City College was founded in 2002 offering a group of 20 students subsidised tuition classes. As we interacted with our students, we noted that those who took the GCE examinations as private candidates were not adequately prepared. Furthermore, statistics released by Singapore's Ministry of Education between 1999 and 2002 revealed that close to 40% of the 7,000 private GCE candidates in Singapore each year failed every subject. Seeking to reverse the trend, we decided to focus on helping this group of students by using non-linear teaching methods. We grew into a full school, City Harvest Education Centre (CHEC), in 2005, offering preparatory courses for both GCE ‘O’ and ‘N’ Level examinations. Since then, we have noted that the performance of private GCE candidates in Singapore has increased by 10%. In 2007, the national average of private candidates hit a record 89% - the highest in 14 years. The same year, 98.4% of our students obtained the GCE 'O' Level certificate.