Secondary School Cut-Off Points 2026: How to Read AL Scores and Posting Results
Every November, parents and Primary 6 students meet the same table of numbers: columns headed IP, PG3, PG2 and PG1, filled with scores, ranges and small letters in brackets. Read correctly, that table is one of the most useful planning tools in the Secondary 1 posting process. Read carelessly, it can lead to a very bad set of school choices. This guide explains what the 2026 cut-off points actually mean, how to decode every column, and how to interpret your child’s posting results when they arrive.
What Are Secondary School Cut-Off Points in 2026?
Secondary school cut-off points (COPs) show the PSLE score of the last student posted to a school in the previous Secondary 1 posting exercise. For the 2026 intake, cut-offs ran from about 6 to 9 for Integrated Programme tracks, 8 to 22 for Posting Group 3, 21 to 25 for Posting Group 2 and 26 to 30 for Posting Group 1. A lower score is better.
These ranges are compiled from MOE’s published posting data, and individual sources round and present them slightly differently, so always confirm a specific school’s figure on MOE’s SchoolFinder before relying on it.
Which Year’s Cut-Off Points Should You Use?
This is the first source of confusion, so it is worth settling up front. The “2026 cut-off points” describe the 2026 Secondary 1 intake: the students who sat the PSLE in 2025 and started secondary school in January 2026. They are the most recent cut-offs available to families whose children sat the PSLE in 2026 and will enter Secondary 1 in January 2027.
Once S1 posting results are released (tentatively on Friday 18 December 2026), the cut-offs for the 2027 intake will be published and these figures will become last year’s data. Treat the 2026 figures as a guide to what a school was like to enter, not a promise of what it will be like this time. If you are still choosing your schools, our guide on how to choose your six secondary schools wisely walks through the ranking strategy step by step.
How AL Scores Lead to a Posting Group
The PSLE is scored using Achievement Levels. Each of the four subjects is graded from AL1 (best) to AL8, and the four grades are added together to give the PSLE score. Lower is better. That score then places a child in a Posting Group, which determines the subject levels they begin with in Secondary 1.
| PSLE score | Posting Group | Typical starting subject level |
|---|---|---|
| 4 to 20 | Posting Group 3 (PG3) | G3 |
| 21 to 22 | PG2 or PG3 (family chooses) | G2 or G3 |
| 23 to 24 | Posting Group 2 (PG2) | G2 |
| 25 | PG1 or PG2 (family chooses) | G1 or G2 |
| 26 to 30 | Posting Group 1 (PG1) | G1 |
Each school sets and publishes a separate cut-off for each Posting Group. This is why a single school can show three very different numbers, and why you must always compare your child’s score against the column for their own group.
How to Read a Cut-Off Point Table, Column by Column
A typical cut-off table lists each school with columns for IP, PG3, PG2 and PG1. Here is what each element means.
The cut-off point itself. This is the score of the last student posted. If a school shows a PG3 cut-off of 13, the last student admitted through that group had a PSLE score of 13. A child with a score of 12 would have been admitted comfortably, while a child with a score of 14 would not.
The range. Many tables show a range such as 6 to 9. This runs from the best score admitted to the cut-off score. A wide range tells you the school admitted students across a spread of scores, while a narrow range tells you competition was tight right down to the last place.
IP column. The Integrated Programme lets students skip the O-Levels and go through to A-Levels or the IB. IP cut-offs are separate from the Posting Group cut-offs and are generally the tightest in the country. A dash in a column means the school did not admit students through that route.
Affiliated and non-affiliated figures. Many tables show two figures for a school. The affiliated figure is the cut-off for students from the school’s affiliated primary school who ranked it as their first choice, and the non-affiliated figure applies to everyone else. Affiliation is not a fixed points discount. It gives priority, and the gap can be large or small depending on how many affiliated students applied that year.
Letters in brackets (D, M, P). At Special Assistance Plan schools you will see a letter after a score, such as 6(M). This is the Higher Chinese grade of the last student admitted: D for Distinction, M for Merit and P for Pass. A cut-off of 6(M) means the last student posted had a PSLE score of 6 and a Merit in Higher Chinese. Our guide to SAP secondary schools in Singapore explains why Higher Chinese matters so much at these schools.
