09 November 2021

More students with a broad range of academic abilities are taking up polytechnic courses. More students from the N-level track have gone on to pursue poly courses.

The polytechnic foundation programme, which started in 2013, allows Secondary 4 Normal (Academic) students to apply directly to polytechnics for a foundation year.

The three polytechnics, with the addition of Temasek Polytechnic, also said they had made offers to more students from the Institute of Technical Education over the past four years.

Similarly, over the same time period, Nanyang, Republic and Temasek polytechnics said they accepted a higher percentage of students with an O-level score of 15 points or lower.

09 July 2021

Children of families relocating back to Singapore can apply to join local schools from July 7th.

Students who want to join secondary schools, junior colleges or the Millennia Institute for the 2022 academic year can apply through the School Placement Exercise for Returning Singaporeans.

Applications will be open to those seeking to enter Secondary 1 to 3 and Pre-University year 1.

Returning students will need to sit a set of tests to receive their school options. These students will receive their school options from MOE in December.

02 December 2020

From next year, students taking the Primary School Leaving Examination will no longer see a T-score figure on their slips, but instead, they will be scored using eight bands known as Achievement Levels.

The indicative AL cut-offs for individual secondary schools will be released in the first half of next year, based on the results and school choices of this year’s PSLE cohort.

There will be some changes to the posting system and how ties will be broken if pupils have the same score.

Singapore citizens will continue get priority, followed by permanent residents and then international students, as per the usual practice.

The choice order of schools will also play a more significant role. A pupil who indicates a school as his or her first choice will now get a place ahead of someone else with the same score but indicates it as a second or third choice.

16 July 2020

Singaporean students returning from overseas who plan to enrol in secondary schools or junior colleges here next year can start sending in their applications to the Ministry of Education.

They will apply under the School Placement Exercise for Returning Singaporeans (Spers) scheme, which comprises of a set of centralised tests for Singaporean students seeking admission into a local school after having lived or studied abroad.

The tests for those seeking admission to Secondary 1 to 3 will be held from Sept 22 to 24, while the tests for Pre-University 1 will be held on Nov 12. No tests will be conducted for students at the Secondary 4 and Pre-University 2 levels, as these are national examination years.

Applicants will receive their school placement results in December and will be able to join their school at the start of the first school term next year.

“MOE would encourage (returning Singaporean) children who are seeking a place in any suitable school near their Singapore residence to make use of MOE’s Assured School Placement service,” said a ministry spokesman. The Assured School Placement service secures admission for returning Singaporean children into a school with vacancies near their residence before they return. Students who make use of this service do not have to sit any centralised tests.