Her family moved to Thailand, away from Singapore’s education “arms race”, yet she scored the “highest mark in the world” for mathematics

The year when the COVID-19 pandemic took the world by surprise was the same year that Elise Liang had to sit for her Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE).

When the circuit breaker was in place and everyone was holed up at home, the Liangs spent most of their free time playing the Saboteur card game with one another.

The game commenced after dinner and would last all the way to midnight.

“We could play every night till late because the children did not need to go to school the next day. It was a very beautiful period of our lives and it sparked the thought that maybe this was the way to do life together – having lots of family time,” said Elise’s mother, Corrine Ang, a former tutor who chose to stop giving tuition lessons during that time.  

Corinne, 45, is married to Joash Liang, 47 and they have two daughters. Elise is 18 this year and Eleora, 14.

Chasing the next ‘A’ in a never-ending cycle

When the circuit breaker ended and the pandemic gradually lifted, the Liangs ech went back to their busy lives.

Elise found the transition from her primary school – South View – to a top-tier secondary school – Methodist Girls’ School – especially stressful.

“Growing up in such a competitive schooling environment where we are constantly sorted by grades since young, I began placing high expectations on myself and constantly chased the next ‘A’ in a never-ending cycle,” Elise told Salt&Light.

She recalled holding back tears when she barely passed her English examination at the end of Secondary 1. Even though she scored 85 marks and above for subjects like science and geography, Elise found herself going from the top class in Primary 6 to the bottom of her Integrated Programme (IP) class. The IP programme is a six-year course that leads to an International Baccalaureate diploma.

“During that time, I didn’t do much apart from studying, apart from my football co-curricular activity and going for piano classes once a week. Piano used to be fun for me, but when I needed to take exams for it, it became unenjoyable,” said Elise.

Meanwhile, Corrine felt conflicted about seeing her children rushing to finish their homework at the last minute every day before going to bed.

Several times she tried corralling all of them together to do family devotion together at night, but they were too tired.

“God is relegated to the back seat and we know as stewards, we are responsible,” Corinne told Salt&Light.

Praying only before exams 

Their family used to be “lukewarm Christians”, Corrine admitted, even though they had been worshipping at a megachurch for two decades. She and her husband had variously served in the church’s children’s and logistics ministries as well.

Though their children went to Sunday school, it was done out of routine and obligation.

“I viewed God as someone distant and the last option I would turn to when I needed help. The only time I remember praying to Him when I was in Singapore was before sitting for any exams,” said Elise candidly.

“I did not have a relationship with God. So, when my school life became more stressful, I tried to just do it on my own,” she added.

Elise did not know it then, but just a few months later, she would be taken out of school and her family would uproot and leave Singapore.

In early 2022, Corrine and her husband were having a casual conversation when the topic of relocation came up.

“In my heart, I heard the Holy Spirit asking me a sudden question: ‘Will you go with Me on an adventure?’” said Corrine.

“Before I had time to process the implications of that question, my heart leapt with joy and shouted ‘Yes!’. But my logical mind said ‘no’.”.

The couple had discussed relocation before, but conversations would end with the conclusion that they did not want to give up their current creature comforts to venture into a foreign land where language barrier may be a real issue. They had always wanted to retire in Singapore.

How God led them to relocate

While Corrine was having internal dialogues with the Holy Spirit, her husband – usually a “down-to-earth and non-adventurous” person – began commenting at the same time that perhaps it was time for them to relocate.

“Both of us were initially against relocating, but when we felt a sudden supernatural peace and desire to do so at the same time, we knew God was leading us,” Corrine told Salt&Light.

When they raised the matter with their children, Eleora was excited but not Elise.

“She was a bit angry and asked us why we needed to move. She felt she had studied so hard to be in the IP stream and didn’t want to give it up,” said Corrine.

Thus, the family put the plan on the backburner.

“We told God that we are not moving until He changes Elise’s heart. My prayer was that she would bring the topic up on her own and say that she is going for it,” said Corrine.

One day, Elise came back from school and excitedly told her family members that she wanted to do horse-riding and baking when they were overseas.

“She had assumed that we were going and forgotten that she had said no to us. We took it as another confirmation,” said Corrine.

The family was then ready to relocate elsewhere in South-east Asia in order to explore a different and slower way of life.

Within a month, they had packed, stopped work and rented out their five-room Housing Development Board flat in Choa Chu Kang.

“God paved the way for us. We only had one tenant for house viewing and it was rented out within a few hours at a price slightly above our targeted rent,” Corrine recalled.

Word got around that they were relocating and they got to know a Pastor in Singapore who was running an orphanage in northern Thailand. So, the family decided to head there in March 2022 to do “missions”.

Education, a “low priority”

For Corrine, education was a “low priority” for her children.

“I wanted to give the children back the gift of time that had been stolen from them because we idolised and elevated education above God,” she said.

In her two decades of working as a tuition teacher, she saw anxiety and depression in high-achieving students who struggle to do even better. She also encountered parents egging her to put more pressure on their children so that they would perform better academically.

