2019 School Placement Exercise for Returning Singaporeans

1. The 2019 School Placement Exercise for Returning Singaporeans (SPERS) will be open for application from 3 July 2019 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 2020 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 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, and then indicate their school choices to be posted to a suitable school.

3. RS children seeking admission to Secondary 1 to 3 in 2020 can take the SPERS-Sec tests scheduled on 17 September 2019. RS seeking admission to Pre-University 1 can take the SPERS-JC/MI tests on 14 November 2019. In view that Sec 4 and Pre-U 2 are national examination years, RS generally will not re-enter the school system at these levels. SPERS applicants will receive their school placement results in December 2019, enabling them to join

Supplementary Placement Exercise (SPE)

4. For RS who are unable to return in time to sit for the SPERS-Sec tests in September 2019, 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 2019. Applicants will receive their school placement results in early February 2020 for admissions from February 2020. SPE application will open in October 2019.

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 2020 academic year in January together with their peers.

Application for SPERS or SPE

6. Details of the 2019 SPERS-Sec, SPE and SPERS-JC/MI exercises can be found in Annex A. For more information and to submit an application, please refer to the MOE RS website at https://www.moe.gov.sg/admissions/returning-singaporeans/.

Alternative Facilitated Admissions via Assured School Placement for RS Unable to Participate in SPERS-Sec or SPE

7. For RS who are unable to participate in the centralised placement exercises, they can refer to the MOE RS website for our assured school placement service (https://www.moe.gov.sg/admissions/returning-singaporeans/admission-to-secondary-school/assured-school-placement). MOE will facilitate RS admission into one of our secondary schools with vacancies near their residence. The school may conduct school-based assessments and/or an interview to determine the level and course to place the child in, before the child starts school.

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 near the child’s residence, 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 school-based tests after admission to ascertain the child’s current attainment level and provide the appropriate assistance to help the child settle into the school.