SECONDARY 1 AND 2 (FSBB COHORTS)

SECONDARY 1 AND 2 (FSBB COHORTS)

KEY POINTS TO NOTE

• Generally, all students will progress to the next level of learning (i.e. from Sec 1 to Sec 2, and from Sec 2 to Sec 3) at the end of each year.

• Students may remain in Secondary 1 for another year if they:

  • have frequent or long-term absenteeism from school, or

  • return from Leave of Absence (LOA) or from overseas and require more time to bridge learning gaps

demonstrate that they will be unable to cope with the next level of learning.

• At the end of Sec 2 and Sec 3, students who are unable to cope with their current academic demands will have their curricular load recalibrated for students to better cope with the academic demands in the interests of their well-being.

OVERVIEW OF POST-SEC PATHWAYS FOR FSBB STUDENTS

https://www.moe.gov.sg/microsites/psle-fsbb/assets/infographics/full-subject-based-banding/subject-level-requirements-post-sec.pdf

For the progression of FSBB students from Secondary 2 to Secondary 3, please refer to Subject Combination guidelines briefed by the school.

POST-SECONDARY PATHWAYS FOR FSBB STUDENTS

ELIGIBILITY FOR 5TH YEAR

• Exercise professional judgement to determine the number of subjects and subject levels offered to students on a case-by-case basis

• Students can offer elective subjects at a less demanding level or not offer them in their 5th year

• Students can offer compulsory subjects at a less demanding level under extenuating circumstances

Downward Grade Mapping:

• Use grade mapping to aggregate scores across subjects offered at different subject levels for post-secondary progression

• Note: This mapping process is known as downward grade mapping, as G3 grades are mapped down to G2 grades, and G2 grades are mapped down to G1 grades.

ADMISSIONS TO JC/MI

JC Admission Criteria

From the 2028 Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE), number of subjects required for JC/MI admission will be reduced from six to five, by shifting from the current L1R5 gross aggregate score to L1R4.

Students must attain a gross aggregate L1R4 ≤ 16 to be eligible for admission to a JC/MI course.

Students must also obtain the minimum grade requirements for specific subjects:

Millennia Institute (MI) Admission Criteria
Students must attain a gross aggregate score of L1R4 ≤ 20 to be eligible for admission to a MI course.

Subject and minimum grade requirements are the same as for JC admission.

ADMISSIONS TO PFP

For the ELMAB3 admission criteria, the minimum grade requirement of two ‘Best’ subjects has been relaxed from G2 Grade 3 to Grade 4

Entry requirements such as the ELMAB3 raw aggregate score of ≥ 12 points, and the subject requirements for English Language, Mathematics and ‘Relevant’ subjects, will be retained.

Sec 4 students in the N(A) stream who offer GCE O-Level examination subjects will use the revised grade conversion table for computation of their ELMAB3 aggregates.

Admissions will be restructured to a cluster-based approach.

Students will explore their interests within a chosen cluster before deciding on a specific diploma course to pursue based on their interest and PFP performance:

• Sciences

• Design, Engineering & Technology*

• Humanities, Art, Media and Business

• Students seeking admission to Nursing and Early Childhood Development & Education courses will continue to be admitted to these specific diplomas in their PFP, as these courses are more specialised

Students offering G3 subjects, or a mix of G2 and G3 subjects will be allowed to access PFP. There will be no further change to the admissions criteria.

* NYP and TP will also offer a ‘Design sub-cluster’ as their design courses are more specialised, while the other polytechnics (NP, RP and SP) will offer design as part of the ‘Design, Engineering & Technology cluster’.

ADMISSIONS TO POLYTECHNIC YEAR 1

From 2028, one ‘Best’ [B] subject can be fulfilled at G2 or G3 as part of the aggregate score for admission to Polytechnic Year 1

• Students who offer both [B] subjects at G3 will have the [B] subject with a lower grade mapped from G3 to G2 based on a grade mapping table.

• Correspondingly, the net aggregate cut-off will be adjusted from 26 points to 22 points.

ADMISSION TO ITE

ENHANCEMENTS IN ITE CURRICULAR STRUCTURE

By AY2026, ITE will transition all its Nitec courses to the enhanced three-year curricular structure leading directly to a Higher Nitec certification. ITE adopted a phased implementation approach which started from the AY2022 intake.

Under the enhanced curricular structure, the Nitec and Higher Nitec curricula will be streamlined by removing overlapping competencies between related Nitec and Higher Nitec courses

• In Year 1, students will undertake broad-based foundation courses exposing them to fundamental skills needed for the relevant industry sector

• In Years 2 and 3, they will take more specialised modules, leading to a Higher Nitec certification

• Students are also exposed to two linked industry attachments (IA): a three-month IA in Year 2 and a six-month IA in Year 3, with the latter building on the learning outcomes and workplace competencies of the former

RETIREMENT OF THE DIRECT-ENTRY SCHEME TO POLYTECHNIC PROGRAMME (DPP) IN ITE CURRICULAR STRUCTURE

To align the removal of stream labels under Full SBB, the DPP pathway will accept its final intake in AY2027 (i.e. 2026 S4 cohort).

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS FOR DIRECT ENTRY INTO YEAR 2 FOR ALL HIGHER NITEC COURSES WILL BE SET AT G2:

1. With the removal of stream labels under Full SBB, admission requirements for direct entry into Year 2 for all Higher NITEC courses will be set at G2 from 2027 S4 cohort (i.e. AY2028 ITE intake).

2. Students who obtain an ELMAB3 aggregate score of 19 points* or better may seek direct entry into Year 2 of Higher NITEC.

3. This aggregate is pegged to the current eligibility criteria for DPP; ensures that all students are able to cope with the academic rigour of an accelerated pathway in ITE.

4. For those taking a combination of G3 and G2 subjects, G3 subjects will be mapped to G2 for the computation of the aggregate score.

POLY PROGRESSION GUARANTEE FOR ALL HIGHER NITEC GRADUATES WITH RAW GPA OF 3.5 AND ABOVE:

1. Under the DPP, only Normal (Academic) students could benefit from the poly progression guarantee if they met the MERs.

2. From the AY2027 poly intake, poly admission will be guaranteed to all Higher NITEC students with a minimum raw GPA of 3.5.

3. Top 10% (~1,000) of Higher NITEC graduates across all courses will be guaranteed a place in a polytechnic diploma mapped to their ITE course.

4. Those who wish to progress to an unmapped course can seek admission through the Early Admissions Exercise.

REVIEW GPA ELIGIBILITY TO POLY FROM NET 2.0 TO NET 2.5 FOR HIGHER NITEC GRADUATES:

1. Today, most Higher NITEC students who progress to polys attain a net GPA of 2.5 and above.

2. To better reflect the current progression GPA while ensuring students can better cope with the academic rigour of a poly education, besides poly diploma, all ITE graduates can choose to pursue the Work-Study Diplomas (WSDips) or Technical Diplomas (TDs) pathways, which offer hands-on, apprenticeship-based training.