Considerations in choosing a subject combination

1. MOE Promotion Criteria

All students must meet the promotion criteria to be promoted to Secondary 3 in order to take part in the Subject Combination Exercise.

MOE Criteria for Lateral Transfer to a more demanding stream

Students must meet the criteria for lateral transfer to be transferred to a more demanding stream.

2. Guide to choosing Subject Combinations

How to choose a subject combination?

• Step 1: Explore interest areas and find out about your child’s aspirations
  Discuss with your child/ward his/her interest areas and aspirations. The following resources would help your child understand herself/himself and gain an insight into the diverse range of careers and jobs available.
  
  

  Resource	Brief Description
  My Skillsfuture Portal	A one-stop platform to help your child understand herself/himself, interests and strengths. Your child can also explore various education and career pathways.
  Day in the Life	A website to check out bite-sized videos and information about the day in the life of more than 80 professionals.
  On my way, Know it all Home (nyc.gov.sg)	Lesser known facts, handy tips and answers to common questions about Careers in Singapore. This is a chance to explore the growing list of job roles in Singapore, to get an in-depth idea of what different jobs entail.
  Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE)	Contains essential information on JAE, such as an overview of the JAE process and timeline (the key stages and respective dates/periods).

• Step 2: Identify the most appropriate post-secondary education pathway
  Once you have identified an interest area or career path which you would like to pursue, you can start to explore the various post-secondary education options & pathways that are relevant.
  
  Help your child/ward understand what post-secondary pathways available by using the following resources:
  
  

  I. Post Secondary Pathways & Information (Express)
  1	Junior College:	2-3 years in a Junior college or Millenia Institute towards an A-levels certification Pathway: Junior College & Institute  (2-3 years) > University (3-4 years)
  2	Polytechnic:	3 years in a Polytechnic towards a specialised Diploma Pathway: Polytechnic (3 years) > University (3-4 years)
  3	Institute of Technical Education (ITE):	2 years in ITE towards a Higher Nitec Certification Pathway: ITE Higher Nitec (2 years) > Polytechnic (3 years) > University (3-4 years)
  4	Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA):	3 years in NAFA towards an Arts, Media or related Diploma Pathway: Laselle or NAFA Diploma Programme (3 years) > NAFA Degree Programme (3-4 years)
  5	LASELLE College of the Arts:	3 years in Laselle towards an Arts, Media or related Diploma Pathway: Laselle Diploma Programme (3 years) > Laselle Degree Programme (3-4 years)
  6	Polytechnic Early Admission Exercise (Poly-EAE):	3 years in a Polytechnic towards a specialised Diploma Pathway: Polytechnic (3 years) > University (3-4 years)

  
  

  II. Post Secondary Pathways & Information (Normal Academic)
  1	Polytechnic Foundation Programme (PFP):	1 year Polytechnic Foundation Programme (PFP) before embarking on a 3 years diploma course Pathway: PFP (1 year) > Polytechnic (3 years) > University (3-4 years)
  2	Direct Entry Scheme to Polytechnic Programme (DPP):	Direct Entry Scheme to Polytechnic Programme (DPP) - 2 years in ITE towards a Higher Nitec certification Pathway: ITE Higher Nitec (2 years) > Polytechnic (3 years) > University (3-4 years)
  3	O-Level:	1 year in Pasir Ris Secondary School towards an O-levels Certification Pathway: O-levels (1 year) > Polytechnic or JC (2-3 years) > University (3-4 years)
  4	NAFA Foundation Programme (NFP):	1 year NAFA Foundation Programme (NFP) before embarking on a 3 years Arts diploma course. Pathway: NFP (1 year) > NAFA Diploma Course (3 years) > NAFA Degree Programme (3-4 years)

  
  

  III. Post Secondary Pathways & Information (Normal Technical)
  1	ITE Nitec:	4 years in ITE towards a Higher Nitec Certification Pathway: ITE Nitec (2 years) > ITE Higher Nitec (2 years) > Polytechnic (3 years) > University (3-4 years)
  2	ITE Higher Nitec*	3 years in ITE towards a Higher Nitec Certification Pathway: ITE Higher Nitec (3 years) > Polytechnic (3 years) > University (3-4 years)

  
  * New 3-Year Higher Nitec: ITE has introduced a new 3-year Higher Nitec full-time programme from Academic Year 2022. Streamlining the current Nitec and Higher Nitec curricula, this new option allows students to attain a Higher Nitec qualification directly, in only three years instead of the current four years. Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) students can apply for this new 3-year Higher Nitec programme.
  