“I feel that there is very little joy in student life in Singapore,” said Corrine, whose daughters ended up self-studying on their own in Thailand.  

“We didn’t have any plans for their education when we left, but we trusted that God had a plan. It was not about choosing between homeschooling (which can also be intense) or going to school. It was about going back to doing life the way God designed,” she added.

She had never worried about her children academically as both girls had regularly won Edusave awards in primary school.

When they left for Thailand in March 2022, Elise assumed that they were just going for a “long holiday” and would return after a while. Thus, before she left, she asked her Secondary 2 classmates to send her study notes so that she could peruse them during her time overseas.

God’s provision of a house, an upgrade from their five-room flat

The family, however, experienced another level of stress from the process of relocation.

At the last minute, their visa application ran into problems and they had to move after a brief stay in Chiang Rai to settle in Chiang Mai.

The girls found the language barrier challenging, and the relocation costs exceeded their monthly budget of S$3,000 several times.

However, the family experienced God’s provision when they chanced upon a two-storey, 265 sqm house in the San Sai suburb near Chiang Mai for 20,000 baht (S$790) a month. As part of the residential community there, they had access to a swimming pool, gym and a garden, where they grew vegetables.

“Our standard of living was upgraded as previously we lived in a five-room flat,” said Corrine.

The family also joined a homeschooling community of Singaporeans in Chiang Mai. The girls self-study with the help of YouTube videos and textbooks. They follow the Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) syllabus, an internationally recognised qualification similar to the ‘O’ levels.

Elise took six IGCSEs in 2024 and is studying for four ‘A’ level subjects now. Eleora will also likely take her IGCSEs next year.

“The girls mainly study on their own. If they have questions, they Google their own answers. It’s okay if they don’t know the answers,” said Corrine, who used to be a mathematics tutor. “I do help Eleora with Maths.”

Slow, unstructured living

Their days are free-flowing.

Each day begins with all of them spending time on their own with God.

Corrine and her husband would follow that up with a stroll at a park and then have coffee at a coffeeshop. The girls would prepare their own brunch and then dive into whatever they wanted to do.

Eleora studies one or two hours a day, and usually spends the rest of the day playing the violin as it is her passion.

Elise sometimes heads out to study at a café or she plays the piano and watches shows on YouTube when at home. She also likes to bake and cook.

Corrine then cooks dinner and the family lingers over food and talks about anything under the sun.

“I noticed a clear shift of joy in Elise. In the past, she would be quite grouchy and quiet after coming back from school. But out here, she has gone back to her usual joyful self where she is bubbly and shares a lot with us,” Corrine told Salt&Light.

After dinner, the family makes it a point to have family devotion together every night. They pray, read the Bible and discuss any takeaways or questions that any of them may have.

“The children sometimes ask questions that challenge my perspective and at times, I have to admit that I am wrong,” said Corrine.

Enjoying a closer walk with God 

As the family began prioritising time with God, the children’s faith deepened.

Once, when Corrine went on one of her regular long walks and talked to God, He said to her: “I miss the day when I saw Elise worshipping with so much joy and gusto when she was in kindergarten.”

When she heard it, she immediately knew the moment God was referring to. Watching Elise that day in kindergarten, it taught Corrine what it meant to worship “in spirit and in truth”.

In response, Corrine prayed for Elise that she come back to the “heart of worship”.

Some time later, when Elise asked for a piano – this time to play for fun and not to prepare for music exams – Corinne was deeply moved to hear that the first song her daughter chose to play on the piano was the song The Heart of Worship.

“It was an answered prayer and I knew God is bringing the children home back to Him,” said Corrine.

From one who used to drag her feet to church because it was boring, Elise now volunteers to help out with leading worship in church. From one who used to think her good results were due to her own smarts, now she has begun giving thanks and crediting it all to God in her prayers.

For Eleora, she has found the joy of sharing Christ with others, whether it is in giving a Bible to a friend or praying for others in church and seeing them come to faith.

For Corrine, being able to sit alone with God for hours in a quiet room or taking long walks with Him has helped her better tune in to His voice.

A vision to testify for a different way to live

In the initial months of relocation when adjustment stress was high, Corrine felt down and lost.

“I felt God was so silent and He didn’t tell us what to do here. Our missions plan didn’t work out so we don’t have an acceptable or ‘correct’ answer for others when they asked us what were we doing there. I felt useless doing ‘nothing’ and wondered if we made the right decision to relocate,” Corrine told Salt&Light.

One day, during her prayer time, God gave her a vision.

She saw a drop of water landing in an ocean, and creating ripples far and wide.

An unmistakable, still, small Voice in her heart said: “Testify and create ripples far and wide, beginning in schools. Hide no more and come out to testify. I will write My story in you. I shall give you a platform and the children shall testify – by showing many peers who are quietly battling depression and contemplating suicide that there is a hope beyond the academic rat race.”

Then she saw another vision of children gathering during recess time in school and they were all talking in amazement about her daughters.

Corrine was confused about what she heard and saw.

“How can it be? We are not doing anything spectacular, just living our lives in the day to day. No one knows us,” she thought.

