Secondary School
20
Years of Working Experience
Welcome To MyHome Tutor
The Singapore Education System
Moving on the Secondary School
From year 2024 Sec 1 cohort onwards, the old Express, N(A) and N(T) streams will be removed. All secondary schools will be into full SBB or Subject-Based Banding; MOE will post students to secondary school through three Posting Groups: PG1 = Posting Groups 1, which is the previous Normal (Technical), PG2 = Posting Groups 2, the previous Normal (Academic) & PG3 = Posting Groups 3, the previous Express. The PSLE score ranges for the three Posting Groups will be mapped from the previous N(T), N(A) and Express streams respectively. Posting Groups will only be used for the purposes of admitting students into secondary school and to guide the initial subject levels students can offer at the start of Secondary One.
Throughout their secondary school education, students can take subjects at three subject levels, known as G1, G2, G3 (G stands for General), mapped from the previous N(T), N(A) and Express standards respectively. Students will have the flexibility to adjust their subject levels at appropriate junctures, based on their strengths, interests and learning needs. Students will subsequently access programmes and post-secondary pathways based on their various subjects and subject level combinations.
| PSLE Score | Posting Group(s) | Indicative Level for Most Subjects at Start of Secondary 1 |
|---|---|---|
| 4 - 20 | 3 | G3 |
| 21 - 22 | 2 or 3 | G2 or G3 |
| 23 - 24 | 2 | G2 |
| 25 | 1 or 2 | G1 or G2 |
| 26 - 30 (with AL7 or better in EL and MA) |
1 | G1 |
In Secondary 4, the entire cohort will take a standard national exam, replacing the current GCE Cambridge General Certificate of Education “O” and “N” level exams. At the end of secondary school, students will receive a common certificate, the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate (SEC), which reflects their different subject combinations and levels. Students will take their subject papers based on their level – G1 to G3.
Those who want to spend a fifth year in secondary school to take subjects at a more demanding level will continue to be able to do so.
Adapted from Straits Time.
Mixed form classes
Once students enter secondary school, they will be grouped into mixed form classes comprising students from different Posting Groups and will have opportunities to interact and learn with peers of different backgrounds, strengths, and interests. This means students are no longer placed into the same class by their academic results, but based on other similarities, for example, a school can group its students by their surnames or their CCAs, and so on.
For more details and updates on Secondary School Full Subject-based Banding, please visit the official Full SBB microsite. Or Secondary School Experience
DSA or Direct School Admisson
Prior to taking the PSLE, some students can seek admission to certain secondary schools via the DSA or Direct School Admission route, based on their talent in sports, Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs) and specific academic areas.
On March 7, 2017, Education Minister (Schools) Ng Chee Meng announced that all secondary schools will be allowed to admit up to 20 per cent of their Secondary One intake for the four-year O-Level track under DSA from 2018. Direct School Admission Exercise Cap Raised 20 All Schools Moe.
Application Date
For example, for year 2024, DSA-Sec application will start in May. More details will be released by end-Apr 2024.
Things to take note:
- Submit school choices during the Secondary 1 (S1) posting process.
- Transfer to another school. They must commit to their chosen school for the duration of the programme.
Range of Talents
- Sports and games
- Visual, literary and performing arts
- Debate and public speaking
- Science, mathematics and engineering
- Languages and humanities
- Uniformed groups
- Leadership
These 3 schools admit ALL their Secondary 1 students through the Direct School Admission Secondary (DSA-Sec) exercise. They do not participate in the MOE Secondary One Posting Exercise. Please go to their websites via the name of the schools to find out more on the admission criteria, various dates for shortlisting outcome, interviews, auditions, trials and so on.
