Singapore Education

Secondary

Students undergo 4 to 5 years of education at the secondary level. Based on their PSLE results, students are placed in the Special, Express, Normal (Academic) or Normal (Technical) streams in secondary school. Students in the Special and Express streams will take the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level ("O" level) after 4 years of education.

The difference between Special and Express streams is that English and Mother Tongue are taught at a more advanced level (Higher Mother Tongue). Students can also choose to take a third foreign language, namely French, German or Japanese, in addition to their mother tongue or to replace it. Non-Chinese students can opt to study Chinese and non-Malay students to take up Malay as a third language.

Special and Express students typically offer 7-8 subjects at the GCE "O" Level Examinations. These subjects include Languages, Humanities and the Arts, and Mathematics and the Sciences. Normal stream students sit for the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Normal Level ("N" level) examinations after 4 years of study with the possibility of a fifth year followed by the "O" Level examinations.

The Normal stream is split into the Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) courses. Normal (Academic) students are geared towards preparing for the "O" Level examinations and offer 6-8 subjects at the "N" Level examinations. Normal (Technical) students are taught subjects that are more technical in nature to prepare them for a technical-vocational education at the Institute of Technical Education.

They typically offer 5-7 subjects at the "N" Level examinations. From 2006, selected students from the Normal (Academic) course will have the opportunity to take the "O" Level examinations directly without first taking the "N" Level examinations. Co-curricular activities (CCA) are compulsory at the secondary level and students should participate in at least one core activity. Options include sports and games, uniformed groups, performing arts groups, and clubs and societies.

In 2004, the Integrated Programme, also known as the "Through-Train Programme", was implemented in some of the top secondary schools and junior colleges. This programme allows students to bypass the "O" Level examinations and proceed to take the "A" Level examinations or the International Baccalaureate examinations directly. Students benefit from a more flexible and less structured programme, and have more time allocated for other enrichment activities.