SECONDARY 1 AND 2 (FSBB COHORTS)

Understand how Secondary 1 and 2 students under Full Subject-Based Banding progress through school and qualify for post-secondary pathways, including JC, polytechnic, and ITE.

Last updated 18 August 2026

2025 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

Chart showing post-secondary pathway options by subject grades available from 2028, including ITE, Polytechnic, and Junior College.

Link:

Criteria for subject progression to higher difficulty level from Secondary 1 to 2

PROGRESSION OF FSBB STUDENTS FROM SECONDARY 1 TO 2
Category	Criteria
Students who will be offered certain subjects at MDL in the following year	Attain ≥75% for the specific subject in one or more of the following subjects at the end of Sec 1 or 2: • English Language • Mathematics • Science • Mother Tongue Languages • Geography • History • Literature in English Attain Distinction in G1 Humanities and ≥75% for G1 English or ≥50% for G2 English to be offered one of the following at G2 level in Sec 1 or 2: • Geography • History • Literature in English
Students who will be offered all subjects at MDL	Eligible to take (≥75% for the specific subject) or already take (≥50% for the specific subject) at least 3 subjects at MDL, of which: • At least 2 subjects are from English, Mathematics and Science • ≥50% for the rest of the subjects

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

Secondary 4 examination arrangements before and with Full Subject-Based Banding

FSBB STUDENTS AT SECONDARY 4

Before Full SBB

With Full SBB

Students sit for the GCE O- and N-Level examinations

Students sit for the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate (SEC) examinations, which will reflect the subjects and subject levels that students offer

From 2027, students will sit for the new SEC examinations, comprising different papers for each subject level
SEC examination timetable will be harmonised to allow students to better pace their learning with all students taking their examinations in the same period
Written examinations for English and Mother Tongue Language (MTL) will be conducted ~1 month ahead of other subjects, with only one sitting for MTL

POST-SECONDARY PATHWAYS FOR FSBB STUDENTS

Table showing post-secondary pathway changes and first impacted cohorts for JC/MI, Poly Year 1, PFP, and ITE.

ELIGIBILITY FOR 5TH YEAR

Subject level options in 5th year by student profile

Student profile	Subject level for subjects taken in 5^th year
Sec 4 students offering mostly G2 subjects, progressing to 5^th year to offer mostly G3 subjects	Can upgrade all subjects to G3 if ELMAB3 ≤ 19
Sec 4 or 5^th year students offering mostly G3 subjects	Repeat subjects at same subject level
Sec 4 students offering mostly G2 subjects	Repeat subjects at same subject level

Table showing subject combination offerings for 5th Year MDL students, listing pathways, subject levels, and compulsory subjects.

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.

Table mapping grades from G3 to G2 and G2 to G1, showing conversions like A1-B3 to 1 to A.

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.

Table listing components L1, R1, R2, R3, R4 with corresponding subjects including languages, humanities, and sciences.

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

Table showing subjects and grades: English Language 1-6, Mathematics 1-7, and Mother Tongue Language options with grade ranges.

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.

Subject-specific grade requirements for PFP admission

Subject specific requirements for PFP
G2 subjects	New grade requirement
English Language	3
Mathematics	3
Relevant Subject	3
*Two “Best” Subjects*	4

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’.

Table showing PFP aggregate computation for ELMAB3 up to 12, listing required subjects EL, MA, B1, B2, B3 at G2/3 level.

Table showing student profiles with G3-dominant, mixed G3/G2, and G2-dominant grade examples and ELMAB3 totals.

Table showing PFP grade requirements: English needs 2 or 3, Mathematics 3, Relevant Subject 3, Two Best Subjects 4.

Table showing subject combination offerings for PFP pathway, listing compulsory subjects and aggregate computation requirements.

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.

Table mapping G3 grades to G2 numbers, where A1-B3 equals 1, B4-C6 equals 2, up to dash equals 6.

Table showing Polytechnic Year 1 aggregate computation for ELR2B2 with subjects and required grade levels.

Table showing Poly Year 1 subject combination requirements including compulsory subjects EL, MA, SCI, HUM, MTL and aggregate computation ELR2B2.

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:

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).
Students who obtain an ELMAB3 aggregate score of 19 points* or better may seek direct entry into Year 2 of Higher NITEC.
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.
For those taking a combination of G3 and G2 subjects, G3 subjects will be mapped to G2 for the computation of the aggregate score.

Table showing Aggregate Type ELMAB3 less than or equal to 19, listing 5 subjects at G2/3 level required.

Table showing subject combination offerings for 2-year and 3-year Higher Nitec pathways with compulsory subjects.

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

Under the DPP, only Normal (Academic) students could benefit from the poly progression guarantee if they met the MERs.
From the AY2027 poly intake, poly admission will be guaranteed to all Higher NITEC students with a minimum raw GPA of 3.5.
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.
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:

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

Flowchart showing post-secondary progression to ITE in 2028 for G1, G2, and G3 students leading to work or diplomas.

Slide with four tips on engaging students, covering open-mindedness, respect, avoiding stereotypes, and peer interaction.