AL 21 or 22: PG2 or PG3? The Real Trade-off Under Full SBB
AL 21 and 22 are the only scores where parents have to choose a Posting Group (AL 25 can also choose between PG2 and PG1). Many parents default to PG3, feeling the "Express" level is better. But there is a real trade-off behind that choice.
Why the same 22 leads to such different results
In posting, each school has a separate queue for each group:
- Choosing PG3: you queue with students scoring AL 4–22. At 22 you are at the back, and popular schools' PG3 places are filled by students scoring 5–13 long before. In 2025, 32 schools had a PG3 cut-off of 22, all of them neighbourhood schools.
- Choosing PG2: you are near the front of the AL 21–25 queue. In 2025, 20 schools with PG3 cut-offs of 13 or better had PG2 cut-offs of 22–24, for example Anderson (PG2 cut-off 23) and Temasek Secondary (PG2 cut-off 22).
PG2 and PG3 students in the same school
Under Full Subject-Based Banding (Full SBB):
- Shared classes: Character and Citizenship Education, PE, Art, Music, Design & Technology and similar subjects are taught in mixed classes, about a third of curriculum time. CCAs and school programmes are open to everyone.
- Separate classes: English, Mother Tongue, Maths, Science and Humanities are banded at G1/G2/G3.
- G3 from Secondary 1: a PG2 student with AL 5 or better in a subject can take that subject at G3 from the start.
- Moving up later: schools decide based on results, sometimes requiring a certain grade in the subject; moving up mid-way usually involves bridging lessons.
What really drives pathways
Progression depends on how many subjects are at G3 and the results at the Secondary 4 SEC exam, not on which group you entered. If most main subjects stay at G2, common routes are the Polytechnic Foundation Programme, Secondary 5 or ITE; for JC, students generally need five subjects at G3.
How to decide
- Strong in Maths or English, with one subject pulling the total down: PG2 at a stronger school, then move subjects up to G3, is often the better deal.
- Evenly weaker across subjects: the starting level matters less; look at how well the school supports middle-band students.
- A child who cares a lot about being at the "Express" level, or needs a demanding pace: PG3 fits better.
Our personalised report automatically produces both options for AL 21, 22 and 25 and compares the schools within reach side by side.