The SEC Exam Explained: What Replaces O-Levels from 2027

13 October 2026 · Tutor Circle

From 2027, the GCE N-Level and O-Level examinations are replaced by one Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate, the SEC. Students sit each subject at G1, G2 or G3 and get one certificate. The standard of a G3 paper stays the O-Level standard. Sec 3 students in 2026 are the first cohort to sit it.

Two students in white shirts walking away from a school building with folders — Sec 4 in 2026 still sits the GCE N-Level or O-Level. Sec 3 in 2026 sits the SEC in 2027.

First SEC: 2027, for the students who entered Sec 1 in 2024
Who they are now: Sec 3 in 2026
Last O-Level and N-Level: The Sec 4 class of 2026
G3 grades: A1, A2, B3, B4, C5, C6, D7, E8, 9
G2 grades: 1 to 6
Results: January, after a common written period from October

What changes

SEAB will combine the GCE N(T), N(A) and O-Level examinations and rename them the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate. The certificate is still jointly awarded by SEAB, MOE and Cambridge International Education. A candidate gets one certificate showing every subject and the level it was taken at. [1]

Table 1. The examination a family is actually waiting for. Sources: SEAB’s SEC page and MOE’s 4 March 2024 infosheet.
	2026 and before	From 2027
Name	GCE N(T), N(A) and O-Level, as separate exams	One SEC
Certificate	Separate N and O certificates	One certificate, with G1, G2 and G3 on it
English and Mother Tongue written papers	Inside the main written window, with a mid-year Mother Tongue sitting at O-Level	September, together
Other written papers	N-Level earlier than O-Level	One common period starting in October
Results	N-Level in December, O-Level later	January of the following year

Three dates that get mixed up in family chats. Only the middle one is the first SEC sitting.

What stays the same

SEAB states that the mode of assessment and the overall examination standards for the SEC are the same as for the GCE N(A), N(T) and O-Level examinations. Oral, listening and practicals still come before the written papers. [1] A G3 Mathematics paper is the descendant of O-Level Elementary Mathematics, and G3 Additional Mathematics is the descendant of O-Level Additional Mathematics. Parents can keep the names E Math and A Math. The certificate will show the subject and the level.

G3 uses A1, A2, B3, B4, C5, C6, D7, E8 and 9.
G2 uses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.
G1 uses A, B, C, D and E.
A certificate is awarded when the grade is E8 or better at G3, 5 or better at G2, or D or better at G1.

How G2 and G3 affect the certificate

The level is chosen subject by subject. A student can take English at G3 and Mathematics at G2, or the reverse. The Posting Group at Sec 1 only sets the starting level of most subjects. [3] By Sec 3 the school has already moved some students, based on school results. The SEC records the level actually sat, not the Posting Group from four years earlier.

G3 is the level that maps onto today’s O-Level. G2 maps onto today’s N(A). That mapping is why a G3 A1 and a G2 grade 1 are not the same grade written two ways. They are different papers. MOE’s later polytechnic rule is explicit about this: a G3 grade can be mapped down to a G2 grade for one admission subject, using a published table. A1, A2 and B3 map to 1. B4, C5 and C6 map to 2. D7 maps to 3. E8 maps to 4. A grade 9 maps to 5. [2]

Timeline for Sec 3 and Sec 4

A secondary student studying at a desk under a lamp at night — The first SEC written papers are in 2027. The work that year is the same syllabus, under the new certificate name.

Table 2. Where each class is in October 2026.
Class in 2026	National exam	What to do this year
Sec 4	Last GCE O-Level or N-Level, in 2026	Prepare for the paper they are already registered for. The SEC does not rewrite this sitting.
Sec 3	SEC in 2027, at the end of Sec 4	Choose combinations now. A Math and pure science, if the school offers them, are G3 subjects on that certificate.
Sec 2	SEC in 2028	The Sec 3 combination next year is the one that will be on the certificate.
Sec 1, and P6 going up in 2027	SEC a few years on	Learn the Posting Group and the starting G level. The exam format can be read later.