But she kept this vision in her heart. It encouraged her whenever she felt down as she knew there was a purpose to the new life God was leading them in.

Carefree days to travel and explore 

Apart from prioritising time with God and leaving the children to pursue their own study and interests, the Liangs’ days in Thailand are largely unstructured.

Often, it is only on the day itself that the family decides to take a road trip or hike somewhere. There were times when their road trips turned into 12-hour journeys, and they traversed attractions like the Tham Lod cave in northern Mae Hong Son province and the Bua Tong “sticky” waterfall in Chiang Mai known for its non-slip surface that allows visitors to climb it.

“We are creating memories together. Instead of waiting until you retire, you can enjoy life with your spouse and children now,” Corrine pointed out.

They were a middle-income family in Singapore, but in Thailand, they have been learning to live simply, having had to dip into their savings at times and receiving no active income apart from the rental of their flat.

“We do not have enough savings to tide us for life, but we do not worry. One day, the family travelling season will be over and we may need to clear trays in our old age, but we have no regrets,” Corrine told Salt&Light.

Putting their trust in the Lord, they received provision in surprising ways.

Experiencing God’s provision in unusual ways

Corrine happened to meet a friend who was a pickleball addict. At that time, pickleball had not caught on in Singapore yet. Few people knew of the sport.

During their conversation, it entered Corrine’s mind to sell pickleball bats.

“We hadn’t played pickleball before and did not know much about the material for the bats. But we decided to try,” she recalled.

At that time, Eleora already had a small stationary business (as part of her homeschooling project to learn life skills) called A Little Ripple but it was not doing well.

After getting a new business idea from her mother, she started selling pickleball paddles through her online store and sales unexpectedly soared.  

“God gave us the idea to pivot to selling pickleball paddles. As one of the pioneer entrants, we had some months of really good sales before competition set in,” said Corrine.

In its initial months, Eleora’s online store brought in as much as S$2,000 a month, and she was interviewed by Singapore media on being a young entrepreneur.

In another instance of divine provision, there was a month in 2024 when Corrine was checking on their finances because they had to pay the IGCSE exam fees for Elise.

“We had exceptionally high expenses that month so I wanted to calculate how much of our savings were intact. To my surprise, despite exceeding the budget, our savings registered an unexplainable increase,” Corrine told Salt&Light.

In 2023, the family felt led by God to move from Thailand to Ipoh, where they have lived since.

They visit Singapore whenever they need to, but have since taken a further step of selling their flat in Singapore instead of renting it out.

“We obviously didn’t want to as it provided a buffer of financial stability. It was also our matrimonial home which housed all our memories. We fought so hard to hold on to our last straw of identity and security,” Corrine admitted.

“Yet we also realised that it was this intense longing that was stopping us from walking by faith fully,” she said.

“He called us to forgo what held our hearts back from being willing to move anywhere that He calls us to.”

“The highest mark in the world” 

In 2024, Elise sat for six IGCSE exams as a private candidate. She took English, mathematics, additional mathematics, biology, chemistry and physics in two rounds of exams in June and November.

She earned a perfect score in mathematics, winning her an Outstanding Cambridge Learner Award from examination body Cambridge International Education. The certificate indicated that she had “the highest mark in the world” for Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics (Without Coursework) for the June 2024 exam.

The lowest mark she obtained was 91 for English.

The news was a pleasant surprise to Elise and her family, and especially to her grandparents who were “understandably concerned that (we) might ruin the children’s education pathway to success” and had objected to their decision to move overseas, said Joash. He used to be a service engineer but left his job before their relocation.

“Through this journey, I stopped chasing academic validation and wasn’t expecting much for my results. Even after getting the award, the joy from it was temporary and it reminded me that joy from this world is short-lived,” said Elise.

However, the award has since opened doors for Elise to teach other children, some of whom are older than her. In turn, it ignited her passion in teaching.

“I might want to continue tutoring for a living, while also continuing tutoring at children’s homes,” she said. All the Liangs currently serve as volunteer teachers every week at a children’s home in Ipoh.

The family had also just returned from an impromptu month-long homeschooling trip to China, where they went horse-riding, mountain climbing and skiing.

Corrine’s vision from God about being given a platform to testify has also since come to pass, three years later.  

In 2025, The Sunday Times ran a feature article on how the Liangs chose to step away from Singapore’s education race. The article went viral and became top news when it was released. It attracted various comments from readers, some of whom wondered whether they were financially privileged to lead such a life, and others who supported or objected to their decision to move.

“On hindsight, I realised that our testimony was not to go to some place to plant churches or do missions, but just to live our day-to-day lives being led by Him and to show that such a life is possible,” Corrine said to Salt&Light.

“God’s call is not for all believers to relocate, but to go where they can be a Mary, not a Martha.

“Maybe, in seeing our lives, a parent will consider returning a child the gift of time. Maybe, a child will see that there can be a future out of the conventional education route. Maybe, someone battling with depression and suicidal thoughts will know it’s okay to step back and find peace and joy in the slow, simple and unstructured life.”

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