Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level


The Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level examination is a national examination held annually in Singapore. The examinations are jointly conducted by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate, Singapore Ministry of Education as well as the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board.
Despite the engagement of an identical examination board as partnering authority, the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level examination have no relation to the British GCSE examinations, having de-linked since 2006 when the Singapore Ministry of Education took over the management of the national examination. This is owing to the stark differences in the development of the respective education systems in the two countries. Nevertheless, the qualification is recognised internationally as equivalent to the International General Certificate of Secondary Education, taken by international candidates including Singaporean students who take the exam as private candidates, as well as the General Certificate of Secondary Education examination taken by students in the United Kingdom.
The national examination is taken by secondary school students at the end of their fourth year or fifth year, and is open to private candidates. Recent studies show that approximately 30,000 students take the Singapore-Cambridge GCE O-Level exams annually.

Syllabus

Examined subjects taken in English and international languages are set and marked by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate, with the standards and grading for the subjects determined by SEAB and MOE in consultation with the Cambridge International Examinations, a subsidiary of UCLES. Localised subjects, including Mother Tongue subjects such as Chinese, Malay and Tamil and Combined Humanities are set, marked and graded locally by the Singapore Ministry of Education.
After the examination, standard papers are sent to Cambridge International Examinations board for marking. For localised papers, the personal details of the student are omitted with the use of the Integrated Examination System where bar-code labels are used. Local teachers would not be able to recognise scripts from students of his or her own school as the candidates' names are neither written on the papers nor printed on the labels, hence preventing malpractice of teachers.

Grades

Candidates are graded based on their performance relative to the cohort. A grade in one GCE exam subject consists of a number and an accompanying letter. In descending order of achievement, the grades are: A, B, C, D7, E8, and F9. A grade of C6 or better is considered an O-level pass. Obtaining a pass in one or more subjects will lead to a Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education. Candidates whose subject are denoted as 'Absent' - should they be absent from any component for the subject - will not have the subject listed on the certificate; this is likewise for those who obtain a Grade 9, though it will appear on the result slip.
The grades of six or five subjects taken are added to give an aggregate score known as L1R5, or EL1R2B2, which is a separate aggregate scoring system used for polytechnic admission. The score is calculated by adding up the numeral of each grade. For example, a candidate who scores a grade of A1 in six subjects will have an L1R5 score of six.

Subjects

Special and Express students

All Special and Express stream students are required to take a minimum of six subjects, but are allowed to take up to a maximum of nine. Students who wish to take ten subjects must obtain permission from the Ministry of Education. All Special and Express students must take the following subjects:
Students in the Normal stream take four to seven subjects including:
The Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board is the examining authority for Mother Tongue subjects. The Mother Tongue paper is different from the other papers, in that it includes a "Mid-Year Examination" for written papers, taken on the first Monday of the June school holidays. The Oral and Listening Comprehension papers are usually taken in July, and the results for Mother Tongue are subsequently released in August. However, the candidate may opt to re-take the paper in October/November along with the other papers that the candidate has registered for, though an additional fee is payable. The November re-assessment only covers the written examinations; no re-assessment is available for the Oral and Listening Comprehension component of the examination.
The best result of the two assessments is reflected in the result slip which will be released in January the following year. In addition to the grade, it will also show the candidate's performance in the Oral/Aural Examination as Distinction, Merit, Pass or Ungraded.
With effect from 2007, the use of approved electronic handheld dictionaries in O-level Chinese language composition examinations has been allowed.

Social Studies

Social Studies, the compulsory subject of the two components in Combined Humanities, is used as an implicit study of National Education. The last Social Studies syllabus for GCE N and O Level was revised in 2016. There are two sections in the national examination namely, Source-based Case Study and Structured Response Question. For the SBCS section, students are required to examine and evaluate sources pertaining to three Social Studies Issues Governance and Citizenship Living a Diverse Society Being Part of a Globalised World. For the SRQ section, students are also required to offer suggestions to address societal concerns arising from the three issues. Apart from the government schools, specialised private institutions offers Social Studies lessons to help students develop knowledge and skills required to master the subject.

School-based Science Practical Assessment

Pure Science subjects include the School-based Science Practical Assessment for school candidates. It assesses candidates' competence in science practical skills over an appropriate period of time that the candidates is offering the subject, and forms 20% of the overall mark for the subject. While the questions are set by the Ministry of Education, the assessment is scheduled, carried out and marked by the school before submitting the scripts to the MOE. The scores for the assessment are kept confidential and are never disclosed to the candidates. The assessment is grouped into three skill sets:
Skill set 1 – Performing and Observing
Skill set 2 – Analysing
Skill set 3 – Planning
Each candidate is to be assessed only twice for each of skill sets 1 and 2 and only once for skill set 3.
In 2018, the revision of the O Level Science Syllabus will see the SPA Component being phased out and replaced by the previous one-time Practical Examinations again.

