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Singapore Secondary School Ranking 2018 | Historical T-Score Archive and How to Read Old Cut-Offs

This page is a historical archive of a 2018-era Singapore secondary-school ranking list. The numbers below belong to the former PSLE T-score environment and must not be used as current Secondary 1 posting advice.

The original page was published in 2019 and preserved a long list of school cut-off figures circulating around the 2018 posting landscape. In 2026, its value is historical rather than predictive. Singapore’s system has since changed substantially: the PSLE Achievement Level scoring system replaced the old T-score model, Full Subject-Based Banding has been fully implemented in secondary schools, students can take subjects at G1, G2 and G3 levels, and the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate will replace the N- and O-Level certificates from 2027.

So this page now has one clear job: preserve what an old ranking table looked like, explain what those numbers meant in their own time, and show why historical cut-offs should never be mistaken for a current ranking of school quality.

Why old cut-off lists were so powerful

A single number appears precise. It therefore feels like an objective measure of the school. But a posting cut-off is not a direct measurement of teaching quality, student wellbeing, school culture, programme fit or future outcomes. It is largely an outcome of demand, available places, applicant scores, programme structure and posting rules in a particular year.

That means a cut-off can be useful for understanding admissions competition while still being a weak answer to the question, “Which school is best for my child?”

The 2018 historical list

The following list is preserved as historical data from the original article. It reflects the old T-score-era landscape and should be read only in that context.

