Why Were 2025 Secondary School Cut-off Points Looser? Will 2026 Be Tighter?
Many parents comparing 2024 and 2025 cut-off points notice that schools got "easier" in 2025. They did. We compared the PG3 non-affiliated cut-off points of 129 schools (excluding undersubscribed cases).
Three years of data
| Change | 2023 → 2024 | 2024 → 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Stricter (number went down) | 76 schools | 7 schools |
| No change | 51 schools | 70 schools |
| Looser (number went up) | 2 schools | 52 schools |
| Average change | -0.65 | +0.37 |
A smaller AL is better, so a smaller cut-off number means harder to get in. 2024 tightened broadly; most schools loosened again in 2025.
The reason: cohort size
Cut-off points come from how many students compete for how many places. Places change little year to year; the cohort does:
| PSLE year | Candidates |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 38,088 |
| 2024 | 40,894 |
| 2025 | 37,926 |
About 2,800 more students sat the PSLE in 2024, so the same places went to stronger scores. In 2025 the cohort shrank and cut-offs eased.
Biggest moves in 2025
Looser by 2 points or more:
| School | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crescent Girls' School | 10 | 13 | +3 |
| Jurongville Secondary | 20 | 22 | +2 |
| Admiralty Secondary | 20 | 22 | +2 |
Stricter:
| School | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serangoon Secondary | 22 | 20 | -2 |
| Manjusri Secondary | 22 | 21 | -1 |
| Yuhua Secondary | 21 | 20 | -1 |
| New Town Secondary | 21 | 20 | -1 |
| Peicai Secondary | 21 | 20 | -1 |
| Junyuan Secondary | 22 | 21 | -1 |
| Bartley Secondary | 22 | 21 | -1 |
What about 2026
Most 2026 PSLE candidates were born in 2014. Singapore recorded 42,232 births in 2014, about 6% more than the 39,720 in 2013. If the cohort grows accordingly, 2026 cut-offs may tighten as they did in 2024. MOE usually publishes the PSLE cohort size in late November.
What it means for your choices: leave a margin when using 2025 cut-offs. A school you just make on 2025 numbers may need a point better in 2026. A safer test is the strictest of the three years: a school you would have got into every year is a true safe choice.
Our personalised report flags the 2024 effect for each school and sorts schools into reach, match and safe using all three years.