The title of this article does not hide the gist of its contents. As such, it may trigger a dismissive reflex in most people.  After all, isn't it obvious enough what academic contests are all about? Academic contests were not invented just yesterday and many of us have been in one, either as a participant or a mere spectator. So maybe you are asking, how can anybody have a misconception about them. The reason I felt the need to write this article is that there are really those who don't understand what it's all about. At least not, in the context that I am about  to discuss here in this article. It's not anybody's fault though why many have these misconceptions. Like I said, academic contests have been around ever since maybe the first school was opened. And each one of those contests followed a consistent pattern. The common concept is that it's all about children pitting their academic skills against their peers, all designed to find out who has the superior brain cells. The contest also focuses mostly in traditional subject areas like language, science and mathematics. Then came Eastbridge and many things seem to be different. And they are different in the most unexpected way, even to a point of being mislabeled as ill-conceived in its design and arbitrary or downright unfair in its choices of participants. To those who have a similar thought, let this article explain the rationale behind the things that we do here.

Our school's logo's tagline says "Where your child rises". If Eastbridge were an exclusive school for boys, I would have preferred the tagline "Where your son rises" meant as a double entendre since a rising sun is actually part of the logo design. But our tagline is meant not only to convey a cute idea. It is a serious attempt to set a standard which the school would like to live up to. A standard that will dictate how we educate our students and which will also determine the kind of students the school produces. For some schools, the realization of this dream may be too long in the making. Fortunately for us, we are treated to almost a yearly spectacle of our students rising from among the ranks and making it to the big schools. While it may be a business advantage to hold on to them for as long as possible, we really don't mind losing them if it means the fulfilment of a parent's dream. For who among us would not dream big if we believe there is a slightest chance it will come true? In a practical world, one man's "loss" can be another man's gain. But more importantly and viewed from the perspective of the child, every Eastbridger who progresses from being an Eastbridger to an Atenean is a feather in the cap for them and for us. It is a testament that we have lived up to our tagline. It shouts to the those who are willing to listen that here, in this place, children do indeed rise. And they rise to shine brightly, always a source of inspiration and a source of pride.