Sec 1 posting outcomes 'comparable' to previous years', says MOE, despite bumper Dragon cohort

Some parents have expressed concerns over kids not getting into school of choice

- Gabrielle Chan

The recent Secondary 1 posting outcomes were "comparable" to those of the previous cohort, with more than 80 per cent of pupils being posted to a school of their first, second or third choice.

Also similar to previous years, more than nine in 10 secured a place in one of the six schools they chose, said the Ministry of Education (MOE).

Most pupils who needed a tie-breaker were sorted by citizenship and school choice order, with about one in 10 going through computerised balloting, said a spokeswoman for MOE. These trends were similar to previous years.

Since the Sec 1 posting results were announced, some parents had taken to online forums to express concerns that their children did not make it to their secondary school of choice.

They said there seemed to be significant changes in school cut-off points and wondered if this was due to the larger Dragon cohort size.

In 2024, 40,894 pupils sat the PSLE, compared with 38,088 in 2023, 37,095 in 2022 and 39,119 in 2021.

The Dragon Year occurs once every 12 years in the Chinese zodiac cycle, and each time, the year has historically marked the peak of live births in Singapore.

The Straits Times spoke to several parents whose children went through the Sec 1 posting process in 2024. All of them said they noticed a drop in cut-off scores by at least one point.

According to the parents, the cut-off point for Raffles Girls' School, for example, dropped from six to five, and Hwa Chong Institution from seven to six.

Some said their children were not posted to any of their six choices, despite getting scores that would have qualified them for entry in previous years.

The parents cited a possible increase in demand for various schools due to the bumper 2024 Dragon Year batch, with some turning to discussions on Facebook groups and Reddit forums in the past week.