SINGAPORE - When he passed only three out of seven subjects, his parents knew something was wrong.
So they took him to a psychologist who discovered that he had Asperger's syndrome.
That was in 2011 when Andrew Loh was 15. Asperger's syndrome affects social communication and interaction and is a mild form of autism.
But the Westwood Secondary School student did not let it affect him, in fact he tried even harder. His efforts paid off.
He achieved a score of 14 points (L1R5) for his O levels, including a distinction for Mother Tongue.
"I was nervous, I really didn't know what to expect," he said. "I was afraid that I would have to repeat my O levels."
Initially not wanting to look at his results, his fear quickly turned to relief when he saw that he had done well.
"I'm glad I got a score that can take me somewhere," he said. "It was quite a struggle."
Andrew put all his success down to discipline.
"I was quite distracted in Secondary 3, by Facebook and the General Elections," he said.
"Since then, I put my effort into studying, I made sure everything was in order."
His self-discipline did not stop there.
Andrew, who lives in a five-room flat with his parents and younger brother, said he re-packed and revamped his entire room, sorting his notes into neat folders and categories.