It has been making the rounds online.

Two students from a top junior college (JC), with everything ahead of them, decided life for them was over last month.

And within 10 days of each other, both took their own lives.

They were A-level students, one in the first year and the other in second year.

What is worrying, say the experts, is that they have seen an increase in the number of students sharing the same disturbing thoughts.

"I've had a few come to me and tell me they want to kill themselves (because they cannot cope)", says Dr Thomas Lee, a psychiatrist from Resilienz Clinic.

He has 10 such patients now, twice the number from five years ago.

"It is actually quite common that these students get suicidal thoughts," he says.

One of his patients had suicidal thoughts and was close to giving up when his school counsellor recommended he seek professional help.

He was in his second year of JC.

Dr Lee says: "(That patient) was one of those students who did well in secondary school but saw his grades deteriorate after he gained entry into a reputable JC.

"Part of his depressive condition came from the embarrassment that he wasn't doing as well as his peers, and it didn't help that he didn't have a strong support system at home.

"After he scraped through his first year, he thought it would somehow get better the year after but it didn't."

His suicidal thoughts persisted for months, Dr Lee says, but with prescribed medication and psychotherapy, he eventually improved.

Last year, 27 children aged between 10 and 19 ended their lives, according to figures from the Samaritans of Singapore. It is the highest for the age group in 15 years.

In 2014, it was 13 suicides for the same age group.

Why they killed themselves was not specified in the report.

But several clinics here say they have seen an increase in students in that age group seeking help - all had suicidal thoughts.

When it gets to that stage, the student would have "endured pressure for quite some time", says Mr Daniel Koh, a psychologist with Insights Mind Centre.

He has 20 students who need help, twice of what he handled last year.

CUMULATIVE

Mr Koh says: "They might hit breaking point during the exam period, but it is important to note that the stress is cumulative and cannot be attributed solely to exams.

"For example, students can be pressured by a whole list of reasons like meeting parents' expectations, making it into top schools or even making up for previous bad results to lift their overall grade.

"The anxiety accumulates over time before it gets to a point where they cannot cope and start to have suicidal thoughts."

And this accumulation of pressures affects children of all ages.

A spokesman for the Resilienz Clinic says: "We see students of all ages - mostly those who are about to sit for important papers such as the PSLE, O-level to A-level exams.''

But the increased number seeking help is not necessarily a bad thing, says Dr Lee.

"It is good that these kids are seeking help young because it is imperative to intervene as early as possible before the negative thoughts become too persistent."

- Additional reporting by Phyllis Lee

For example, students can be pressured by a whole list of reasons like meeting parents' expectations, making it into top schools or even making up for previous bad results to lift their overall grade.

- Mr Daniel Koh, psychologist with Insights Mind Centre