For the first SEC cohort, English and Mother Tongue written papers are in September 2027, with the other written papers from October 2027, and results in January 2028. [2] That January release is later than the old N-Level December release. Polytechnic and JC application windows will follow the dates MOE publishes for that intake, not the 2026 O-Level calendar.

JC and polytechnic

Junior college H2 Mathematics still assumes Additional Mathematics. A student without it can be posted to a JC on the aggregate and may be offered H1 Mathematics instead. That is the usual pattern. The binding rule is the year’s admission criteria, which each JC publishes.

Polytechnic Year 1, from the 2028 intake, uses a common benchmark of four G3 subjects and one G2 subject. A student who takes the relevant subject at G2 can offer it. A student who takes both of the mapped subjects at G3 has the weaker one mapped down with the table above. [2] Course pages will still name the sciences or mathematics they want. Combined science at G3 remains a real qualification. Pure science is the heavier load, and it is the one science-heavy courses are written around.

The combination decision itself, A Math against E Math only, and pure science against combined science, is set out on the Sec 3 subject combinations page. Hourly rates for a Sec 3 specialist are on the 2026 rate table.

Request an A Math or Pure Science tutor

Questions parents ask

What is the SEC exam in Singapore?

The Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate, or SEC, is the national secondary examination from 2027. It replaces the GCE N(T), N(A) and O-Level examinations. Students sit each subject at G1, G2 or G3 and receive one certificate that lists the subjects and the levels.

Is the SEC the same standard as the O-Level?

SEAB says the mode of assessment and the overall examination standards stay the same as the GCE N(A), N(T) and O-Level examinations. A G3 subject uses the O-Level grade names, A1 to 9. A G2 subject uses grades 1 to 6, as N(A) does. A G1 subject uses grades A to E, as N(T) does. The change is one certificate and one common timetable, not a new standard for G3.

Who sits the SEC first?

The cohort that entered Secondary 1 in 2024. In 2026 those students are in Sec 3, and they sit the SEC in 2027 at the end of Sec 4. Students who are in Sec 4 in 2026 are the last cohort for the separate GCE N-Level and O-Level.

Does G2 still lead to polytechnic?

From the 2028 polytechnic Year 1 intake, students can offer one relevant subject at G2. The common benchmark becomes four G3 subjects and one G2 subject, instead of five G3 subjects. MOE has published a grade mapping from G3 to G2 for students who offer both of the mapped subjects at G3. Course requirements still differ, so read the year’s criteria before treating G2 as enough for every course.

Do Sec 3 students still need A Math and pure science?

Additional Mathematics and the separate sciences are still the heavier G3 subjects, and junior college H2 Mathematics still assumes Additional Mathematics in the usual pattern. They are not compulsory for every student. The choice, and what each combination keeps open, is on the Sec 3 subject combinations page.

Sources

Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board, “Secondary Education Certificate (SEC)”. From 2027 the GCE N(T), N(A) and O-Level examinations are combined and renamed the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate. Students sit subjects at G1, G2 or G3. The certificate is jointly awarded by SEAB, MOE and Cambridge International Education. Assessment standards match the current N- and O-Level examinations. G1 grades are A to E, G2 grades are 1 to 6, and G3 grades are A1 to 9. Accessed 13 October 2026. https://www.seab.gov.sg/secondary-education-certificate-sec/
Ministry of Education, infosheet, 4 March 2024, “Full SBB-related changes on SEC examination timetable, polytechnic Year 1 admission criteria”. English and Mother Tongue written papers move to September. Other written papers share one period from October. Results are released in January. From the 2028 polytechnic Year 1 intake, one relevant subject may be offered at G2, on a benchmark of four G3 subjects and one G2 subject. The infosheet includes the G3-to-G2 grade mapping. Accessed 13 October 2026. https://www.moe.gov.sg/news/press-releases/20240304-infosheet-2-full-sbb-related-changes-on-sec-examination-timetable-polytechnic-year-1-admission-criteria
Ministry of Education, “What are Posting Groups”, updated 26 February 2026. Posting Groups guide the initial G1, G2 or G3 level at Secondary 1. Accessed 13 October 2026. https://www.moe.gov.sg/secondary/s1-posting/how-to-choose/what-are-posting-groups