Express, Normal Academic or Normal Technical: Understanding Your Child’s Secondary School Posting
If you attended secondary school in Singapore, you were sorted into one of three streams: Express, Normal Academic, or Normal Technical. That single label followed you for four or five years and shaped every subject you took, every class you sat in, and every post-secondary pathway available to you.
Your child will never experience this.
From 2024, MOE officially ended streaming in all secondary schools. Express, Normal Academic, and Normal Technical no longer exist. In their place is a system called Full Subject-Based Banding, where students take each subject at a level that matches their individual ability rather than being locked into one stream for everything.
But many Woodlands parents still think in the old terms. They ask whether their child will be in Express. They worry about being posted to Normal Academic. They search for information using the labels they grew up with. If that sounds like you, this guide will help you understand what has changed, what replaced the old system, and what it all means for your child.
The Old System: How Streaming Worked
For decades, Singapore’s secondary school system was built around three streams.
Express was a four-year programme leading to the GCE O-Level examination. It was the most academically demanding stream and the one most parents aspired to for their children. Students needed a strong PSLE score, typically below 20 under the AL system, to be posted to the Express stream.
Normal Academic was a five-year programme. Students spent four years studying the Normal Academic curriculum and sat for the N-Level examination at the end of Sec 4. Those who did well could continue to Sec 5 to sit for the O-Level examination. Many parents viewed NA as a second-tier pathway, though it produced countless successful graduates.
Normal Technical was also a four-year programme but with a more hands-on, practice-oriented curriculum. Students sat for the N(T)-Level examination and typically progressed to ITE. Normal Technical carried the most stigma among parents and students, despite preparing students well for technical and vocational careers.
The problem with this system was rigidity. A child who struggled with Mathematics but excelled at English was placed in a single stream based on their overall PSLE aggregate. Every subject was then taught at that stream’s level, regardless of the child’s actual ability in each subject. This meant many students were under-challenged in some subjects and over-challenged in others.
What Replaced It: Posting Groups and Subject Levels
The new system separates two things that the old system combined: school admission and subject difficulty.
Posting Groups for School Admission
When your child receives their PSLE results, they are assigned to a Posting Group based on their total PSLE score. Posting Groups determine which secondary schools your child can apply to and the initial subject levels they start with. There are three Posting Groups.
Posting Group 3 is for students with PSLE scores of 4 to 20. These students will start most subjects at G3, the most academically demanding level. Posting Group 3 corresponds to the schools and standards that were previously associated with the Express stream.
Posting Group 2 is for students with PSLE scores of 23 to 24. These students will start most subjects at G2, which corresponds to the previous Normal Academic standard. Students with scores of 21 to 22 can choose between Posting Group 2 and Posting Group 3.
Posting Group 1 is for students with PSLE scores of 26 to 30 with at least AL7 in English and Mathematics. These students will start most subjects at G1, which corresponds to the previous Normal Technical standard. Students with a score of 25 can choose between Posting Group 1 and Posting Group 2.
The critical difference from the old system is that Posting Groups are only used for school admission and to guide starting subject levels. Once your child is in secondary school, the Posting Group label disappears. Your child is not called a PG1 or PG3 student. They are simply a student taking different subjects at different G levels.
G Levels for Subject Difficulty
This is where the real change lies. Under the old streaming system, if your child was in the Express stream, they took every subject at Express level. Under Full SBB, each subject has its own level.
G3 is the most demanding level, equivalent to the old Express standard. G2 is the standard level, equivalent to the old Normal Academic standard. G1 is the foundational level, equivalent to the old Normal Technical standard.
A child posted through Posting Group 2 who scored AL5 or better in English at PSLE can take English at G3 from the start of Sec 1, even though most of their other subjects will begin at G2. This kind of flexibility was impossible under streaming. In the old system, that child would have taken every subject at the NA level, including English, a subject they were clearly strong in.
Students can also move between G levels over time. A child who starts Math at G2 in Sec 1 but performs consistently well can be offered the opportunity to take Math at G3 in Sec 2 or Sec 3, based on their school performance and teacher recommendation.
Mixed Form Classes: The Social Change
Under the old system, Express, Normal Academic, and Normal Technical students were in separate classes. An Express student might go through four years of secondary school without ever sharing a classroom with an NA or NT student. This separation reinforced social labels and limited interaction across ability groups.
Under Full SBB, all students are placed in mixed form classes regardless of their Posting Group. Your child’s form class will include students taking subjects at G1, G2, and G3 levels. For common curriculum subjects like Art, Design and Technology, Food and Consumer Education, Music, Physical Education, and Character and Citizenship Education, all form class students learn together. For academic subjects, students are grouped by G level.
This means your child builds friendships across ability levels. Their identity is no longer defined by a stream label. And they learn to collaborate with peers who have different strengths, which is a valuable life skill.
For parents, this takes some adjusting. Your child might say their best friend takes Math at a different level. Their form teacher might not teach them for every subject. This is all normal and by design.