  1. Nanyang Girls’ High School IP SAP (girls) – 264
  2. Methodist Girls’ School (Secondary) IB (girls) – 260
  3. Raffles Girls’ School (Secondary) IP (girls) – 260
  4. Hwa Chong Institution IP SAP (boys) – 258
  5. Raffles Institution IP (boys) – 257
  6. Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) IB (boys) – 256
  7. CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School IP SAP (girls) – 256
  8. National Junior College IP (co-ed) – 256
  9. Dunman High School IP SAP (co-ed) – 255
  10. Cedar Girls’ Secondary School IP (girls) – 254
  11. Methodist Girls’ School (Secondary) O-levels (girls) – 254
  12. Catholic High School IP SAP (boys) – 253
  13. CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School O-levels SAP (girls) – 253
  14. St. Joseph’s Institution IB (boys) – 253
  15. Singapore Chinese Girls’ School IP (girls) – 252
  16. Victoria School IP (boys) – 252
  17. Catholic High School O-levels SAP (boys) – 250
  18. Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School (Secondary) (girls) – 250
  19. River Valley High School IP SAP (co-ed) – 250
  20. Singapore Chinese Girls’ School O-levels (girls) – 250
  21. Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) O-levels (boys) – 249
  22. Cedar Girls’ Secondary School O-levels (girls) – 249
  23. Temasek Junior College IP (co-ed) – 249
  24. Victoria School O-levels (boys) – 246
  25. Anderson Secondary School (co-ed) – 245
  26. Bukit Panjang Govt. High School (co-ed) – 244
  27. St. Joseph’s Institution O-levels (boys) – 244
  28. CHIJ Secondary (Toa Payoh) (girls) – 243
  29. Nan Chiau High School SAP (co-ed) – 243
  30. Nan Hua High School SAP (co-ed) – 243
  31. Chung Cheng High School (Main) SAP (co-ed) – 242
  32. Crescent Girls’ School (girls) – 241
  33. Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) (co-ed) – 241
  34. St. Margaret’s Secondary School (girls) – 241
  35. Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) (boys) – 240
  36. Swiss Cottage Secondary School (co-ed) – 239
  37. Anglican High School SAP (co-ed) – 238
  38. Chung Cheng High School (Yishun) (co-ed) – 238
  39. Commonwealth Secondary School (co-ed) – 237
  40. Ngee Ann Secondary School (co-ed) – 237
  41. CHIJ St. Theresa’s Convent (girls) – 235
  42. Maris Stella High School SAP (boys) – 235
  43. Yishun Town Secondary School (co-ed) – 235
  44. St. Andrew’s Secondary School (boys) – 234
  45. Zhonghua Secondary School (co-ed) – 234
  46. Xinmin Secondary School (co-ed) – 233
  47. CHIJ St. Joseph’s Convent (girls) – 232
  48. Fuhua Secondary School (co-ed) – 232
  49. Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Secondary School (co-ed) – 232
  50. Presbyterian High School (co-ed) – 232
  51. Clementi Town Secondary School (co-ed) – 231
  52. Tanjong Katong Girls’ School (girls) – 231
  53. Tanjong Katong Secondary School (co-ed) – 231
  54. Temasek Secondary School (co-ed) – 231
  55. Riverside Secondary School (co-ed) – 230
  56. Dunman Secondary School (co-ed) – 229
  57. Kranji Secondary School (co-ed) – 229
  58. Holy Innocents’ High School (co-ed) – 228
  59. Edgefield Secondary School (co-ed) – 226
  60. CHIJ Katong Convent (girls) – 225
  61. St. Patrick’s School (boys) – 225
  62. Ang Mo Kio Secondary School (co-ed) – 224
  63. Bowen Secondary School (co-ed) – 224
  64. Evergreen Secondary School (co-ed) – 224
  65. Geylang Methodist School (Secondary) (co-ed) – 224
  66. Jurong Secondary School (co-ed) – 224
  67. Bukit Batok Secondary School (co-ed) – 223
  68. Gan Eng Seng School (co-ed) – 223
  69. St. Anthony’s Canossian Secondary School (girls) – 223
  70. St. Gabriel’s Secondary School (boys) – 222
  71. Hua Yi Secondary School (co-ed) – 221
  72. St. Hilda’s Secondary School (co-ed) – 221
  73. Hai Sing Catholic School (co-ed) – 220
  74. West Spring Secondary School (co-ed) – 220
  75. Mayflower Secondary School (co-ed) – 219
  76. Pei Hwa Secondary School (co-ed) – 219
  77. Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School (co-ed) – 218
  78. Pasir Ris Secondary School (co-ed) – 216
  79. Deyi Secondary School (co-ed) – 215
  80. Pasir Ris Crest Secondary School (co-ed) – 215
  81. Queensway Secondary School (co-ed) – 214
  82. Bedok View Secondary School (co-ed) – 212
  83. Unity Secondary School (co-ed) – 212
  84. Beatty Secondary School (co-ed) – 211
  85. Chua Chu Kang Secondary School (co-ed) – 211
  86. Woodlands Ring Secondary School (co-ed) – 211
  87. Compassvale Secondary School (co-ed) – 210
  88. Meridian Secondary School (co-ed) – 208
  89. North Vista Secondary School (co-ed) – 208
  90. Orchid Park Secondary School (co-ed) – 208
  91. Peirce Secondary School (co-ed) – 208
  92. Yuan Ching Secondary School (co-ed) – 208
  93. Bedok South Secondary School (co-ed) – 207
  94. Kent Ridge Secondary School (co-ed) – 206
  95. Zhenghua Secondary School (co-ed) – 206
  96. Bukit View Secondary School (co-ed) – 205
  97. Hillgrove Secondary School (co-ed) – 205
  98. Montfort Secondary School (boys) – 204
  99. Woodgrove Secondary School (co-ed) – 204
  100. Greendale Secondary School (co-ed) – 203
  101. Tampines Secondary School (co-ed) – 203
  102. Christ Church Secondary School (co-ed) – 201
  103. Yishun Secondary School (co-ed) – 200
  104. Jurong West Secondary School (co-ed) – 199
  105. Seng Kang Secondary School (co-ed) – 199
  106. Westwood Secondary School (co-ed) – 198
  107. Admiralty Secondary School (co-ed) – 197
  108. Jurongville Secondary School (co-ed) – 195
  109. Juying Secondary School (co-ed) – 195
  110. Naval Base Secondary School (co-ed) – 195
  111. Hougang Secondary School (co-ed) – 194
  112. Punggol Secondary School (co-ed) – 194
  113. Regent Secondary School (co-ed) – 190
  114. Bukit Merah Secondary School (co-ed) – 189
  115. Changkat Changi Secondary School (co-ed) – 189
  116. Dunearn Secondary School (co-ed) – 189
  117. New Town Secondary School (co-ed) – 189
  118. Ping Yi Secondary School (co-ed) – 189
  119. Springfield Secondary School (co-ed) – 189
  120. Assumption English School (co-ed) – 188
  121. Bartley Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  122. Bedok Green Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  123. Bendemeer Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  124. Boon Lay Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  125. Broadrick Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  126. Canberra Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  127. Damai Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  128. East Spring Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  129. East View Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  130. Fajar Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  131. Fuchun Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  132. Greenridge Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  133. Guangyang Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  134. Hong Kah Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  135. Junyuan Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  136. Loyang Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  137. Manjusri Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  138. Marsiling Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  139. Northbrooks Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  140. Northland Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  141. Outram Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  142. Peicai Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  143. Queenstown Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  144. Sembawang Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  145. Serangoon Garden Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  146. Serangoon Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  147. Shuqun Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  148. Tanglin Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  149. Teck Whye Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  150. Whitley Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  151. Woodlands Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  152. Yio Chu Kang Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  153. Yuhua Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  154. Yusof Ishak Secondary School (co-ed) – 188
  155. Yuying Secondary School (co-ed) – 188

