Secondary 3 Subject Combinations Information Booklet

St Patrick’s School’s Sec 3 Subject Combinations page outlines the available academic pathways and subjects offered to students entering upper secondary. It explains subject requirements, option structures, and selection guidelines, helping students make informed choices that align with their strengths, interests, and future educational goals.

Last updated 27 August 2026

Important Dates

Important Dates

Jan 2026	First Briefing to Sec 2 Parents
Term 3	Subject Combination Selection Familiarisation Exercise
Term 3	Briefing on Subject Combination
29 Sep – 10 Oct	End of Year Examinations
21 Oct	Release of Exam Results
23 Oct – 26 Oct	Subject Combination Selection Exercise
23 Oct – 26 Oct	Subject Combination Consultation Sessions
6 Nov	Release of Subject Combination Results
6 Nov – 10 Nov	Submission of Appeal (if applicable)
16 Nov	Release of Appeal Outcome

Allocation Criteria for Subjection Combinations

1. Merit

The primary consideration is the student’s academic performance. Students who have done well overall, and who meet the prerequisites for their preferred subject combination, will be given priority.

2. Choice Order

The school values each student’s interests and preferences. Students will be allocated the subject combination in the order of their choice, provided they meet all the pre-requisite criteria.

3. Availability of Places

While the school will make every effort to accommodate students’ choices, the final allocation is also subject to the availability of resources and teaching manpower. In instances where the subject combination has reached its maximum enrolment size*, students will be allocated to their next choice.

* Elective subjects such as Computing, Nutrition and Food Science (NFS), Design and Technology (D&T), and Music have limited vacancies as they require the use of specialised facilities.

Common Academic Requirement

Students to attain subject overall mark of at least 50% (regardless of subject level) in:

English Language and 2 subjects, or
At least half the total number of examinable subjects offered

Full Subject-Based Banding

At the end of Sec 2 and Sec 3, students must meet the common academic requirement to offer subjects at the same subject levels the following year. Students who have not met academic requirements are to calibrate their curricular load by one or more of the following ways:

Reducing the number of subjects (e.g. only offering 6 subjects)
Offering elective subject(s) at Less Demanding Level (e.g. G3 to G2)

G3 Subject Combinations

G3 subject combinations by combination number

	Combi 1	Combi 2	Combi 3	Combi 4	Combi 5	Combi 6	Combi 7
1	English	English	English	English	English	English	English
2	Mother Tongue	Mother Tongue	Mother Tongue	Mother Tongue	Mother Tongue	Mother Tongue	Mother Tongue
3	Mathematics	Mathematics	Mathematics	Mathematics	Mathematics	Mathematics	Mathematics
4	Hum (SS/Hist) or Hum (SS/Geog)	Hum (SS/Hist) or Hum (SS/Geog)	Hum (SS/Hist) or Hum (SS/Geog)	Hum (SS/Hist) or Hum (SS/Geog)	Hum (SS/Hist) or Hum (SS/Geog)	Hum (SS/Hist) or Hum (SS/Geog)	Hum (SS/Hist) or Hum (SS/Geog)
5	Chemistry	Chemistry	SCI(C/P) or SCI(C/B)	SCI(C/P) or SCI(C/B)	SCI(C/P) or SCI(C/B)	SCI(C/P) or SCI(C/B)	SCI(C/P) or SCI(C/B)
6	Physics	Biology	Computing	Geography	Literature	D&T	POA
7	Add Maths	Add Maths	Add Maths	Add Maths	Add Maths	Add Maths	Add Maths

G3 subject combinations by combination number

	Combi 8	Combi 9	Combi 10	Combi 11
1	English	English	English	English
2	Mother Tongue	Mother Tongue	Mother Tongue	Mother Tongue
3	Mathematics	Mathematics	Mathematics	Mathematics
4	Hum (SS/Hist)	Hum (SS/Hist) or Hum (SS/Geog)	Hum (SS/Hist) or Hum (SS/Geog)	Hum (SS/Hist) or Hum (SS/Geog)
5	SCI(C/P) or SCI(C/B)	SCI(C/P) or SCI(C/B)	SCI(C/P) or SCI(C/B)	SCI(C/P) or SCI(C/B)
6	Geography	Literature	D&T	POA

G3 subject entry criteria by subject

Subject	Criteria
Chemistry / Physics / Biology	Sec 2 G3 Science ≥ 75% Sec 2 G3 Mathematics > 60%
Computing	Sec 2 G3 Maths ≥ 65%
Additional Mathematics	Sec 2 G3 Maths ≥ 60%
Literature	Sec 2 G3 Literature ≥ 50%
Geography	Sec 2 G3 Geography ≥ 60%
D&T	Sec 2 G3 D&T ≥ 70% Sec 2 G2 D&T ≥ 60%
POA	Sec 2 G3 Maths ≥ 50%

