University of Singapore, where tutoring was supposed to be just a way to earn pocket money. But by 2007, it had become his full-time calling. “I told myself that I’ll be a teacher for life,” he recalls.
Over time, frustration with the transactional nature of tuition pushed him to reimagine what education could be. In 2016, Keynote Learning was born — a centre built not just to push grades but to shape character. With a team of 20, the school prides itself on integrating values like empathy, diligence, and creativity into its teaching.
The ‘why’ behind the O-level exams ritual
So why put himself through this voluntary gauntlet year after year? It all began in 2015, when a new science syllabus confused his students.
Curious, Linus sat for the paper. What he discovered surprised even him.
He admitted that after sitting for his first O-level exam as an adult, he was struck by how much he had overlooked about his students’ experiences. The mental stress, the pressure of time management, and the anxiety they carried into the exam hall were things he could only truly grasp once he had gone through the process himself.
That lived experience changed everything. He started spotting details parents and teachers often miss: foggy glasses in a hot lab during practicals, blanking out on a familiar formula under pressure, and overthinking when the clock is ticking. These “small things,” as he calls them, became powerful insights he could pass on to his students.
Taking exams in subjects he doesn’t even teach
After a few years, Linus noticed he wasn’t nervous anymore. So, he raised the stakes. “I wanted to challenge myself. In 2020, I took biology for the first time. I had never learned the content before. As a working adult, I had to find pockets of time to study, and it was very scary.”
He laughs about his first biology grade. “I got a B3. I wasn’t happy, because I wanted an A1.”
But he also says that experience allowed him to understand the terror of being underprepared. The following year, he returned and clinched the A1.
Then came business studies, social studies, and history-subjects he had never touched before. Each time, he wasn’t just collecting certificates; he was collecting empathy. “When students ask, ‘How do you study for social studies?’ I can now give real strategies that I tested myself.”
Education that builds character, not just scores
Linus doesn’t mince words about Singapore’s results-driven culture. “Grades will definitely open doors, but how you progress depends on qualities like problem-solving skills, creativity, teamwork, and resilience,” he says.
It’s a refreshing message for parents who feel stuck on the treadmill of chasing marks. Linus believes success should be defined by decision-making, resilience, and the ability to “fail forward.”
If his own future child ever struggled academically, he insists he would value character development above grades. “Academic results should be seen as a consequence rather than the cause of things,” he says.
At Keynote Learning, that philosophy shows up in everyday teaching. From handling hyperactive kids with patience to encouraging quieter ones to speak up, Linus sees his role as both tutor and mentor. “I have to constantly remind myself that I am a role model. Whether I like it or not, students watch my behaviour. So if I want them to show patience, fairness, and open-mindedness, I need to display those qualities myself.”
Shaping the future of learning in Singapore
Singapore’s tuition industry is famously competitive, but Linus has carved his own lane by daring to be different. While many centres focus narrowly on results, his approach resonates with a new wave of parents seeking balance: academic excellence plus life skills.
He even imagines a future where schools could give weight to non-academic passions — piano, art, or storytelling — so children grow up recognised for more than grades.
“It can be piano, it can be dance, it can be art, it can be storytelling, book writing, and so on. Right? There are a lot of different, and then to allow this child to develop that by him or herself, and then the ministry probably can create a very framework, you know, how they can be assessed based on their chosen fifth personal development subject.”
And yes, it’s working. Parents and students alike are drawn to Keynote Learning not just for the scores, but for the way Linus’s team nurtures curiosity, builds resilience, and equips students with strategies to handle real stress — not just theoretical stress.
Why parents should care about Linus’s experiment
At the end of the day, Linus’s O-level exams experiment is less about him and more about what it means for your child. Every year, when he picks up that exam script, he’s walking into the same mental battlefield your teen faces. When he struggles, he finds new empathy. When he strategizes, he builds new ways to guide his students.
As a parent, that should matter to you. It’s proof that your child’s tutor is willing to go the extra mile — not just teaching from the sidelines, but stepping into the arena, year after year.
When teachers become students
For nearly a decade, Linus Lin has treated the O-level exams not as a distant academic relic, but as a living experience he willingly relives each year.
His ritual is unusual, but it’s also deeply telling. It reveals a teacher who refuses to stand apart from his students’ struggles, choosing instead to enter the same halls, face the same silence, and carry the same anxieties.
In doing so, he models something larger than grades: resilience, empathy, and integrity in practice. Parents often search for tutors who can deliver results; what Linus offers is rarer. He delivers perspective.
And perhaps that’s the lesson here. The right mentor doesn’t just prepare a child for an exam — they prepare them for the world beyond it.
So the next time you ask what kind of guidance your child needs, consider this… Would you rather trust someone who talks about the journey, or someone who has walked it — again and again, by choice?
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This article was first published in theAsianparent.
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