Historical affiliated-school figures from the original page

The original article also recorded a separate set of figures for affiliated-primary-school pathways. These are preserved below as historical data only.

What changed after this list

The old ranking belonged to a different system. Singapore introduced the PSLE Achievement Level scoring model from 2021. Instead of the old T-score competition based on relative performance, students receive AL scores for individual subjects and an overall PSLE Score used in Secondary 1 posting.

Full Subject-Based Banding was fully implemented from the 2024 Secondary 1 cohort. Express, Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) stream labels have been phased out. Students may take subjects at G1, G2 or G3 levels according to strengths and needs. From 2027, the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate will replace the separate N- and O-Level certificates.

Why a current school choice should not start with this table

Families choosing a school today should use current MOE posting information and examine fit across several dimensions: subject offerings, programmes, school ethos, CCAs, travel time, student support, learning environment and the child’s own strengths.

A school with a lower historical cut-off may be a much better fit for a particular learner. Conversely, a highly competitive school is not automatically the best environment for every child.

Cut-offs are outcomes, not causes

A high cut-off does not cause a school to become good. It reflects a combination of demand and the scores of students allocated there under that year’s rules. Once families mistake the outcome for the cause, ranking behaviour becomes circular: a school is believed to be desirable because it is difficult to enter, and it becomes more difficult to enter because it is believed to be desirable.

This is a useful lesson in data literacy. A variable can correlate with reputation without directly measuring the underlying quality people care about.

A better parent decision model

  1. Eligibility: use current official posting information.
  2. Fit: examine programmes, learning environment and subject opportunities.
  3. Logistics: consider daily travel and family routines.
  4. Student state: ask where the child is likely to grow rather than only where entry is hardest.
  5. Evidence: separate reputation, anecdotes and current official facts.
  6. Resilience: choose several realistic options rather than one status target.

How to use this archive well

This page is useful for historians, parents and students studying how Singapore education changed. It shows the older language of IP, SAP, IB, O-Level pathways and T-score cut-offs in one snapshot. Compare it with current MOE materials and you can see how the architecture of secondary education has shifted.

For current information, use MOE Secondary 1 Posting and current MOE Full Subject-Based Banding resources rather than this historical table.

The larger lesson

Rankings are compressed models of a complicated world. They can preserve useful information, but they become dangerous when the date, scoring system and purpose disappear from view.

The correct question is not simply, “Which school ranked highest?” It is: what did this number mean in that year, what has changed since then, and what evidence matters for the decision we are making now?

Continue through the eduKateSingapore Learning Library and World Knowledge Hub.

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A word is familiar, but using it is difficult.

Move from recognising a word to retrieving it in a new context. Understand vocabulary plateaus.

Try it without the guide: Choose one word you already know. Close the guide and use it in a new sentence. Explain why it fits; try another context tomorrow.

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Make the order of events and the links between sentences clear. Explore composition writing.

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For the structure behind these connections, read the eduKateSingapore runtime manifest and the eduKate ecosystem boot contract. The reader map describes public navigation; those manifests preserve the wider ownership and return rules.

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