List of subjects examined

Cambridge Subjects
Subject CodeSubjectLanguage mediumNotes
1128 English LanguageEnglish
1135 Arabic as a 3rd LanguageArabicFor school candidates only.
1136 Indonesian as a 3rd LanguageIndonesianFor school candidates only.
2049 Religious Studies EnglishFor private candidates only.
2065 Literature in EnglishEnglish
2174 HistoryEnglish
2204 Combined HumanitiesEnglishLast year of examination in 2017. May be offered to repeat school candidates from 5N in 2018.
2236 GeographyEnglish
2267 Combined HumanitiesEnglish
2272 Humanities EnglishOffered from 2018 to replace Combined Humanities syllabus 2267.
2273 Humanities EnglishOffered from 2018 to replace Combined Humanities syllabus 2267.
2274 Humanities EnglishOffered from 2018 to replace Combined Humanities syllabus 2267.
2275 Humanities EnglishOffered from 2018 to replace Combined Humanities syllabus 2267.
2276 Humanities EnglishOffered from 2018 to replace Combined Humanities syllabus 2267.
2277 Humanities EnglishOffered from 2018 to replace Combined Humanities syllabus 2267.
3012 FrenchFrench
3028 GermanGerman
3034 SpanishSpanishFor school candidates only.
3186 ArabicArabicFor private candidates only.
3194 HindiHindi
3196 UrduUrdu
3199 GujaratiGujarati
3203 PanjabiPanjabi
3215 BengaliBengali
3249 BurmeseBurmese
3260 ThaiThai
3261 JapaneseJapanese
4047 Additional MathematicsEnglish
4048 MathematicsEnglish
5059 Physics EnglishLast year of examination in 2018. For school candidates only.
5064 PhysicsEnglishLast year of examination in 2017. For private candidates only.
5073 Chemistry EnglishLast year of examination in 2018. For school candidates only.
5074 ChemistryEnglishLast year of examination in 2017. For private candidates only.
5076 Science English
5077 Science English
5078 Science English
5108 BiologyEnglishLast year of examination in 2017. For private candidates only.
5158 Biology EnglishLast year of examination in 2018. For school candidates only.
6063 ElectronicsEnglishNew subject from 2018. For school candidates only.
6085 MusicEnglishFor school candidates only.
6086 Higher MusicEnglishFor school candidates only.
6087 Food and Nutrition/Food and Consumer Education EnglishFor school candidates only.
6091 PhysicsEnglishRevised syllabus from 2018.
6092 ChemistryEnglishRevised syllabus from 2018.
6093 BiologyEnglishRevised syllabus from 2018.
6123 ArtEnglishFor school candidates only.
6124 Higher ArtEnglishFor school candidates only.
7051 Design and TechnologyEnglishFor school candidates only.
7155 ComputingEnglishNew subject from 2018. For school candidates only.
7175 Principles of AccountsEnglish

O-Level School Initiated Elective Cambridge Subjects
Subject CodeSubjectLanguage mediumNotes
2286 EconomicsEnglishFor school candidates only.
5999 DramaEnglishFor school candidates only.
6080 Physical EducationEnglishFor school candidates only.
7017 Computer StudiesEnglishLast year of examination in 2017. For school candidates only.
7085 Business StudiesEnglishFor school candidates only.

Note: The above electives are applicable only for candidates from schools approved to offer the subjects.
Applied Subjects
Subject CodeSubjectLanguage mediumNotes
NP01 Fundamentals of ElectronicsEnglishLast year of examination in 2017. For school candidates only.
NP03 Media StudiesChineseLast year of examination in 2017. For school candidates only.
NP04 BiotechnologyEnglishFor school candidates only.
NP05 Design StudiesEnglishFor school candidates only.
NP06 Media StudiesEnglishLast year of examination in 2017. For school candidates only.

Note: The above Applied Subjects are applicable only for candidates from schools approved to offer the subjects. Candidates registering for Applied Subjects will be charged subject fees cited by the examining agencies.
Local Subjects Examined in Chinese
Subject CodeSubjectLanguage mediumNotes
1116 Higher ChineseChinese
1153 Chinese BChineseChinese B is not an O-Level subject.
1160 ChineseChinese
1166 Chinese Chinese
2093 Literature in ChineseChinese

Local Subjects Examined in Malay
Subject CodeSubjectLanguage mediumNotes
1117 Higher MalayMalay
1133 Malay Malay
1148 MalayMalay
1151 Malay BMalayMalay B is not an O-Level subject.
2080 Islamic Religious KnowledgeMalayFor private candidates only.
2094 Literature in MalayMalayLast year of examination in 2017.
2238 Literature in MalayMalayRevised syllabus from 2018.

Local Subjects Examined in Tamil
Subject CodeSubjectLanguage mediumNotes
1147 Higher TamilTamil
1152 Tamil BTamilTamil B is not an O-Level subject.
1157 TamilTamil
2098 Literature in TamilTamil