Finalist for the 2022 Epigram Books Fiction Prize

When the eccentric new education minister unveils a radical local exchange programme called INSTEP, two Secondary Three girls find themselves uprooted from their lives and transplanted into unfamiliar new surroundings. Rowena, a mediocre student at one of Singapore’s top girls’ schools, and Janice, the overachieving pride of a “heartland institution”, must each find a way to survive one term at the other’s school.

But just when they think they have it all figured out, a rash of misfortune threatens to shut INSTEP down. How will the girls fare? Will INSTEP survive past its pilot phase? Can the girls save the day?

About the Author

Ng Ziqin is an undergraduate law student at the National University of Singapore. Her writing has been featured in RICE and Asia Law Network. In 2020, she placed third in a youth op-ed competition with her piece, “We Need to Stop Promoting Science as the Default JC Stream.”

Her biggest literary heroes are Terry Pratchett and Adrian Tan, and she has a growing taste for mystery novels and psychological thrillers. One day, Ziqin hopes to achieve her lifelong dream of retiring in a cave house, where she will write whodunits that take place in Yishun. Every School a Good School is her first novel.