Removal of Express, Normal(Academic) [N(A)] and Normal(Technical) [N(T)] streams

The Express, N(A) and N(T) streams will be removed.

MOE will post students to secondary school through three Posting Groups – Posting Groups 1, 2, and 3. 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

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.

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Offering subjects at a more demanding level

At the start of Secondary One

Eligible students can offer English Language, Mother Tongue Languages, Mathematics and Science at a more demanding level based on their PSLE Achievement Level (AL) for each of these subjects.

Eligibility criteria to offer English Language, Mother Tongue Languages, Mathematics and/or Science at a more demanding level
Indicative Level of Most Subjects at Start of S1	PSLE Standard grade	PSLE Foundation grade	Option to offer subject at
G2	AL 5 or better	-	G3
G1	AL 5 or better	-	G2 / G3
G1	AL 6	AL A	G2

Starting from the S1 cohort in 2026, Higher Mother Tongue Language (HMTL) eligibility will no longer be dependent on students' overall PSLE score. Students with PSLE MTL score of AL1/AL2, or HMTL score of Distinction/Merit may offer HMTL at the start of S1.

Beyond the start of Secondary One

Students may also offer the subjects above at a more demanding level based on their performance in secondary school. Students may reach out to their secondary schools and teachers for more details.

From Secondary 2 (S2), students will also be able to offer Humanities subjects (Geography, History, and Literature in English) at a more demanding level. The criteria for taking Humanities at a more demanding level will be based on students' aptitude for and interest in these subjects at S1.

Eligibility criteria
Humanities subject level at S1	Humanities subjects	School-based assessment	Option to offer Humanities at a more demanding level from S2
G2	Geography History Literature in English	Aptitude and interest for specific subject	G3 Geography, History and/or Literature in English (i.e., can offer one or more Humanities subjects at a more demanding level)
G1	Social Studies component Humanities Exposure Modules (HEMs) in Geography, History and Literature in English	Aptitude in English Language and G1 Humanities	G2 Geography, History and/or Literature in English (i.e., can offer one or more Humanities subjects at a more demanding level)

Offering subjects at a less demanding level

At the start of Secondary One

For students who offered English, Mathematics and/or Science at Foundation level at PSLE, but are otherwise eligible to take most of their subjects at G3 when entering secondary school, they may choose to take these subjects at a less demanding level (i.e., G2), in consultation with their secondary schools.

Students who face exceptional difficulties coping with their Mother Tongue Languages (MTL) will have the option to offer G1 or G2 MTL. At the start of Secondary One, students can offer MTL at a less demanding level based on the following criteria:

Indicative level of most subjects at start of S1	PSLE grade (standard MTL)	PSLE grade (foundation MTL)	Option to offer MTL at
G3	AL 6	AL A	G2
G3	AL 7-8	AL B-C	G1 or G2
G2	AL 7-8	AL B-C	G1

Beyond the start of Secondary One

Students may offer subjects at a less demanding level, based on their performance and schools’ holistic assessment, to calibrate their academic load.

Schools will also have the discretion to allow students with difficulties coping with MTL to offer MTL at a less demanding level, based on holistic considerations.

Students who offer subjects at a less demanding level may subsequently offer the subjects at a more demanding level as they gain greater competence and confidence in the subjects.

The increased flexibility empowers students to take greater ownership of their learning according to their subject-specific strengths and interests.

Subjects at lower secondary

Common curriculum subjects

In their mixed form classes, students will spend around one-third of their curriculum time taking a set of six common curriculum subjects:

These subjects give students more opportunities to interact and learn with classmates of different strengths and interests.

Teachers will adopt a range of teaching approaches to meet the different learning needs and pace of their students in the same form class.

Subjects offered at G1, G2 and G3

English Language, Mother Tongue Languages, Mathematics, Science, and Humanities subjects will be offered at G1, G2 and G3.

Students will be grouped in different classes based on their subject level for each subject.

The following curriculum policy changes have been implemented from the 2024 Secondary One (S1) cohort:

Subject

Details

Mother Tongue Languages (MTL) 'B' – discontinued

Students who face exceptional difficulties coping with learning MTL will have the option to offer G1 or G2 MTL. With the greater flexibility afforded by the MTL offerings at G1, G2, and G3, MTL 'B' has been discontinued in secondary schools starting from the S1 cohort in 2024.