| School | Acronym | No. of Years | Leading to | Online Application will Start In |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| School of Science and Technology | SST | 4 | GCE “O” level Cert | May |
| There is another round of admission for students going to Secondary 3. SST Sec 3 Intake is open to Secondary 2 (or equivalent) applicants. | Oct | |||
| School of The Arts Singapore | SOTA | 6 | (IB) Diploma | 1 Apr |
| Singapore Sports School | ||||
| - | 4 | GCE “O” level & GCE “N” level Certs | Apr | Admission is open to students in secondary schools to join | Jan for joining in same year Jul |
| Sports School mid-stream any time from Secondary 2 to Secondary 5. He / she must have outstanding sport talent, achievements and potential. | Jul for joining in next year Jan | |||
| School | Acronym | No. of Years | Leading to | Online Application will start In | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | School of Science and Technology | SST | 4 | GCE “O” level Cert | May |
| There is another round of admission for students going to Secondary 3. SST Sec 3 Intake is open to Secondary 2 (or equivalent) applicants. | Oct | ||||
| 2. | School of The Arts Singapore | SOTA | 6 | (IB) Diploma | 1 Apr |
| 3. | Singapore Sports School | SSP | 4 | GCE “O” level & GCE “N” level Certs | Apr |
| Admission is open to students in secondary schools to join Sports School mid-stream any time from Secondary 2 to Secondary 5. He / she must have outstanding sport talent, achievements and potential. | Jan for joining in same yr Jul Jul for joining in next yr Jan |
||||
As of 2022, there are a total of 152 secondary schools in Singapore.
Types of Secondary School
1) SAP / Special Assistance Plan schools
There are a total of 11 SAP schools in the secondary level. These schools were government-aided schools founded by the Chinese community, and were selected based on their well-established tradition, academic performance, facilities, staff and popularity with parents. SAP schools were provided with government assistance to improve their facilities. Besides effective bilingualism, another key objective of the SAP was the preservation of the Chinese school environment to inculcate traditional Chinese cultural values and nurture social discipline in the pupils. These “Chinese secondary schools”, however, accept students from all cultures.
| Secondary School | Gender | Affiliated Junior College | Integrated Programme | AL Score, PG3/Express | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| With Affliation | Without Affliation | ||||
| Anglican High School | Mixed | St. Andrew's Junior College | 6(M) - 12(M) | ||
| Catholic High School (Secondary) | Boys | Catholic Junior College | 6(M) - 8(M) | 8(M) - 12 | 5 - 9(M) |
| CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School | Girls | Catholic Junior College | 4(D) - 7(M) | 8(D) - 14 | 5(D) - 9 |
| Chung Cheng High School (Main) | Mixed | Nanyang Junior College | 7(M) - 10(M) | ||
| Dunman High School | Mixed | 4(D) - 8(M) | |||
| Hwa Chong Institution (Secondary) | Boys | 4(D) - 7(D) | |||
| Maris Stella High School | Boys | Catholic Junior College | 8(P) - 16 | 8(P) - 12 | |
| Nan Chiau High School | Mixed | 5(D) - 11(M) | |||
| Nan Hua High School | Mixed | 6(D) - 10 | |||
| Nanyang Girls’ High School |
Girls | 4(D) - 7(D) 4(D) - 8(M) |
|||
Remarks: Nanyang Girls’ High School is the only IP school that has affiliation to its primary school: Nanyang Primary, and thus students from Nanyang Primary can join Nanyang Girls’ High School with a AL scores of 8(M). | |||||
| River Valley High School | Mixed | 4(M) - 9(M) | |||
Notes:
a) (D) means a Distinction grade in HMTL, (M) means a Merit grade in HMTL & (P) means a Pass grade in HMTL.
b) SAP Secondary Schools do not have PG2 & PG1.
2) Secondary schools with affiliation to Junior Colleges
Like primary schools, there are secondary schools that are affiliated to Junior Colleges (JC). As long as students from these secondary select a JC with affiliation to his / her secondary school as first choice of school during the Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE). He / She will get to enjoy two JC bonus points being deducted from his / her gross (or raw) O-Level L1R5 aggregate score.
