Secondary School Rankings: How To Choose A Secondary School in 2020 (COP 2019)

The PSLE results are OUT! 

Some children have performed very well while others could manage to stay above or near average. Do all have the same post-PSLE options for further studies in Secondary School? Of course not!

Every anxious parent and child who just went through PSLE exams are struggling with the same questions; “What are my options?”, “Which secondary school shall I pick?”, “I want to pursue my higher studies in a particular school. Will I get admission there with my score?” and many more.

If you are one such individual or parent of a child struggling to find the best Secondary school for your child, this blog post is for YOU.

With the hope that it would help you make the best choice, we have gathered certain data that can guide you as you begin your new academic journey. Your academic career largely depends on the choice of school. Hence, it is pivotal to pick the best.

But, is it available for one and all equally? The answer is ‘NO’.

You may wish for your child to be admitted to a certain school, but whether you’ll get it depends upon your PSLE score. Due to immense competition in education, PSLE cut-off point (COP) plays the major role in your decision. This cut-off limits your choice for a secondary school.

As a general consideration, the higher the COP of a secondary school, better is its rank and the more succcessful your child will be in academic terms. If you attained a high PSLE T-score, you have a wide range of choices available and of course, you can pick the school that is best for you.

While there are children who manage to get the school of their choice, yet others remain indecisive due to variety of reasons, some of which can be location, curriculum, fee structure, whether the school is for boys or girls or co-ed and many more that can further limit their choice of Secondary School.

If you have difficulties choosing the right school for your child, keep reading further and you may find some help in hand-picking the best option for yourself.

The very first thing that remains the decisive factor for the admission is the admission criteria through PSLE COP.

And, we have collected this data based on 2019 PSLE Cut-Off Points intake just to help you check your first eligibility.

Here is the secondary school ranking list and their cut-off points:

1. Hwa Chong Institution , 259
2. Raffles Girls' School (Secondary), 259
3. Methodist Girls' School (Secondary) , 258
4. Nanyang Girls' High School, 258
5. Raffles Institution, 258
6. Dunman High School, 256
7. National Junior College, 256
8. CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls' School, 255
9. Anglo-Chinese School , 254
10. Catholic High School, 254
11. Methodist Girls' School (Secondary) , 254
12. Cedar Girls' Secondary School , 253
13. CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls' School, 253
14. River Valley High School , 252
15. Singapore Chinese Girls' School, 252
16. Singapore Chinese Girls' School , 252
17. Victoria School , 252
18. Catholic High School , 251
19. Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) , 250
20. Cedar Girls' Secondary School, 250
21. Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School (Secondary) , 250
22. St. Joseph's Institution , 250
23. Temasek Junior College , 250
24. Anderson Secondary School, 247
25. CHIJ Secondary (Toa Payoh), 246
26. Victoria School , 246
27. Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) , 245
28. Bukit Panjang Govt. High School , 245
29. Nan Hua High School, 245
30. St. Joseph's Institution, 245
31. Nan Chiau High School , 244
32. Chung Cheng High School (Main) , 242
33. Crescent Girls' School, 242
34. Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) , 242
35. St. Andrew's Secondary School, 242
36. St. Margaret's Secondary School , 242
37. Swiss Cottage Secondary School , 242
38. Chung Cheng High School (Yishun) , 240
39. Anglican High School, 239
40. Commonwealth Secondary School , 239
41. Yishun Town Secondary School, 239
42. CHIJ St. Theresa's Convent , 238
43. Ngee Ann Secondary School , 238
44. CHIJ St. Joseph's Convent , 237
45. Maris Stella High School, 237
46. Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Secondary School , 236
47. Zhonghua Secondary School , 236
48. Fuhua Secondary School, 235
49. Presbyterian High School , 235
50. Tanjong Katong Girls' School, 235
51. Xinmin Secondary School , 235
52. Clementi Town Secondary School, 234
53. Riverside Secondary School , 234
54. Temasek Secondary School, 234
55. Holy Innocents' High School , 233
56. Kranji Secondary School, 233
57. Tanjong Katong Secondary School , 233
58. Dunman Secondary School , 231
59. Edgefield Secondary School, 229
60. St. Patrick's School, 229
61. Ang Mo Kio Secondary School, 228
62. Bukit Batok Secondary School , 228
63. Geylang Methodist School (Secondary) , 228
64. Jurong Secondary School , 228
65. CHIJ Katong Convent, 227
66. Evergreen Secondary School, 227
67. St. Anthony's Canossian Secondary School, 227
68. Bowen Secondary School , 226
69. Gan Eng Seng School, 226
70. Hua Yi Secondary School, 226
71. St. Gabriel's Secondary School , 226
72. St. Hilda's Secondary School , 226
73. Pei Hwa Secondary School , 224
74. West Spring Secondary School , 224
75. Hai Sing Catholic School , 223
76. Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School , 222
77. Mayflower Secondary School , 222
78. Deyi Secondary School , 220
79. Queensway Secondary School , 222
80. Pasir Ris Secondary School , 2119
81. Unity Secondary School , 219
82. Pasir Ris Crest Secondary School, 217
83. Woodlands Ring Secondary School, 217
84. Bedok View Secondary School , 216
85. Chua Chu Kang Secondary School, 216
86. Beatty Secondary School , 215
87. Yuan Ching Secondary School , 215
88. Compassvale Secondary School , 214
89. Kent Ridge Secondary School , 214
90. North Vista Secondary School, 214
91. Orchid Park Secondary School , 212
92. Bukit View Secondary School, 211
93. Peirce Secondary School, 211
94. Zhenghua Secondary School, 211
95. Bedok South Secondary School, 210
96. Greendale Secondary School , 210
97. Hillgrove Secondary School , 210
98. Meridian Secondary School, 210
99. Woodgrove Secondary School , 210
100. Jurong West Secondary School , 209
101. Montfort Secondary School , 208
102. Tampines Secondary School , 208
103. Christ Church Secondary School , 207
104. Yishun Secondary School, 207
105. Seng Kang Secondary School , 205
106. Admiralty Secondary School , 203
107. Naval Base Secondary School, 203
108. Hougang Secondary School, 202
109. Punggol Secondary School, 201
110. Regent Secondary School , 201
111. Jurongville Secondary School , 197
112. Westwood Secondary School , 196
113. Greenridge Secondary School , 195
114. Canberra Secondary School, 193
115. New Town Secondary School, 193
116. Juying Secondary School , 192
117. Peicai Secondary School , 189
118. Queenstown Secondary School , 189
119. Assumption English School , 188
120. Bartley Secondary School, 188
121. Bedok Green Secondary School , 188
122. Bendemeer Secondary School , 188
123. Boon Lay Secondary School , 188
124. Broadrick Secondary School , 188
125. Bukit Merah Secondary School, 188
126. Changkat Changi Secondary School , 188
127. Damai Secondary School , 188
128. Dunearn Secondary School , 188
129. East Spring Secondary School , 188
130. Fajar Secondary School , 188
131. Fuchun Secondary School, 188
132. Guangyang Secondary School, 188
133. Junyuan Secondary School, 188
134. Loyang Secondary School , 188
135. Manjusri Secondary School, 188
136. Marsiling Secondary School , 188
137. Northbrooks Secondary School, 188
138. Northland Secondary School, 188
139. Outram Secondary School, 188
140. Ping Yi Secondary School , 188
141. Sembawang Secondary School , 188
142. Serangoon Garden Secondary School , 188
143. Serangoon Secondary School, 188
144. Springfield Secondary School , 188
145. Tanglin Secondary School , 188
146. Teck Whye Secondary School, 188
147. Whitley Secondary School , 188
148. Woodlands Secondary School , 188
149. Yio Chu Kang Secondary School, 188
150. Yuhua Secondary School , 188
151. Yuying Secondary School , 188

Learning is a journey. And secondary school journey depends largely on your choice of the school. 