An asterisk. Some tables mark a school with an asterisk to show that places remained unfilled. This usually signals a less competitive intake that year.
2026 Cut-Off Points: A Selection to Practise On
The figures below come from the 2026 Secondary 1 intake and are included to show how to read the table, not to rank schools. Cut-offs change every year.
Integrated Programme tracks (selected)
| School | IP cut-off |
|---|---|
| Hwa Chong Institution (Secondary) | 6(M) |
| Raffles Institution (Secondary) | 6 |
| Raffles Girls’ School (Secondary) | 6 |
| Methodist Girls’ School (Secondary) | 6 |
| Nanyang Girls’ High School | 6(M) |
| Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) | 7 |
| Singapore Chinese Girls’ School | 7 |
| Catholic High School | 7(M) |
| Dunman High School | 8(M) |
| National Junior College (Secondary) | 8 |
| Victoria School | 8 |
| Cedar Girls’ Secondary School | 9 |
| River Valley High School | 9(M) |
Posting Group 3: affiliated versus non-affiliated (selected)
| School | Non-affiliated PG3 | Affiliated PG3 |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore Chinese Girls’ School | 8 | 17 |
| Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) | 9 | 21 |
| St Andrew’s Secondary School | 9 | 22 |
| CHIJ (Toa Payoh) Secondary | 10 | 20 |
| Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) | 11 | 20 |
| Maris Stella High School | 12 | 16 |
Look at Singapore Chinese Girls’ School. A child from outside the affiliation needed a PSLE score of 8 or better, while the last affiliated student admitted had a score of 17. That is a large gap, and it shows why families with an affiliated primary school should always check the affiliated figure and not just the headline number.
A neighbourhood example
Local-town tables can be especially helpful because they show the real choices near home. In Yishun, for instance, the 2026 cut-offs for Chung Cheng High School (Yishun) were 11 for PG3, 22 for PG2 and 27 for PG1, while Northbrooks Secondary School was 22, 25 and 27. Our guide to secondary schools in Yishun sets out the full table for the town.
How to Compare Your Child’s Score With a Cut-Off Point
- Find your Posting Group first. Use the table above, and use the correct column for that group.
- Check the right track. An IP cut-off is not the same as a PG3 cut-off at the same school.
- Use the affiliated figure if it applies, and only if the school is ranked as your first choice.
- Compare, then add a margin. If your child’s score is lower than the cut-off, they would have been admitted last year. As a rule of thumb, a margin of a few points makes a choice safe, and a margin of one or two points makes it borderline.
- Read the range, not just the cut-off. If the range is wide, there is more flexibility in the intake. If it is narrow, the cut-off may be harder to predict.
- Look at several years. Cut-offs move by a point or two each year, and a school that was borderline last year could be safe or out of reach this year.
For broader context on how these figures translate into overall competitiveness, our guide to secondary school rankings and cut-off points looks at the wider picture across school types.
Why Cut-Off Points Move From Year to Year
A cut-off point reflects one specific cohort competing for a fixed number of places, so it shifts for several reasons:
- Cohort strength. If more students score well in a given year, cut-offs tighten at popular schools.
- Popularity. A school with a strong new programme or a recent success story can attract more first-choice applicants.
- Affiliated demand. The number of affiliated students who rank a school first changes how many places are left for everyone else.
- Available places. Intake sizes can shift when a school adds or reduces classes.
- Higher Chinese requirements. At SAP schools, the Higher Chinese grade can change the effective cut-off even when the PSLE score is the same.
How to Read Your Posting Results
S1 posting results are tentatively released on Friday 18 December 2026, from 9am on the S1 Portal using Singpass, and by SMS. Your child’s result is simple: it names the school they have been posted to. Here is how to make sense of it.
- Which choice was it? MOE places each student in the highest-ranked school on their list that still had a place. If your child is posted to your first choice, the process worked exactly as hoped. If they were posted to your third choice, it means they did not qualify for the first two.