G2 Subject Combinations

G2 Subject Combinations

	Combi 12	Combi 13
1	English	English
2	Mother Tongue	Mother Tongue
3	Mathematics	Mathematics
4	Hum (SS/Hist) or Hum (SS/Geog)	Hum (SS/Hist) or Hum (SS/Geog)
5	SCI(C/P)	SCI(C/P)
6	D&T	POA

G1 Subject Combinations

G2 Subject Combinations

	Combi 14	Combi 15
1	English	English
2	Mother Tongue	Mother Tongue
3	Mathematics	Mathematics
4	Science	Science
5	Computing	Computing
6	Nutrition & Food Science	Music
7	Social Studies (Non-examinable)	Social Studies (Non-examinable)

Post Secondary Articulation Options

Pathway Navigator tool on MySkillsfuture portal to check Post Secondary eligibility:

https://www.myskillsfuture.gov.sg/content/student/en/secondary/education-guide/pathway-navigator.html

JC/MI: Aggregate Computation

JC and MI eligibility criteria and aggregate computation

	JC	MI	Subject Level Required
L1	English or Higher Mother Tongue Language		G3
R1	Any 1 best-scoring subject from Humanities		G3
R2	Any 1 best-scoring subject from Mathematics or Science		G3
R3	Any 1 best- scoring subject from Humanities, Mathematics, or Science		G3
R4	Any 1 best-scoring subject		G3
Qualifying Threshold Eligibility	L1R4 ≤ 16	L1R4 ≤ 20	5 G3

JC/MI: Grade requirements for specific subjects

JC and MI minimum grade requirements by subject

Subject	Grade
English Language	A1 - C6 at G3
Mathematics (Elementary/Additional)	A1 – D7 at G3
Any one Mother Tongue Language (MTL)	MTL: A1 – D7 at G3 1 – 5 at G2 A – D at G1	HMTL: A1 – E8 at G3

Subject

Grade

English Language

A1 - C6 at G3

Mathematics (Elementary/Additional)

A1 – D7 at G3

Any one Mother Tongue Language (MTL)

MTL:

A1 – D7 at G3

1 – 5 at G2

A – D at G1

HMTL:

A1 – E8 at G3

Polytechnic Year 1: Aggregate Computation

From the AY2028 intake, for the ELR2B2 admission criteria, students can offer one [B] subject taken at either G2 or G3. The remaining four subjects must continue to be offered at G3 to ensure that students can cope with the academic rigour in the polytechnics.
Students will be assessed on a common benchmark of four G3 subjects and one G2 subject. Students who offer both [B] subjects at G3 will have their [B] subject with a lower grade mapped from G3 to G2 based on an empirically validated downward grade mapping table.

Polytechnic ELR2B2 aggregate computation components and grade requirements

Aggregate Type: ELR2B2 ≤ 26
Subjects to choose from		Subject Level Required
EL	English Language	G3
R1	A subject from the 1 st group of relevant subjects
R2	A subject from the 2 nd group of relevant subjects
B1	Best two other subjects
B2	Best two other subjects	G2
Total number of subjects required for computation = 5		4 G3 and 1 G2

Polytechnic Foundation Programme (PFP): Aggregate Computation

The aggregate will be computed at the G2-subject level, and require a gross aggregate score of 12 points of better.

PFP subject-specific grade requirements

Subject Specific Requirements for PFP https://pfp.polytechnic.edu.sg/PFP/pfp_eligibility.html
G2 Subjects	Grade Requirement
English Language	3
Mathematics	3
Relevant Subjects	3
Two “Best” Subjects	4

PFP ELMAB3 aggregate computation components and grade requirements

Aggregate Type: ELMAB3 ≤ 12
	Subjects Required		Subject Level
	For courses in Sciences and Design, Engineering & Technology clusters, including design sub-clusters; and Nursing courses	For courses featured in Humanities, Art, Media and Business cluster and Early Childhood courses
EL	English Language		G2/3
MA	Mathematics		G2/3
B1	Design and Tecnology Nutrition and Food Science Science	Art Humanities Principle of Accounts	G2/3
B2	Any two other subjects		G2/3
B3	Any two other subjects		G2/3
Total number of subjects required for computation = 5 (mapped to G2)			5 G2/3

From the AY2028 PFP intake, the PFP will be expanded to also allow students taking G3 subjects, or a mix of G2 and G3 subjects to access PFP by mapping their G3 grade to the G2 equivalent, using the grade mapping table.