What Happens at the End: The SEC Examination
Under the old system, Express students sat for the O-Level examination after Sec 4. Normal Academic students sat for the N(A)-Level after Sec 4 and could continue to Sec 5 for O-Levels. Normal Technical students sat for the N(T)-Level after Sec 4.
From 2027, all of these examinations are replaced by a single national examination called the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate, or SEC. Every student sits for the SEC, with each subject examined at the G level the student was studying at. A student taking English at G3 and Mathematics at G2 will sit for G3 English papers and G2 Mathematics papers.
The SEC certificate lists each subject with its G level and grade. There is no stream label on the certificate. A student’s results are assessed subject by subject, reflecting the full flexibility of the Full SBB system.
For a detailed explanation of the SEC examination, including how it affects JC and polytechnic entry, see our guide to the SEC Exam 2027.
Post-Secondary Pathways: What Opens Up at Each Level
Parents often worry that if their child is not in Posting Group 3, their future is limited. This is understandable given the old streaming mindset, but it is less true under the new system. Here is how post-secondary pathways map to G levels.
Junior College
JC entry requires strong G3 results. From 2028, the admission aggregate will shift from L1R5 to L1R4, meaning one language plus four relevant subjects, all at G3 level. If your child aims for JC, they need to take as many subjects as possible at G3 and perform well in them. A child who starts some subjects at G2 can still move up to G3 during secondary school if they demonstrate strong performance.
Polytechnic
Polytechnic entry from 2028 uses the ELR2B2 framework. Students need at least four G3 subjects, plus one subject that can be either G3 or G2. The adjusted admission cut-off has been lowered from 26 to 22 points. This means polytechnic is accessible to students with a mix of G3 and G2 subjects, not just those who took everything at the top level.
ITE
ITE remains available for students with G1 and G2 results. The Polytechnic Foundation Programme, which allows ITE graduates to enter polytechnic, is being expanded to accept students with a mix of G3 and G2 subjects, increasing the annual intake significantly. This means more pathways from ITE to polytechnic and beyond.
The key message for parents is that the new system has more on-ramps and fewer dead ends than the old streaming model. A child who starts at G2 in some subjects is not locked out of JC or polytechnic forever. They have opportunities to move up. And even if they stay at G2, the polytechnic pathway remains accessible.
Common Concerns from Woodlands Parents
Is Posting Group 2 the same as Normal Academic?
Not exactly. Posting Group 2 is used only for school admission. Once your child enters secondary school, the PG2 label does not follow them. They are simply a student taking subjects at various G levels. A PG2 student who excels can take multiple subjects at G3 by upper secondary. Under the old system, an NA student would have stayed in the NA stream for everything unless they passed through specific upgrade processes.
Will my child be stigmatised for being in Posting Group 1 or 2?
The mixed form class structure is specifically designed to prevent this. Because all students share the same form class and take common curriculum subjects together, there is no visible separation into streams within the school. Students know which G level they take each subject at, but they are not sorted into labelled classes the way Express and Normal students were.
Can my child move from G2 to G3?
Yes. The system allows students to move between G levels at appropriate points, based on their performance and teacher recommendation. A student who consistently performs well at G2 can be offered the chance to take that subject at G3. This flexibility is one of the core design features of Full SBB.
My older child was in Express. Why is this different for my younger child?
If your older child entered Sec 1 in 2023 or earlier, they were in the last cohorts under streaming. If your younger child enters Sec 1 in 2024 or later, they are under Full SBB. The two children will have had genuinely different secondary school experiences. The biggest difference is that your younger child has more flexibility to match their subject levels to their individual strengths, rather than being locked into one stream.
Does this affect my child’s chances of getting into a good secondary school?
No. The secondary school admission process through the S1 Posting Exercise works essentially the same way. Your child’s PSLE score determines which schools they can apply to, and schools admit students based on PSLE scores and choice order, just as before. The only difference is that the label has changed from Express, NA, or NT to Posting Group 3, 2, or 1.
What This Means for Tuition Decisions
The end of streaming does not change the fundamental importance of PSLE performance. A stronger PSLE score still means more school options and higher starting G levels. What it does change is how parents should think about academic support.
Under the old system, the goal was often binary: get into Express or fall into Normal. Parents pushed for overall aggregate improvement regardless of subject-specific strengths. Under Full SBB, the goal is more nuanced: help your child achieve the best possible AL in each individual subject, because each subject’s AL determines its own G level independently.
This means targeted tuition for specific subjects is more valuable than general cramming. If your child is strong in English but weak in Mathematics, investing in Math tuition that pushes them from AL5 to AL4 has a direct, measurable impact. It means they can start secondary school taking Math at G3 instead of G2. That one level difference affects their post-secondary options for years.
At BrightMinds Education in Woodlands, we work with parents to identify which subjects need the most support and set realistic, subject-by-subject AL targets. Our full-time tutors understand the PSLE-to-posting-group-to-G-level chain, and we help students cross the AL thresholds that matter most.
Whether your child is aiming for Posting Group 3 and the most competitive schools in the north, or building a strong foundation to move up from G2 to G3 during secondary school, we are here to support that journey.
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