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| Which Secondary School? – Part 1 |
 So the PSLE is OVER - a big WHEW! - and the next stage of your 12 year old's education journey will be determined in a few short weeks. Whether you've chosen which secondary schools to apply for or are still evaluating, we hope the following pointers will help you make this important decision.Before we launch into the Secondary One Posting Exercise, you need to know about... the T-Score.
 What's so important about the T-Score? A quick summary: The T-Score determines how well your child did in the PSLE and is determined by the mark obtained for each subject. The calculation of T-Score for each student also factors in your child's performance as compared to the average mark scored by all pupils in the cohort for a particular subject. The aggregated T-Score is based on a total of the T-score for all subjects, and will determine the secondary school that your child will be posted to. If your child takes Higher Mother Tongue as well, additional points will be added – 3 pts for distinction, 2 for Merit and 1 for Pass. Click here for a detailed explanation of the T-Score and to find out what kind of T-score your child may get based on his or her combination of grades for the 4 subjects (e.g. 2A 2 Bs, 2 As 2 A*s etc.)
How is the Posting Exercise carried out?
All students will be ranked according to their PSLE scores, with the highest-scoring student being
 processed first during the computerised process, the second-highest scorer will be next in line, and so on. At the start of the posting exercise, the system will first consider all the 6 choices selected by the top scorer, and give preference to allocating him or her in the first-choice school. Once the posting for the highest scorer is done, the system moves on to process the choices of the second-highest scorer, and will try to allocated him or her in the first choice school before moving on to the remaining choices. This process will continue until every eligible student has been posted to a secondary school. If a student is not allocated any of his or her six choices after the computerised posting process, then manual posting will be done to place the student in a school near his or her home that still has vacancies, provided that the student has met the school’s lowest PSLE aggregate.So now that we know how the process works... what does this mean for a Primary 6 student?
Since students with higher PSLE scores will be processed FIRST during the posting exercise, this means that:
- Students who do better will have a higher chance of getting into their preferred schools
- Students should choose their schools CAREFULLY so as not to ‘waste’ their chances
 Hence, do consider these factors when picking the 6 schools in your child's list:Note: The School Information Service at the Ministry of Education website is a good starting point for your school research - it contains details of each secondary school that includes location, posting aggregates, affiliated schools (if any) and subjects and CCAs offered. It also allows you to generate comparative lists for the schools you shortlist.
1) Posting aggregate Vs your child’s PSLE aggregate
How has your child’s performance been for each of his or her subjects - not just for the prelims but for the mid-year exams too? What score did your child get for the prelims, and do you think he or she is likely to perform better for the PSLE? Students should choose those schools whose previous year’s posting aggregate ranges are a good estimate of the type of score they are likely to achieve for the PSLE. The S1 Information Booklet that your child will receive in October will include information on the aggregate ranges of the previous cohort of PSLE pupils posted to Sec 1 in each school. You can also check on the aggregate ranges online via the School Information Service. Note that these aggregate ranges should be treated only as a guide.
2) Subjects and Programmes offered
Does the school's academic programme suit your child's ability and learning style? Do the CCAs and
 subjects match your child’s talents and interests? Discuss with your child (and teacher if necessary) what would be a suitable academic pathway for him or her e.g. Normal/Express/SAP stream, Integrated Programme, niche programme, or specialist school (such as the Sports School or School of the Arts) etc. For example, if you're thinking of an IP school, note that the work scope and academic environment is more rigorous. If your child thrives under an environment that offers many opportunities for project work and independent learning, this may be suitable for him or her.3) Ease of travel
For many children, secondary school marks the first time they will be going to school on their own and many will be taking public transport. Thus, do consider how accessible the chosen schools are in terms of public transport, and if need be, routes of the school bus service as well.
4) Single-sex or co-ed
Some parents prefer to place their children in a single-sex school, so as to prevent 'distractions' that could arise during the teenage years that could interfere with their studies. However, some do worry that this may lead to problems in learning to socialise with the opposite sex when they are older. While a good many 'elite' and top performing schools are single-sex schools, there are co-ed schools that have consistently turned out good results, such as Dunman High School and River Valley High School.
5) Using connections – Affiliated schools
If your child is thinking of continuing his or her secondary education in a secondary school affiliated to your child's primary school, he / she must indicate that secondary school as the first choice school in order to enjoy priority for admission to that affiliated secondary school. However, being accorded priority for admission does not guarantee admission and the number of places may be limited and there there may be additional qualifying criteria that must be met.It would be best to check with the affiliated secondary school.
Do also check out the MOE website on the Secondary One Posting Exercise here. Do see Part 2 of our Secondary School Admission feature as well, where we feature some key FAQs on the Sec 1 Posting Exercise.
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