Students applying to Junior College from 2028 onwards will use L1R4 score, which requires only 5 O Level subjects instead of 6. With this change, students will need to get 16 points or lower for their L1R4 score, which is made up of one language and four relevant subjects to qualify for JC. This change comes as the Singaporean Ministry of Education (MOE) is taking a further step to broaden learning for students beyond academics.
The change will apply to those in the 2025’s Secondary 2 batch. Students before this batch must achieve an L1R5 score of 20 or lower across six subjects to qualify for JC admission. The L1R5 requirement was introduced in 1989 to specify the subjects counted towards JC admission. This requirement was introduced because of poor passing rates amongst JC students. After that, the passing rate for the A Levels have improved dramatically.
Instead of studying and doing nothing else but study, students will be able to have more time and space to build on their strengths and develop them holistically. Students can take fewer subjects and take some subjects at a less demanding level. Students can then devote more time and effort to pursue their interests and sharpen their soft skills like communication and collaboration in CCAs, school programmes, and classes outside of school. All in all, this is a positive change amongst students as they will be able to develop to be well-rounded people.
Students will now be tested on 5 subjects under the L1R4 system. They will still require English or higher mother tongue along with 3 relevant subjects, including at least one each from Mathematics or Science and Humanities. However, they will now need to include only one additional best-scoring subject instead of two. As we can see, the subject requirements for L1R4 will not have major changes - it is just the total number of subjects that change.
However, the subject requirements to enter JC will remain the same. This is to ensure that students will still have the foundation to enter JC. After all, JC is an important milestone for students who want to go to university and excel at it. Universities in Singapore, particularly the national universities like NUS, SMU and NTU, are demanding and academically rigorous. Students will need a strong foundation to be prepared for the academic rigour of 4 years.
Students who want to go to Millennia Institute (MI) will also need to include 3 subjects following the same combination rules in their L1R4 score, while the qualifying threshold will remain at 20.
The grade requirements for subjects still remain from 2028. To qualify for JC, students need at least a grade 6 for English, grade 7 for Mathematics, and grade 7 for Mother Tongue. If the minimum grades are not obtained, admission may still be granted conditionally.
In 2024, as you may remember, MOE announced a wider admission criteria for polytechnic students from 2028. This new rule allows students to use one subject at the G2 level out of 5 subjects. Currently, students need to offer 5 G3 subjects. This comes after the full subject-based banding system has been implemented in secondary schools, along with a new PSLE scoring system which aims to shift the focus away from emphasising only academic results.
The 2025 Secondary 2 cohort will also be the first to sit for the new Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate examinations in 2027, instead of O and N Level examinations. The new SEC will be done under full subject-based banding. By changing these scoring systems and assessment models, students will have an easier time coping with the rigorous demands of the Singaporean education system. MOE wants parents and students to recognise that academic results are important, but they do not solely determine a person’s success.