  
• Step 3: Identify Relevant Courses and their Pre-requisite Subjects in the selected pathway
  Identify the courses and find out the pre-requisite subjects that are compulsory for the post-secondary courses your child/ward is interested in. Pre-requisite subjects refer to subjects that must have been taken at upper secondary level which are required for the post-secondary courses. For your convenience, we have curated the links to the relevant institutions below.
  
  

  Express Course
  a. Junior Colleges (JC) & Millennia Institute (MI) (A Level Courses)			1. Anderson Serangoon JC 2. Anglo-Chinese JC 3.Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) (JC) 4. Catholic JC 5. Dunman High School (JC) 6. Eunoia JC 7. Hwa Chong Institution (JC) 8. Jurong Pioneer JC 9. Tampines Meridian JC 10. Nanyang JC 11. National JC 12.Raffles Institution (JC) 13. St. Andrew's JC 14. Temasek JC 15. Victoria JC 16. Yishun Innova JC 17. Millennia Institute	Please note that students who are keen to proceed to junior colleges can also consider participating in the Direct School Admission for Junior Colleges (DSA-JC)
  b. Polytechnics (Diploma Courses)			1. Nanyang Polytechnic 2. Ngee Ann Polytechnic 3. Republic Polytechnic 4. Singapore Polytechnic 5. Temasek Polytechnic	Please note that students who are keen to proceed to polytechnics can also consider participating in the Polytechnic Early Admission Exercise (Poly-EAE)
  c. Institute of Technical Education (Higher Nitec courses)				Please note that students who are keen to proceed to ITE can also consider participating in the ITE Early Admission Exercise Option (ITE EAE) which is an aptitude-based admissions exercise to a Nitec or Higher Nitec course
  d. Nanyang Academic of Fine Arts (NAFA)
  e. LASELLE College of Arts

  
  

  Normal Academic Course
  1.	Polytechnic Foundation Programme (PFP)
  2.	Direct Entry Scheme to Polytechnic Programme (DPP)
  3.	GCE O level at Pasir Ris Secondary School
  4.	Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Foundation Programme (NFP)

  
  Please note that students who are keen to proceed to ITE can also consider participating in the ITE Early Admission Exercise Option (ITE EAE) which is an aptitude-based admissions exercise to a Nitec or Higher Nitec course.
  
  

  Normal Technical Course
  1	Institute of Technical Education Early Admission Exercise (Nitec & 3-year Higher Nitec courses)
  2	Institute of Technical Education (Nitec & Higher Nitec courses)

• Step 4: Select Subject Combinations which include the relevant elective subjects
  At upper secondary level, your child/ward will have to offer a set of compulsory subjects. In addition to these, your child/ward may choose between 1-3 elective subjects. Based on the courses and prerequisite subjects shortlisted in Step 3, identify the relevant Subject Combinations. You can click the links below to view the Subject Combinations available and find out more about the subjects.
  
  Sec 3 Express Subject Combinations for 2025
  Information on Sec 3 Express Elective Subjects
  
  Sec 3 Normal (Academic) Combinations for 2025
  Information on Sec 3 Normal (Academic) Elective Subjects
  
  Sec 3 Normal (Technical) Combinations for 2025
  Information on Sec 3 Normal (Technical) Elective Subjects
  
  
• Step 5: Submit online application (Links to be created nearer to the exercise)
  1. View instructions for online subject combination selection here.
  2. Submit your four subject combination options here.
  3. Parents need to acknowledge, by submitting a signed copy of the selected subject combinations here or via the QR code by Nov 2024.