G1 Humanities (Social Studies and Humanities Exposure Modules) will replace Social Studies Normal (Technical)

Students will offer G1 Humanities as a non-examinable subject at the lower secondary levels, in lieu of Social Studies Normal (Technical) [SS(NT)].

G1 Humanities comprises Social Studies and Humanities Exposure Modules (HEM) in Geography, History, and Literature in English to give students the opportunity to gain exposure to the different Humanities disciplines.

Students offering G2 and G3 Humanities at lower secondary will continue with the existing offerings of Geography, History and Literature in English.

Computer Applications (CPA) – discontinued with teaching of digital competencies incorporated into other subjects and programmes

Lower secondary CPA, which is currently only available for students taking the N(T) stream, has been discontinued. Teaching of digital competencies will be incorporated into other subjects or programmes for all lower secondary students.

Subjects at upper secondary

Compulsory subjects

The compulsory subjects at upper secondary are:

English Language
Mother Tongue Languages¹
Humanities²
Mathematics
Science³

¹ Eligible students may offer HMTL instead of MTL.

² G1 Humanities comprises Social Studies and one Humanities Exposure Module (HEM) in Geography, History or Literature in English. G2/3 Humanities comprises Social Studies and choice of one elective in Geography, History or Literature in English or Literature in Mother Tongue Languages (offered at G3 only).

³ Students offering mainly G1 subjects at upper secondary must offer at least one of the following subjects – Computing and/or Science.

Elective subjects

Students have the flexibility to take elective subjects, such as Additional Mathematics, Art, and Design & Technology, at subject levels suited to their interests and strengths. Schools will consider their students' learning progress and developmental needs when guiding them in their subject choices.

The following curriculum policy changes will also be implemented from the 2026 Secondary Three (S3) cohort:

Subject

Details

G1 Humanities (Social Studies, choice of one Humanities Exposure Module) will replace Social Studies Normal (Technical)

Students will offer G1 Humanities as a non-examinable subject at the upper secondary levels, in lieu of Social Studies Normal (Technical) [SS(NT)].

At upper secondary, G1 Humanities comprises Social Studies and one Humanities Exposure Modules (HEM), in either Geography, History or Literature in English, of student's choice.

Students offering G2 and G3 Humanities at upper secondary will continue to offer Social Studies and a Humanities Elective of their choice, for example in Geography, History or Literature in English. In addition, upper secondary students who are interested, can also continue to opt for another G2 or G3 Humanities as a full Humanities subject (i.e., full Geography, full History, full Literature in English).

G1 Computing – formerly Computer Applications (CPA)

Upper secondary CPA, which was formerly only available for students taking the N(T) stream, renamed as G1 Computing. Students offering predominantly G1 subjects at upper secondary must offer at least one of the following subjects – Computing and/or Science.

G1, G2 and G3 Computing will be offered as an elective subject to upper secondary students to allow more students to further develop their interest and competencies in computer education.

Other programmes – Applied Learning Modules (ApLM)

ApLM are elective modules in applied areas, conducted by the Polytechnics (ApLM@Poly), ITE (ApLM@ITE) and private vendors (ApLM@Schools). All students are eligible to participate in ApLM@ITE or ApLM@Poly, starting from May of their Secondary Two year onwards, while all students may participate in ApLM@Schools from the start of their Secondary Two year.

Each student may participate in up to 3 ApLM throughout their secondary education.

Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate (SEC) examination

From the 2027 graduating cohort, students will sit for the new Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate (SEC) examination, comprising different papers for each subject level. Students will receive an SEC that reflects the subjects and subject levels that students offer.

This is similar to the A-Level examination, in which students take subjects at H1, H2, and H3 levels; and the PSLE, where students take subjects at standard or foundation levels.

Post-secondary admissions

Students will offer a more diverse combination of subjects at different subject levels by the time they complete secondary school. MOE has thus reviewed the admissions criteria for post-secondary pathways to recognise a wider profile of learners and provide students with more options, while ensuring students have the necessary fundamentals to thrive in their chosen pathway.

Option of a fifth year in secondary school

The option of a fifth year in secondary school will continue to be available for eligible students to pace their learning and take subjects at a more demanding level to access more post-secondary pathways.

