Primary one to primary four is the basic stage, which aims to lay a solid foundation for students in English, mother tongue and mathematics. The main subjects are English, mother tongue and mathematics. During the four years, on average, 33% of the time was spent studying English, 27% studying mother tongue, 20% studying mathematics, and the rest were subjects such as art, handicrafts, music and physical education. Primary five and six are adaptation stages, and children will be assigned to one of the three main language sources. Each kind of curriculum will enable children to cooperate with the curriculum of secondary education, and children will take the school leaving exam after completing primary six.
Students who pass the primary school graduation examination can enter middle school, which is divided into three courses: special class, express class and ordinary class. Students in the first two courses can take the "general" level examination of general education certificate in the fourth year of middle school. Students with good grades in ordinary classes can take this test in the fifth grade.
More than half (56%) of primary school graduates have been promoted to fast classes, and 38% have been promoted to ordinary classes. The mother tongue of the students in the two classes is only the second language level. About 75% of the students in ordinary classes have achieved satisfactory results in the "N" level examination of the general secondary school entrance examination and have been promoted to Secondary Five.
There are four kinds of middle school courses.
Characteristic courses: four-year courses, students can take advanced mother tongue, and one of advanced mother tongue and English can be used as the first language. Express course: 4-year course, students can only take express mother tongue course, and other courses are the same as characteristic courses, with English as the first language. General academic courses: 5-year courses, in which students take the Cambridge N-level exam in the fourth year, and can take the fifth year course after passing, and then take the Cambridge General Diploma exam with students of special/fast courses.
General technical courses: 4/5-year courses, students have two main courses, English and mathematics. In the fourth year, they took the Cambridge N-level exam. Most students will not take the fifth-grade course after the N-level exam, but go directly to the technical college.
Qualified middle school graduates choose junior college, senior middle school and junior college (junior college) to continue their studies or enter social work according to their grades and interests. The preparatory course for junior college is two years, while that for senior high school is three years.
There are five public universities and one private university in Singapore, namely: National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University, Singapore University of Science and Technology and Design, Singapore University of Science and Technology and Niigata University of Social Sciences. Five polytechnics: Nanyang Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic, Aang Polytechnic and Republic Polytechnic. These universities are all 3/4-year institutions, while others are private institutions, generally 1/2-year institutions.