2024 School Placement Exercise for Returning Singaporeans

1. The Ministry of Education (MOE) welcomes Singaporean students who are overseas to join our primary and secondary schools, junior colleges (JC) and Millennia Institute (MI) upon their return.

Assured School Placement (ASP) Service

2. Returning Singaporeans (RS) who are seeking a primary or secondary school place near their Singapore residence are encouraged to apply for the ASP service. It is a convenient admission route which guarantees RS a place in a school with vacancies as near to their residence as possible, even before their return to Singapore. Through the ASP service, RS need not sit for any centralised test, and the school instead conducts school-based tests and/or interview to determine the appropriate level and class for the child. For more information about the ASP service, please visit https://www.moe.gov.sg/returning-singaporeans/returning-to-singapore/assured-school-placement.

School Placement Exercise for Returning Singaporeans (SPERS)

3. Instead of ASP, RS may choose to participate in the 2024 SPERS for those who wish to join our secondary schools, JCs or MI at the start of academic year 2025. SPERS is a centralised merit-based placement exercise held towards the end of each year for RS who have lived and studied overseas and now want to seek admission to a local school. Under SPERS, RS will sit for one set of centralised tests, and will receive a list of schools they are eligible to apply for, based on their performance in the tests. Applications for the SPERS tests can be done via the following links:

SPERS-Sec: https://www.moe.gov.sg/returning-singaporeans/returning-to-singapore/secondary/spers

SPERS-JC/MI: https://www.moe.gov.sg/returning-singaporeans/returning-to-singapore/post-secondary/spers

4. RS seeking admission to Secondary 1 to 3 in 2025 can apply from 9 July till 22 July 2024 to take the SPERS-Sec tests, which will be held on 3 and 4 September 2024. Separately, RS seeking admission to Pre-University 1 can apply from 9 July till 18 October 2024 to take the SPERS-JC/MI tests to be held on 7 November 2024. As Secondary 4 and Pre-University 2 are national examination years, RS generally will not enter the school system at these levels. SPERS applicants will receive their school posting results in December 2024, and will join our secondary schools and JC/MI at the start of the school term in 2025.

Supplementary Placement Exercise (SPE)

5. For RS who are unable to return in time to sit for the SPERS-Sec tests in September 2024, MOE will conduct another round of tests in December 2024 under the SPE. The application for SPE will open from 1 November till 15 November 2024, and the SPE tests will be held on 4 December 2024. SPE applicants will receive their school posting results in February 2025 for admission in the same month.

6. RS who can return by September 2024 are advised to apply for SPERS-Sec instead of SPE, as this would allow them to start school in January 2025 together with their peers, instead of February 2025. RS are encouraged to submit their SPERS-Sec and SPE applications early to avoid missing the application period.

7. More details of the 2024 SPERS-Sec, SPE and SPERS-JC/MI exercises, including the respective application forms, can be found in Annex A and on the MOE RS website at https://www.moe.gov.sg/returning-singaporeans.