ITE: Aggregate Computation of 2-year Higher Nitec (Year 2 Entry)

From the AY2027 polytechnic intake, all Higher Nitec students with a minimum raw GPA of 3.5 will be guaranteed a place in a mapped polytechnic course.
For the AY2028 ITE intake, admission requirements for direct entry into Year 2 for all Higher Nitec courses will be set at G2.
- Students taking a combination of G3 and G2 subjects can apply for direct entry into Year 2 of Higher Nitec, as long as they obtain ELMAB3≤ 19. G3 subjects will be mapped to G2 for the computation of the aggregate score.

ITE Higher Nitec Year 2 Entry ELMAB3 aggregate computation components and grade requirements

Aggregate Type: ELMAB3 ≤ 19
Subjects to choose from		Subject Level Required
EL	English Language	G2 / G3
MA	Mathematics	G2 / G3
B1	Any 3 other subjects	G2 / G3
B2		G2 / G3
B3		G2 / G3
Total number of subjects required for computation = 5 (mapped to G2)		5 G2 / G3

ITE: Aggregate Computation of 3-year Higher Nitec (Year 1 Entry)

ITE Higher Nitec Year 1 Entry aggregate computation components and grade requirements

Aggregate Type: Based on 4 subjects and Course Entry Requirements
Choose 4 subjects	Subject Level Required
English Language Mathematics Science MTL NFS / Music / Computing / D&T / POA Humanities	G1 / G2
	G1 / G2
	G1 / G2
	G1 / G2
Total number of subjects required for computation = 4 (mapped to G1)	4 G1 / G2

Downward Grade Mapping Table

Downward grade mapping from G3 to G2 and G2 to G1

Downward Grade Mapping Table (from G3 to G2 and from G2 to G1)
G3	G2	G1
A1, A2, B3	1	A
B4, C5, C6	2	A
D7	3	A
E8	4	B
F9	5	C
	6	D
		E

Useful Links:

CourseFinder -

Find out information about course requirements in the Post Secondary Institutes
Explore courses based on aggregate type, score, type of institute and area of interest

(Note: Net aggregate scores in CourseFinder applies only to 2025 graduating cohort)

https://www.moe.gov.sg/coursefinder

MOE FSBB Site -

Find out more about FSBB
https://www.moe.gov.sg/microsites/psle-fsbb/full-subject-based-banding/main.html

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently asked questions on Secondary 3 subject combinations

	Question	Answer
1	Can my son opt to take 8 or more subjects at upper secondary?	A 6 to 7 subject combination allows students time to learn and understand the subjects offered in greater depth. Also enables them to have time for non-academic pursuits and develop their passion (e.g. co-curricular areas) so that they have a more holistic school experience. The time spent in developing your passion can contribute to your EAE application Admission to Junior College (JC) and Polytechnic, is based on 5 relevant subjects only.
2	If they perform well in a core subject by end Sec 3, can they move to G3 in Sec 4?	The increase in syllabus coverage and rigour from G2 to G3 is substantial. The runway to adequately prepare the student to switch from G2 to G3 is limited and this can be very stressful.
3	During Sec 3, what happens if students can’t handle the subjects as well as expected? (G3->G2)	This will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The school can provide counselling and work with your son to strategise the best subject combination to maximise his chance of attaining his goals.
4	Do students have the option of a mix of G2 and G3 subjects? Can a G2 student choose any of the G3 subject combinations?	Yes, please book an appointment to discuss the subject combination in October after release of results
5	Can we offer triple science? Do we need triple science to go JC?	A student does not need to take Triple Science in order to pursue a science-related course at JC. For JC science courses, students must offer Mathematics, up to two Science subjects, and a contrasting Humanities subject. Different JCs may have their own specific requirements and considerations. These are published on the respective JC websites.
6	Why are some subject combinations not offered? Apart from Computing, FCE and Music, are there alternatives offered? Is there no biology or sub science with biology at G2?	The combinations are reviewed annually to ensure that the range of subjects we offer will provide our students a broad range of options for post secondary Combinations are arranged in a way that the subjects can be complementary Combinations offered are also dependent on availability of manpower and physical resources
7	My son is exempted from MT. Can he take another subject to replace MT? For G1 students who take multiple G2 subjects, what are their options in Sec 3? My son has a mix of G3 & G2 or G2 & G1 subjects. What will the combination look like?	We can arrange conversations to discuss options in the best interest of the student. School will organise a Subject Combination Counselling session after the year end results are released. Book a slot with us to walk through the possibilities

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