Students will be eligible for the fifth year if they meet either one of the following criteria:

3 or more G3 Passes, and not qualify for JC/MI/Poly Year 1
- Students do not qualify for admission to Polytechnic Year 1 if they fail to meet the minimum entry requirements for any polytechnic diploma courses or if their net ELR2B2 aggregate score is 23 points or higher (after accounting for CCA bonus points).
2 or fewer G3 Passes, and attain a gross ELMAB3 ≤ 21, ELB3 ≤ 14 or MAB3 ≤ 14, computed at G2
- Students will need at least Grade 5 at G2 for all subjects used in computation of aggregate.

Only students with a gross ELMAB3 (at least Grade 5 for all subjects computed at G2) of 19 points or better can offer all their subjects at G3 in the fifth year.

Students who do not offer sufficient G2 or G3 subjects to compute the eligibility criteria for the fifth year may consult their schools on their eligibility.

Changes to Junior College (JC) and Millennia Institute (MI) admission criteria

From the 2028 Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE), the JC admission criteria will be adjusted from L1R5 ≤ 20 to L1R4 ≤ 16. This reduces the number of subjects required for JC admission from six to five, allowing students to have greater flexibility to adjust their curriculum load by offering one fewer subject, and to use the freed-up time to strengthen their development of 21st Century Competencies and pursue other interests.

The admission criteria will continue to be based on G3 subjects to ensure students can cope with the academic rigour of the A-Level curriculum. The computation of the L1R4 aggregate continues to require three subjects from both the Mathematics/Science and Humanities subject groups. This ensures that students have an adequate foundation in the disciplines.

Millennia Institute (MI)'s L1R4 subject requirements will also be updated to require three subjects from both the Mathematics/Science and Humanities subject groups, with the qualifying threshold remaining at 20.

MOE will lower the cap on bonus points from a maximum of four points to three points for JC/MI admission.

Changes to polytechnic pathway

The Polytechnic Foundation Programme (PFP) is a 1-year programme that presently offers eligible N(A) students a practice-based preparatory pathway to a polytechnic education. MOE will expand the PFP to allow for a wider profile of learners, offering a different combination of subjects at different subject levels, to access the PFP.

Starting from the Academic Year 2024 intake, the PFP has been expanded to allow a wider group of students to benefit from a practice-based preparatory pathway to a polytechnic education, while ensuring that they are able to cope with the curriculum, by:

Relaxing the grade requirement of two 'Best' subjects in ELMAB3 (English Language, Mathematics, Best 3 subjects), from G2 Grade 3 to Grade 4.
While retaining ELMAB3 (English Language, Mathematics, Best 3 subjects) at a raw aggregate score of 12 points of better (excluding CCA bonus points); and the subject requirements for English Language and 'Relevant' subjects.

Starting from the Academic Year 2026 intake, admissions to the PFP will be restructured to a cluster-based approach. Students in the PFP can enter one of three key broad clusters: (i) Sciences (ii) Design, Engineering & Technology or (iii) Humanities, Art, Media and Business, before posting to a specific diploma course based on their interest and PFP performance. Diploma-specific admission will apply for the Diploma in Nursing, Diploma in Early Childhood Development & Education and Diploma in Tamil Studies with Early Education.

Starting from the Academic Year 2028 intake, the PFP will be expanded to also allow students taking G3 subjects, or a mix of G2 and G3 subjects to access PFP by mapping their G3 grade to the G2 equivalent – thus removing the current stream-based admission which is limited to today's N(A) students.

For admission to Polytechnic Year 1, starting from the Academic Year 2028 intake, students can offer one [B] subject taken at either G2 or G3 in their ELR2B2 aggregate score. The remaining four subjects must continue to be offered at G3 to ensure that students can cope with the academic rigour in the polytechnics. Students who offer both [B] subjects at G3 will have their [B] subject with a lower grade mapped from G3 to G2.

Correspondingly, the net aggregate cut-off for admission to Polytechnic Year 1 will be adjusted from 26 points to 22 points. For Nursing courses, the net aggregate cut-off for admission will be adjusted from 28 points to 24 points.

Changes to Institute of Technical Education (ITE) pathway

ITE is transitioning all its Nitec courses to the enhanced three-year curricular structure leading directly to a Higher Nitec certification. ITE will continue to monitor the outcomes of this implementation, and is on track to complete the transition by Academic Year 2026.

Starting from the Academic Year 2028, the admission requirements for entry to 3-year Higher Nitec courses will be set at G1. The admission requirements for direct entry into 2-year Higher Nitec courses will be set at G2. This means that students taking a combination of G3 and G2 subjects can apply for 2-year Higher Nitec with ELMAB3 aggregate score of 19 points or less.