GCE Ordinary Level

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The General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level is an educational qualification offered in Singapore. The examinations are jointly conducted by the Ministry of Education (MOE), Singapore Examinations and Assessments Board (SEAB) and University of Cambridge International Examinations (UCIE).

Description

The O-Level examinations are conducted annually in Singapore, taken by students after four years (Secondary 4) in the Express stream or five years (Secondary 5) in the Normal Academic stream. It is the rough equivalent of the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) offered in Great Britain.

The University of Cambridge International Examinations (UCIE) is the examining authority for subjects conducted in the English language, foreign languages and Non-Tamil Indian Languages. The examining authority for subjects such as the Mother Tongue Languages & Social Studies is the Ministry of Education.

Comparison with the British O-levels

The O-level examinations are a product of the colonial era, as the O-levels were too offered in England until 1988. Although the English O-levels were examined by various examination boards like the University of London, the Singaporean O-levels have always been examined only by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate.

Grading

Grade Marks range
A1 75 ≤ x ≤ 100
A2 70 ≤ x ≤ 74
B3 65 ≤ x ≤ 69
B4 60 ≤ x ≤ 64
C5 55 ≤ x ≤ 59
C6 50 ≤ x ≤ 54
D7 45 ≤ x ≤ 49
E8 40 ≤ x ≤ 44
F9 0 ≤ x ≤ 39

Examinable Subjects

Subject Code Subject Notes
1128 English Language
1135 Arabic as a 3rd Language For school candidates only.
1136 Bahasa Indonesia as a 3rd Language
2049 Religious Studies (Bible Knowledge) For private candidates only.
2065 Literature in English
2174 History
2204 Combined Humanities Last year of examination in 2017. May be offered to repeat school candidates from 5N in 2018.
2236 Geography
2267 Combined Humanities Last year of examination in 2018
2272 Humanities (Social Studies, Geography) Offered from 2018 to replace Combined Humanities syllabus 2267.
2273 Humanities (Social Studies, History)
2274 Humanities (Social Studies, Literature in English)
2275 Humanities (Social Studies, Literature in Chinese)
2276 Humanities (Social Studies, Literature in Malay)
2277 Humanities (Social Studies, Literature in Tamil)
3012 French
3028 German
3034 Spanish For school candidates only.
3186 Arabic For private candidates only.
3194 Hindi
3196 Urdu
3199 Gujarati
3203 Panjabi
3215 Bengali
3249 Burmese
3260 Thai
3261 Japanese
4047 Additional Mathematics
4048 Mathematics
5059 Physics (SPA) Last year of examination in 2018, to be replaced by revised versions (6091, 6092 & 6093). For school candidates only.
5073 Chemistry (SPA)
5158 Biology (SPA)
5076 Science (Physics, Chemistry)
5077 Science (Physics, Biology)
5078 Science (Chemistry, Biology)
6063 Electronics New subject from 2018. For school candidates only.
6085 Music For school candidates only.
6086 Higher Music
6087 Food and Nutrition
6091 Physics Revised syllabus from 2018. Replacing 5059, 5073 & 5158 respectively.
6092 Chemistry
6093 Biology
6123 Art For school candidates only.
6124 Higher Art
7051 Design and Technology
7155 Computing New subject from 2018. For school candidates only.
7175 Principles of Accounts

Special Papers (For school candidates only)

OSIE Cambridge Subjects

Subject Code Subject Notes
2286 Economics
5999 Drama
6080 Physical Education
7085 Business Studies

Note: The above electives are applicable only for candidates from schools approved to offer the subjects.

Applied Subjects

Subject Code Subject Notes
NP04 Biotechnology
NP05 Design Studies

Note: The above Applied Subjects are applicable only for candidates from schools approved to offer the subjects.

Local Papers

Examined in Chinese

Subject Code Subject Notes
1116 Higher Chinese
1153 Chinese B^
1160 Chinese
1166 Chinese (Special Programme)
2093 Literature in Chinese

Examined in Tamil

Subject Code Subject Notes
1147 Higher Tamil
1152 Tamil B^
1157 Tamil
2098 Literature in Tamil

Examined in Malay

Subject Code Subject Notes
1117 Higher Malay
1133 Malay (Special Programme)
1148 Malay
1151 Malay B^
2080 Islamic Religious Knowledge For private candidates only.
2238 Literature in Malay Revised syllabus from 2018.

^: Are not O-Level subjects