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Infosheet 1: Revised Junior College (JC) Admission Criteria

Last Updated: 06 Mar 2025

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As part of the Ministry of Education's (MOE) efforts to broaden definitions of success beyond academic achievements and encourage holistic development in our students, MOE will revise the JC admission criteria from the 2028 Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE), by reducing the number of subjects required for JC admission. With this change, students will have more scope to recalibrate their curriculum load by offering one fewer subject, and to use the freed-up time from offering one fewer subject to strengthen their development of 21st Century Competencies and pursue other interests.

Details of revised JC admission criteria

Rationale for Revision

  • Currently, students must obtain a gross L1R5 aggregate score of 20 or better across six O-Level subjects1 to qualify for admission to JC.
    • This admission criterion was introduced in 1989 to address poor passing rates among JC students.
    • The requirement for three relevant subjects was intended to ensure that students had a broad and relevant academic base to cope with the demand of the A-Level curriculum.
  • Today, JC students are much better prepared for the A-Levels.
    • The passing rates2 among JC students at the A-Levels have improved substantially, from approximately 65% in 1990 to about 95% in 2023.
  • Across the schools that do not offer the Integrated Programme today, the proportion of O-Level candidates who offered eight or more subjects has increased from approximately 15% in 1997 to nearly 30% in 2023.
  • In line with MOE's efforts to encourage holistic development in our students beyond academic achievements, it is timely to reduce the number of subjects required for JC admission from six to five .

Shift from L1R5 to L1R4

  • From the 2028 JAE, MOE will adjust the JC admission criteria from L1R5 ≤ 20 to L1R4 ≤ 16.
    • Students will continue to be sufficiently prepared for the rigour of the JC curriculum, as the computation of the L1R4 aggregate continues to require three subjects from both the Mathematics/Science and Humanities subject groups. This ensures that students have an adequate foundation in the disciplines. (Please refer to Annex A for the detailed breakdown of the subject requirements for JC and Millennia Institute (MI) admission under the revised L1R4 criteria.)
    • With the revised admission criteria, the proportion and profile of students eligible to qualify for JC are expected to remain similar.
  • Students are encouraged to recalibrate their curriculum load in a manner that balances their strengths and interests, and to use the time freed up to explore other interests and develop themselves holistically.

Bonus Point System

  • MOE will lower the cap on bonus points from a maximum of four points to three points for JC admission.
    • This is to account for the reduction in the number of subjects included in the computation of the L1R4 net aggregate score.3
    • Students who apply and are selected for the Chinese, Malay, or Tamil Language Elective Programme will continue to qualify for an additional two bonus points beyond the bonus points cap (i.e., up to a total of five bonus points).
    • The bonus points cap for admission to MI will also be aligned with that for JC admission. (Please refer to Annex B for the detailed breakdown of the bonus point system.)
Footnotes
  1. Under the current L1R5 aggregate score computation, students must include the following subjects: (i) First Language (L1) – either English Language or Higher Mother Tongue, and (ii) Relevant Subjects (R5) – three relevant subjects (must comprise two Mathematics/Science subjects and one Humanities subject, or vice versa; these exclude applied subjects less relevant to the JC curriculum, such as Design and Technology, and Nutrition and Food Science) and two other best-scoring subjects.
  2. Passing rates refer to the percentage of A-Level students with at least three A-Level/H2 passes, and a pass in General Paper (GP) or Knowledge and Inquiry (KI).
  3. Bonus points are subtracted from the gross aggregate score to obtain the net aggregate score for JAE posting.