Below is the complete list of affiliated secondary schools and Junior Colleges as of 2023:
3) Integrated Programme & International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
PG3 has two programmes: O-Level and Integrated. The GCE O-Level programme is a 4-year course leading to the GCE O-Level examination, which will be replaced by the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate (SEC) examination. The integrated programme is a 6-year course leading to the GCE A-Level examination or International Baccalaureate Diploma or NUS High School Diploma. Students in the Integrated Programme do not need to take the SEC examination in Secondary 4.
At the end of year 6 (JC2), students will sit for the GCE A-Level examination. Depending on their results, they may apply to universities.
Schools offering the Integrated Programme leading to GCE A-Level:
| School | Gender | School-based Gifted Education | Junior College Partner for JC1 and JC2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catholic High School | Boys | Yes | Eunoia Junior College |
| CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School | Girls | Eunoia Junior College | |
| Singapore Chinese Girls’ School | Girls | Eunoia Junior College | |
| Nanyang Girls’ High School | Girls | Yes | Hwa Chong Institution |
| Hwa Chong Institution (Secondary) | Boys | Yes | Hwa Chong Institution |
| Raffles Girls’ School | Girls | Yes | Raffles Institution |
| Raffles Institution (Secondary) | Boys | Yes | Raffles Institution |
| Victoria School | Boys | Victoria Junior College | |
| Cedar Girls’ Secondary School | Girls | Victoria Junior College | |
| Dunman High School | Mixed | Yes | 6-year programme |
| National Junior College | Mixed | 6-year programme | |
| River Valley High School | Mixed | 6-year programme | |
| Temasek Junior College | Mixed | 6-year programme |
Do take note that:
- a) Students who are admitted to the ‘O’ Level Programme in Secondary one, do have the opportunity to apply to be switched over to the IP. If a student is identified to be suitable for the IP at Secondary 2, and is interested in the IP, he / she will have the opportunity to apply to be switched over to the IP. If the application is successful, he / she will join Year 3 of the IP in the following year.
- b) Likewise, after attending the Integrated Programme for some time, if a student finds that he / she is more suited for the ‘O’ Level curriculum, he / she can opt to make a switch to the ‘O’ Level Programme.
- c) Moreover, every school has clear promotion criteria for the Integrated Programme. Students who fail to meet the promotion criteria might be advised to switch to the ‘O’ Level programme. Otherwise, the school generally does not encourage pupils in the Integrated Programme to switch to the ‘O’ Level programme and will consider such requests on a case-by-case basis.
Schools offering the Integrated Programme leading to International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP):
| Year 1 through Year 4 | Gender (Refer to the sec sch) |
School-based Gifted Education |
Junior College Partner for JC1 and JC2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) | Boys | Yes | 6 year programme |
| Methodist Girls’ School | Girls | Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) | |
| St. Joseph’s Institution | Boys | 6-year programme | |
| School of the Arts (SOTA) | Mixed | 6-year programme | |
| Singapore Sports Schools (SSP) | Mixed | 4-year programme | |
Integrated Programme – NUS High School Diploma
The NUS High School of Mathematics and Science offers a 6-year course that caters to students with talents and strong interests in Science and Mathematics. Students will study the following 6-year curriculum:
| Foundation Years (Year 1 to 3) | Students take fundamental courses in Mathematics, Science, Humanities, Language, Music and the Arts. They also learn foundational research and innovation skills. |
|---|---|
| Specialisation Years (Year 4 to 6) | Students focus on three chosen majors in Mathematics and Science. They can also take an optional fourth major in Science, Humanities, Music or the Arts. |
| Additional requirements | Students must complete a graded Advanced Research Project in order to graduate. |
NUS High School also offers School-based Gifted Education.
At the end of year 6, your child will be awarded the NUS High School Diploma. Depending on their results, they may apply to universities.
Applying to NUS High School of Mathematics and Science
Ready to take your learning to the next level?
Looking for personalized academic support? Request a teacher tailored to your needs today and start your learning journey.
