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Last Updated: 07 Oct 2024

Secondary 1 (S1): How to choose schools

5. Shortlisting schools

Use our SchoolFinder to explore and shortlist suitable schools

You should have a list of 6 schools ready, in order of preference, before submitting your choices. When shortlisting the schools, you should:

  1. Keep the earlier considerations in mind.
    • Consider schools that offer programmes, subjects and Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs) that cater to your child's strengths, interests and learning styles, as well as provide suitable learning environments.

    Learn more on the considerations in choosing a suitable school.

  2. Take reference from the schools' PSLE score ranges from previous year.
    • The PSLE score ranges in SchoolFinder serve only as a reference for you and your child to shortlist suitable secondary schools.
    • Actual schools’ cut-off points (COPs) of the 2024 Primary 6 cohort are determined by actual school choices and reflect the score of the last student(s) admitted into each school. The actual COP of a school is known only after the conclusion of the 2024 S1 posting process.
    • Actual COPs can vary year on year depending on the cohort’s PSLE results and their school choices in that year’s S1 Posting Exercise.

    Learn more about the PSLE score ranges.

  3. Select your schools carefully as choice order of schools will affect your school posting.
     

    Do take into account that if your child just meets the COP of a school, it also means that majority of the students in that school have better PSLE score than your child.

    To increase the chances of getting a place in your child's school of choice, you are

    • Strongly encouraged to include at least 2 to 3 schools where your child's PSLE score is better than the school's previous year's COP.
    • Use all 6 options with a range of COPs and rank your preferred school higher in your submission.

    Learn how posting works.

  4. List your affiliated secondary school as 1st choice to enjoy affiliated priority, if you are applying to the affiliated school.
    • This will give your child priority, but it does not guarantee admission. Otherwise, the posting will be based on non-affiliation.

    Learn more about affiliation priority.

You are encouraged to discuss with your child and make careful decisions based on your child's strengths, interests, and other considerations, while also noting that posting is still based on merit, primarily determined by your child's PSLE score.
If you have changed your residential address in your NRIC, you should update your child's primary school by the end of October.

 

Understand the PSLE score ranges
Next section: Submit school choices