School placement exercise for returning Singaporeans at secondary levels to open for application in July

SINGAPORE: Singaporeans returning from overseas and who wish to enrol in a secondary school next year can apply to take do so from July, said the Ministry of Education in a news release on Thursday (Apr 21).

The School Placement Exercise for Returning Singaporeans – Secondary Levels (SPERS-Sec) is a centralised placement exercise held at the end of each year.

Under this exercise, applicants will sit for one set of centralised tests. MOE will then post them to a suitable school based on their test results, their indicated school choices and the available vacancies in the schools.

Applications for those seeking admission to Secondary 1 to 3 will open in July, with the tests set to be held in September. Students will then start school next January.

Those seeking admission to pre-university 1 next year can look out for more information on the MOE website.

Returning Singaporeans will generally not be able to re-enter the school system at Secondary 4 and Pre-University 2 levels as those are national examination years.

Those who are unable to return in time to sit for the SPERS-Sec tests can take them under the Supplementary Placement Exercise, which will be held in December. Application will begin in October. Students who gain admission under this exercise will begin school next February.

Returning Singaporeans can also apply for the Assured School Placement (ASP) service, which guarantees them admission to primary and secondary schools with vacancies near their homes.

They can access this service even before they return to Singapore, MOE said.

Returning students are encouraged to approach MOE early so that they can start school early in the academic year with their peers.

"While the (returning Singaporeans) need not sit for a centralised test via this service, the primary or secondary school may conduct school-based assessments and/or an interview to ascertain (their) current attainment level for placement purposes, to best help (them) settle into the school and support (their) education," said MOE. 

CHANGE TO AEIS-PRI ENGLISH TEST

International students seeking admission to Primary 2 to 5 and Secondary 1 to 3 levels must take part in the Admissions Exercise for International Students (AEIS), which is held every February and September in Singapore.

From this year, MOE will no longer offer the English test for international students seeking admission into primary schools.

Instead, they will be required to take the relevant Cambridge English Qualification (CEQ) test, which is conducted in more than 130 countries. They can sit for the test in any of these locations in the preceding 12 months before registering for the AEIS-Pri Mathematics test.

International students who wish to register for the September 2022 AEIS-Pri Mathematics test will need to submit their CEQ test result when applications open in July.

As with previous years, applications will close when places for a particular level’s test are fully taken up, MOE said.

“MOE will consider both the CES and the AEIS-Pri Mathematics test scores to determine applicants’ eligibility to be offered a school placement,” it added.

“Meeting the CES score does not guarantee a school placement on its own.”