J and I are both RTPM Science High alumni. So when it came time to think about high school for Xavy, there wasn’t much deliberation. That was the school. That had always been the school.
What I didn’t fully account for was how much work getting him there would actually take — or how little time we’d end up having to do it.
We started reviewing less than a month before the exam.
I know. Not ideal. But between school, his other activities, and everything else that comes with managing the day-to-day on my own, the application window crept up faster than I expected. By the time I had the reviewer books converted into Google Forms and a loose plan in place, we had less than a month to go.
I bought the PSHS qualifying test preparation series from Shopee — physical reviewer books covering Science, Math, and English. Then I spent some time transferring them into Google Forms so Xavy could answer them on a device instead of writing everything by hand. The Math ones were a nightmare to convert because of the equations and drawings, but the Science and English forms came out usable.
That became our main review material.
The hardest part was keeping him motivated.
Xavy is not the kind of kid who sits down willingly to do extra schoolwork after a full day of classes. I don’t think most Grade 6 kids are. Getting him to open the reviewer on a school night took more convincing than I’d like to admit — and some nights, it just wasn’t happening, and I had to let it go.
What helped was keeping the sessions short. Thirty minutes, maybe forty-five on a good night. We’d go through one section of the Google Form together, and when he got something wrong, we’d talk through why. Not in a correcting way — more like working it out together. That seemed to keep him engaged longer than just telling him to review on his own.
We also didn’t treat every session like the stakes were enormous. The exam matters, but making it feel like a crisis every night would have made him dread it more than he already did. Some sessions were genuinely low-key. We’d sit together, he’d answer questions, I’d sit nearby. That was enough.
On weekends we could do a bit more — sometimes an hour, sometimes longer if he was in the mood. Science was where we spent the most time because some of the topics hadn’t come up in his Grade 5 lessons yet. Math we focused on word problems. English we barely touched because he was already comfortable there.
He was anxious going into it.
Xavy doesn’t always show stress the way you’d expect. He went quiet in the days before the exam — not dramatically so, just a little more inward than usual. He asked a few times whether I thought he’d pass. I told him honestly that I didn’t know, but that he’d done the work and that was what he could control.
I wasn’t going to promise him something I couldn’t guarantee. But I also didn’t want him walking in convinced he was going to fail.
On exam day, I dropped him off, watched him go in, and then did what most parents do — went home and tried to keep myself occupied while waiting.
His name was on the list.
Results were posted on the Duscian Gateway Facebook page. I checked it probably more times than was reasonable before the list went up. When I finally saw his name, I just sat with it for a moment.
It wasn’t a dramatic reaction. It was quieter than that — the kind of relief that comes after weeks of uncertainty, not the kind that comes from a surprise. He’d worked for it. Imperfectly, with some nights where we couldn’t get through a single section, but he’d worked for it.
J and I are both Science High. Now Xavy is too.
If you’re starting late, it’s still worth trying.
Less than a month is not a lot of time, and I won’t pretend the prep was thorough. But it was enough. If you’re reading this and the exam is coming up fast, don’t spend time feeling bad about starting late — just start.
The free reviewers are in the main guide if you need them: How to Apply for RTPM Dumaguete Science High (2025). Science and English converted well. Math has some rendering issues but the questions are still usable.
Thirty minutes a night, focus on the topics your child finds hardest, and let the rest go.
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