Last Updated: 04 July 2023
Supplementary Placement Exercise (SPE)
3. Test details
The SPE tests are conducted within a day and will be held on Wednesday, 6 December 2023.Your child has to report to the test venue stated on their entry proof and sit at their assigned desks at least 15 minutes before the tests begin.
Preparing for SPE tests
Your child needs to be familiar with the English and Mathematics topics taught in mainstream secondary schools, such as:
- Topics in Primary 6 for Secondary 1 admission.
- Topics in Secondary 1 for Secondary 2 admission.
- Topics in Secondary 2 for Secondary 3 admission.
Refer to our primary school syllabus or secondary school syllabus for more information.
Test details
The English test comprises two parts. Your child will be given 2 hours and 10 minutes to complete it:
Part 1: Writing
2 topics are set for Secondary 1, while 4 topics are set for Secondary 2 and Secondary 3.
Your child has to choose 1 topic for composition writing. The word limits for the different academic level are as follows:
- Secondary 1: 200 to 300 words
- Secondary 2: 250 to 350 words
- Secondary 3: 300 to 400 words
Part 2: Comprehension and language use
Compulsory multiple-choice questions
- Comprehension (based on 2 passages): 15 items
- Comprehension cloze (based on 2 passages): 15 items
- Vocabulary: 10 items
- Grammar: 10 items
The Mathematics test comprises 2 parts. Your child will be given 30 minutes to complete Part 1, and 1 hour and 45 minutes to complete Part 2. They will not be allowed to use a calculator.
Part 1
Multiple-choice questions: 34 items
Part 2
- Short-answer questions: 20 items
- Open-ended questions: 10 to 15 items
For both short-answer and open-ended questions, your child has to show the method of solution clearly by writing their working steps in the spaces provided in addition to providing the final answers.
Generally, open-ended questions require longer and more complex method of solutions as compared to short-answer questions.