Full Subject-Based Banding Explained

Full Subject-Based Banding (Full SBB) is the system that replaced the old Express, Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) streams. Instead of being placed in one stream for everything, a student is posted into a Posting Group and then takes each subject at the level that fits — G1, G2 or G3. The aim is to let a child stretch in their stronger subjects without being capped by a single stream.

The three subject levels

Under Full SBB, English, Mother Tongue, Mathematics, Science and the Humanities are offered at three levels:

Level	Broadly equivalent to
G3	the former Express standard
G2	the former Normal (Academic) standard
G1	the former Normal (Technical) standard

“G” stands for General. A student might take Mathematics at G3 but a language at G2 — the combination follows the child’s strengths rather than one label.

How Posting Groups are assigned

Students are posted to secondary school through Posting Groups 1, 2 and 3, based on their PSLE Score. The Posting Group sets the starting level for most subjects at the beginning of Secondary 1:

The Posting Group sets the starting subject level. Source: MOE.

PSLE Score	Posting Group	Indicative starting level
4 – 20	3	G3
21 – 22	2 or 3	G2 or G3
23 – 24	2	G2
25	1 or 2	G1 or G2
26 – 30 (with AL7 or better in English and Maths)	1	G1

Where a score spans two Posting Groups, the family chooses one during S1 posting, and that choice applies to all six school choices.

A starting point, not a label

The most important idea in Full SBB is that the Posting Group is a starting point. From there, a student can offer individual subjects at a more demanding level as they progress, based on aptitude and performance. A child who does well in a G2 subject may move it to G3; the system is designed to be flexible rather than fixed for four years.

At lower secondary, students are grouped into classes by subject level for the banded subjects, so a student may be with different classmates for different subjects.

Why the change matters for parents

• Your child is not “streamed”. Strength in one subject is not held back by a weaker one.
• The PSLE Score opens a Posting Group, not a stream. Read how the score is built in PSLE AL scoring.
• Cut-off points are per Posting Group. A school can admit across Posting Groups, so its cut-off points differ by group.
• Movement is built in. Subjects can be taken at a higher level later, so the start of Secondary 1 is not the final word.

For how the Posting Group and your school choices combine on results day, see Secondary 1 posting.

General information based on MOE sources, not official guidance. Confirm current rules on moe.gov.sg.