Some 98.4 per cent of the 38,088 Primary 6 students who took the 2023 Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) were assessed suitable for secondary school.

This percentage was the same as the percentages of PSLE candidates who were eligible for secondary school courses in the past seven years, from 2016 to 2022.

The remaining students may choose to retake the examination in 2024, said the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) in a joint press release issued on Nov. 22, 2023.

Alternatively, the students can apply to the Assumption Pathway School (APS) and NorthLight School (NLS), which offer "customised programmes with a more experiential and hands-on learning approach".

Those who have attempted PSLE once and would like to explore APS or NLS can do so with a recommendation from their primary school principal.

First cohort to be posted under Full Subject-Based Banding

The 2023 Primary 6 cohort is the first group of students to be posted to a secondary school through three Posting Groups — Posting Groups 1, 2, and 3 — under the Full Subject-Based Banding (Full SBB).

The three Posting Groups were mapped from the Normal (Technical), Normal (Academic), and Express streams, respectively.

This year, about 64 per cent of the 2023 Primary 6 cohort eligible for Posting Groups 1 and 2 are suitable to take at least one subject at a more demanding level, said MOE and SEAB.

This is comparable to the 2022 cohort eligible for the Normal courses.

Under Full SBB, students eligible for Posting Groups 1 and 2 (offering most of their subjects at General 1 or General 2 level, respectively) may offer subjects at a more demanding level from Secondary 1 based on their Achievement Level scores for the respective subject.

These subjects include English language, mother tongue languages, mathematics, and science.

Secondary 1 posting exercise

Eligible students will receive the Secondary 1 (S1) option form to select their secondary schools together with their PSLE results.

The S1 option form will provide key information regarding the submission of school choices, according to MOE and SEAB.

Specifically, the form will contain a unique S1 Personal Identification Number (S1 PIN) to access the S1 Internet System (S1-IS) in the top-right-hand corner.

Using the S1-IS, students can download a copy of the S1 option form and submit their school choices online.

The S1-IS will be accessible from 11:30am on Nov. 22 to 3pm on Nov. 28 through MOE's S1 Posting website.

To ensure smooth completion of their online submission, MOE and SEAB advised students to consider their secondary school choices first in discussion with their parents, make their decisions, and complete the option form before logging onto the S1-IS.

Release of S1 Posting results

The S1 Posting results will be released between Dec. 20 and 22 and can be accessed through the following channels:

• SMS via a local mobile number (if provided by the student during the application process)
• S1-IS website using the student's birth certificate number/FIN and the S1 PIN
• At the student's primary school

Students will not need to report to their posted secondary schools upon receiving their S1 Posting results.

They should refer to their posted schools' websites for more information, such as the reporting details, booklist, and purchase of books as well as uniforms.

Parents on Parents Gateway will also receive instructions from their child's posted schools from the afternoon of the S1 Posting results release day.

Top image via Dr Maliki Osman/Facebook