Full Subject-Based Banding: What Replaced Streaming in Secondary School

Q: Can my child take subjects at different levels?

Yes. That's the point of Full SBB. A child can take Maths at G3 and English at G2, and the levels can change through secondary school as they progress.

Education Minister Ong Ye Kung has announced that, "Streaming in secondary school will be phased out. By 2024, full subject-based banding will be implemented nationwide."

Ask any Singaporean adult which stream they were in and the answer comes instantly: Express, Normal Academic or Normal Technical. Ask a Secondary 1 student today and the question doesn’t land, because those streams no longer exist. In their place is Full Subject-Based Banding, where a student takes each subject at the level that fits them instead of being sorted into a single course. Below is what changed, how it works, and what it means for your child.

From 2024, streaming into Express, Normal Academic and Normal Technical was replaced by Full Subject-Based Banding. Students now take each subject at G1, G2 or G3 level, mixed to fit their strengths, instead of being locked into one stream.

The first Full SBB cohort takes a single national exam at the end of Secondary 4 in 2027, replacing the separate O and N levels.

What streaming was

For decades, a child’s PSLE score sorted them into one of three secondary courses: Express, Normal (Academic) or Normal (Technical). Every subject was taken at that course’s level, and moving between courses was hard. A child strong in maths but weaker in languages was still boxed into one stream for everything, and the stream label followed them, with all the stigma that came with being in “Normal”.

What Full Subject-Based Banding is

Full SBB, phased in from 2022 and complete across all secondary schools in 2024, ends the single-course system. Instead, subjects are offered at three levels:

G1, mapping to the old Normal (Technical) standard
G2, mapping to the old Normal (Academic) standard
G3, mapping to the old Express standard

“G” stands for General. A student takes each subject at whichever G level suits them, so a child can do Mathematics at G3, English at G2 and Mother Tongue at G1, all at once. There’s no single stream label any more, just a personal mix of subject levels that can change over time.

How your child’s levels are set

The PSLE score determines the Posting Group a child enters secondary school in, which sets the starting level for most subjects. If that part is still fuzzy, read up on how PSLE AL scores and posting work before you sit down to fill in school choices. From the first day of Secondary 1, a child who did well in a particular subject at PSLE can take that subject one level higher. And through secondary school, levels are reviewed: a student coping well can move a subject up, and one who’s struggling can take a subject at a less demanding level. The idea is that the level follows the child’s ability in each subject, and adjusts as they grow.

The approach grew out of an earlier trial. Subject-Based Banding was tested in a dozen prototype schools from 2014, letting Normal-course students take some subjects at a higher level. More than 80% of students surveyed said it helped them develop their strengths and widened their options, and many valued mixing with classmates from other courses, feedback that fed straight into expanding the scheme across the system.

Mixed classes, and why that matters

Under streaming, a child spent the day with the same class, all in the same stream. Under Full SBB, because students take subjects at different levels, they’re grouped differently for different subjects and mix across what used to be stream lines. Form classes are deliberately mixed. The aim is both practical, matching the teaching to the ability, and social, removing the hard line that once divided students into “better” and “worse” classes.

The new national exam from 2027

The biggest downstream change is the exam. The cohort that started Secondary 1 under Full SBB in 2024 will be the first to sit a single national examination at the end of Secondary 4 in 2027: the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate, which replaces the separate O-Level and N-Level exams. Each subject is examined at the level the student took it, so a child who did English at G3 takes the G3 English paper. The single certificate reflects the subject-by-subject reality instead of a single stream grade.

What it means for parents

Your child isn’t defined by one label. Strengths and weaker areas are handled subject by subject, which is fairer to a lopsided learner.
Levels can move. A slow start in a subject isn’t permanent, and a strong subject can be pushed up. Keep an eye on the review points.
The PSLE still sets the starting point, so it matters, but it’s no longer a single door that locks. Plenty of accomplished Singaporeans have explained why a PSLE score doesn’t decide a child’s future, and Full SBB makes that easier to believe.
Talk to the school about taking a strong subject at a higher level, especially at the start of Secondary 1, when it’s easy to overlook.

If you’re shortlisting schools rather than worrying about levels yet, it helps to understand how secondary cut-off points work, since they still shape which schools are realistic for your child’s score.

Common questions

What replaced streaming in Singapore secondary schools?

Full Subject-Based Banding, complete across all schools in 2024. It ends the Express, Normal Academic and Normal Technical streams and lets students take each subject at G1, G2 or G3 level.

What do G1, G2 and G3 mean?

The three subject levels under Full SBB. G1 maps to the former Normal (Technical) standard, G2 to Normal (Academic) and G3 to Express. “G” stands for General.

Can my child take subjects at different levels?

Yes. That’s the point of Full SBB. A child can take, say, Maths at G3 and English at G2, and the levels can change through secondary school as they progress.

Does the PSLE still matter under Full SBB?

Yes. The PSLE score sets the Posting Group and the starting subject levels, but it no longer locks a child into one stream, and strong subjects can be taken higher from Secondary 1.

When is the new secondary school exam?

The first Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate exam is at the end of Secondary 4 in 2027, replacing the separate O-Level and N-Level exams. Each subject is examined at the level the student took it.

The conversation to have in Secondary 1

Since 2024, children take each subject at G1, G2 or G3, mixed to fit their strengths, and those levels can shift as they grow. The PSLE sets the starting point and nothing more, and the class of 2027 sits one combined national exam. So in that first term, when the form teacher asks if you have any questions, ask whether your child’s best subject could be taken a level higher. A generation of parents never had that option. Use it.