- Compare with the cut-off. Once the 2027 cut-offs are published, you can see where your child’s score sat against their school and the ones above it. This is useful context, but it does not change the placement.
- Check the Posting Group. The group that applied to your child determines their starting subject levels, which is worth discussing with the school in the weeks before term begins.
- Prepare for the start. Secondary 1 begins on Monday 4 January 2027. Our guide to school terms and holidays in Singapore lays out the 2027 calendar, and the weeks in between are well spent on a smooth transition rather than extra cramming.
Appeals are considered only in limited circumstances, so treat the result as settled unless a genuine, serious reason arises.
Common Mistakes When Reading Cut-Off Points
- Comparing against the wrong column. A PG3 student should not read the PG2 or IP figure.
- Forgetting that lower is better. In the PSLE score, a cut-off of 8 is far more competitive than a cut-off of 20.
- Treating a cut-off as a guarantee. It describes last year, not this year.
- Ignoring the affiliated figure. For affiliated families, the affiliated cut-off can be completely different, but it only applies when the school is ranked first.
- Overlooking the Higher Chinese letter. At SAP schools, a score alone may not be enough.
- Relying on one source. Compilations can differ by a point or two, so verify the figures for schools you are seriously considering.
- Choosing on numbers alone. A school’s CCAs, programmes, commute and culture matter just as much as its cut-off.
Looking Further Ahead
A secondary school choice also shapes what comes after. Students on the IP route typically move straight to an affiliated junior college, while others sit the O-Levels and apply through the Joint Admissions Exercise. If you want to see how competitive the next stage can be, our guide to JC cut-off points in Singapore explains how those figures work.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the cut-off point mean for secondary schools?
A cut-off point is the PSLE score of the last student posted to a school in the previous Secondary 1 posting exercise. A lower score means the school was more competitive. It describes last year’s intake and is a guide, not a guarantee for the current year.
What are the 2026 PSLE cut-off point ranges?
For the 2026 Secondary 1 intake, cut-offs ran from about 6 to 9 for Integrated Programme tracks, 8 to 22 for Posting Group 3, 21 to 25 for Posting Group 2 and 26 to 30 for Posting Group 1. Individual schools vary widely, so check each school’s own figure.
What does the letter after a cut-off, such as 6(M), mean?
The letter shows the Higher Chinese Language grade of the last student admitted at Special Assistance Plan schools. D means Distinction, M means Merit and P means Pass. A cut-off of 6(M) means the last student posted had a PSLE score of 6 and a Merit in Higher Chinese.
What does affiliated mean in a cut-off table?
An affiliated cut-off applies to students from the school’s affiliated primary school who ranked it as their first choice. It is usually less strict than the non-affiliated figure, but it is not a fixed points discount, and the gap changes from year to year.
When are Secondary 1 posting results released in 2026?
MOE has tentatively set the release for Friday 18 December 2026, from 9am on the S1 Portal using Singpass and by SMS. Secondary 1 then begins on Monday 4 January 2027, so confirm the dates on MOE’s announcements closer to the time.
Are the 2026 cut-off points the ones for my child’s intake?
Not exactly. The 2026 cut-offs describe students who entered Secondary 1 in January 2026. Children who sat the PSLE in 2026 will enter in January 2027, and the 2027 cut-offs will be published after posting results are released.
Final Thoughts
Cut-off points are most useful when you understand exactly what they measure: the PSLE score of the last student posted last year, within a specific Posting Group and track. Learn to read the columns, check the affiliated and Higher Chinese details, compare your child’s score with a sensible margin, and remember that these numbers only describe a school’s competitiveness. They say nothing about whether it is the right place for your child.
For more help with the school-choice process, explore our education guides, our schools section and our parenting guides.
Cut-off figures in this article are indicative and based on compiled data from the 2026 Secondary 1 posting exercise. Sources differ slightly in how they present them, and the figures change every year. Always verify current details on MOE’s SchoolFinder or with the school before making decisions.