2018 School Placement Exercise For Returning Singaporeans

1. The 2018 School Placement Exercise for Returning Singaporeans (SPERS) will be open for application from 4 July 2018 for Singaporean children who are returning from overseas and wish to join our secondary schools, junior colleges (JC) or Millennia Institute (MI) at the start of the 2019 academic year. The application can be done via the following links:

SPERS-Sec: https://www.moe.gov.sg/admissions/returning-singaporeans/admission-to-secondary-school/spers-sec

SPERS-JC/MI: https://www.moe.gov.sg/admissions/returning-singaporeans/admission-to-post-secondary-institutions/admission-to-jc-mi/spers-jc-mi

2. SPERS is a centralised placement exercise held towards the end of each year for Returning Singaporeans (RS) who have lived and/or studied overseas and now want to seek a place in a local school. With SPERS, Singaporean parents working abroad can apply for easier re-entry into the mainstream school system for their children when they relocate back to Singapore. RS children will only need to sit for one set of centralised SPERS tests for admission.

3. RS children seeking admission to Secondary 1 to 3 in 2019 can take the SPERS-Sec tests scheduled on 19 September 2018. RS youth seeking admission to Pre-University 1 can take the SPERS-JC/MI tests on 15 November 2018. As Sec 4 and Pre-U 2 are national examination years, RS generally will not re-enter the school system at these levels. Applicants will receive their school placement results in December 2018, enabling them to join our secondary schools and JC/MI at the start of the school term in 2019.

Supplementary Placement Exercise (SPE)

4. For RS who are unable to return in time to sit for the SPERS-Sec tests in September 2018, MOE will conduct a Supplementary Placement Exercise (SPE) to facilitate their admission into our secondary schools. The centralised tests for SPE will be held in mid-December 2018. Applicants will receive their school placement results in early February 2019 for admissions from February 2019. SPE application will open in October 2018.

5. While RS can choose to take part in either the SPERS-Sec or SPE, RS are advised to apply for SPERS-Sec if they are able to return in September since this would allow their children to benefit from starting the 2019 academic year in January together with their peers.

Information/Application Website

6. Details of the 2018 SPERS-Sec, SPE and SPERS-JC/MI exercises can be found in the Annex. For more information and to submit an application, please refer to the MOE RS website at https://www.moe.gov.sg/admissions/returning-singaporeans/ or contact us at:

MOE Customer Service Centre
1 North Buona Vista Drive
Email: MOE_Returnhome@moe.gov.sg
Tel: 6872 2220
(Mon-Fri: 8.30am - 5.30pm / Sat: 8.30am - 12.30pm)

7. RS who are unable to participate in the centralised placement exercises may wish to refer to the MOE RS website or contact MOE (details above) for other options on school admission.

Primary-School Admissions

8. RS of primary-school age who are seeking admission into primary schools may approach MOE at any time of the year for assistance. MOE will offer the RS a place in a primary school with vacancies which is also near the child’s home, at a level appropriate for the child’s age cohort.

9. The RS will not have to sit for any placement test for admission, although the primary school may conduct assessment tests after admission to ascertain the child’s current attainment level and provide the appropriate assistance to help the child settle into the school.