Pupils who are in the top 30% of the PSLE cohort wishing to enter in SAP secondary schools will be given bonus points, added to the T-Score if they take the Higher Chinese subject. Bonus points will be 3 points for Distinction, 2 points for Merit and 1 for Pass. SAP secondary schools cater to learning in both languages, English and Chinese.

Though the same programs can be offered by a variety of schools, you may want to look into other contributing factors before arriving at the final decision.

Most of the schools in Singapore are either government schools or government-aided schools. Then, there are others like independent schools, specialized schools and specialized independent schools (SIS). 

Fee structure of a school is a big deciding factor. Most of the government and government-aided schools provide education at a subsidized fee. 

Government and government-aided schools follow the National curriculum as determined by the Ministry of Education (MOE). Autonomous schools have the liberty to choose their curriculum, programs and activities.

Fee structure of these autonomous schools is on a higher band as they charge the autonomous fee above the subsidized fee. 

Independent schools, as the name suggests have the independence to select their curriculum, set up special programs and activities. Hence, you can expect their fee to be higher even than the autonomous schools. 

Under the MOE financial assistance scheme, the monthly fees in Government and government-aided schools is maximum S$25, while in that of autonomous schools, it is S$43. And in independent schools, it can range from S$300 – S$600. 

There are certain schools that best suited for students with deep interests in sports, arts, applied learning, Mathematics and Science:

1. NUS High School of Mathematics and Science
2. School of Science and Technology
3. Singapore Sports School
4. School of the Arts

Specialised schools are the ones which take up students who could not manage to qualify for any secondary course. They are then educated by a hands-on-learning method by experienced teachers. Two such schools are:

1. NorthLight School and
2. Assumption Pathway.

Other specialized schools that can be taken up by students interested in the technical stream are:

1. Crest Secondary School
2. Spectra Secondary School 

These schools have a practice-based approach to learning where necessary skillset and training can be obtained.

Curriculum offered by the schools is yet another contributing factor to this major decision. What a child wants to take up as a career depends on the course he/she picks and the quality of education.

The three pathways for the courses are:

1. Express: O-level and IP. O-level is a 4-year programme which ends with GCE-O level exams. And Integrated Programme (IP) students do not have to sit for GCE O-level exams. They study for 2 further years making IP a 6-year programme. After IP exams, students have the choice to go for GCE A-Levels, the IB Diploma or the NUS High School Diploma towards the end.
2. Normal Academic: It is a 4-year programme for students appearing for GCE N(A)-Levels. It can be a 5-year programme for students who study further for GCE-O levels. 
3. Normal Technical: It is a 4-year programme culminating at GCE N(T)-Level exams.

English Language, Mother Tongue Language and Mathematics are the compulsory subjects for all tracks. Students enrolled in the Express or Normal Academic Track have to study humanities and science. And students in the Normal Technical Track are required to study Computer Applications and Social studies. 

One other pathway is to embark on the international syllabus IB or IGCSE which also offers a route to a local or foreign university. You can read up in our Ultimate Guide to International (IB) Schools in Singapore.

The next deciding factor for the selection of a secondary school is the child’s interest. Ultimately, the best career is the one that can be enjoyed at work. If you have an interest in arts, music, sports or language, then you should develop it further.

For that, your criteria for the choice of secondary school can be the special programmes offered by certain schools in your area of interest. Some such programmes are the Art Elective Programme (AEP), Music Elective Programme (MEP) and Third Languages.

For those who are interested in Sports have certain choices and one of them could be The Singapore Sports School that can hone your sports skills if you wish to be a professional Sportsperson.

AEP and MEP can be availed at some other schools like Ngee Ann Secondary and St Andrew’s Secondary.

And the final contributing factor is the location of the school and availability of boarding or travelling facilities. For that, you can check each school’s prospectus or website or inquire at their helpline number. 

After having looked into all the factors, we expect you may have derived the much-needed help in making the wisest selection. All the best!

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