Singapore-Cambridge GCE Normal Level


The Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Normal Level examination is a national examination held annually in Singapore. It is taken after four years in the normal academic or normal technical stream. For subjects examined in English and foreign languages, the examining authority are the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate. For localized language subjects, the examining authority is the Ministry of Education, Singapore.
The Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Normal Level examination is sub-categorized into Normal Level and Normal Level, catering to candidates under the Normal ' and Normal ' streams respectively.

Singapore-Cambridge GCE Normal (Academic) Level

The General Certificate of Education Normal Level or the GCE N Levels examinations are taken by Secondary 4 students in the Normal stream normally in September and October of the year. Students would normally receive their results by the mid to end of December in the same year they sat for the examinations and their grades are reflected as per the grading system below. Most Normal students are offered at least 5 subjects, but may range to as many as 6 or 7 depending on the electives they take on and the school they are in. Mandatory subjects for Normal students include English Language, Mathematics, Mother Tongue Language, Combined Sciences and Combined Humanities. Although most students are encouraged to take Mother Tongue as a mandatory subject, some students may still choose to be exempt from Mother Tongue depending on varying circumstances, although the margin of exempted students are relatively minimal.

Subjects offered at the Normal (Academic) Level

Subjects that are highlighted in bold are mandatory subjects for students in the Normal stream in most secondary schools.
SubjectElective OptionsSyllabus Syllabus Offer of higher O Level syllabus
English Language Syllabus ANone11901190Yes
Mathematics Syllabus ANone40454045Yes
Chinese LanguageNone11961196Yes
Malay LanguageNone11971197Yes
TamilNone11981198Yes
Combined SciencesChemistry and Physics51055105Yes
Combined SciencesPhysics and Biology51065106Yes
Combined SciencesBiology and Chemistry51075107Yes
Combined HumanitiesSocial Studies, Geography21752175No
Combined HumanitiesSocial Studies, History21762176No
Combined HumanitiesSocial Studies, Literature in English21772177*No
Additional Mathematics-40444044No
Food and Nutrition-60726072No
Art-61256125No
Design and Technology-70547055 RNo
Principles of Accounts-70887088No
Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi
and Urdu		-3236, 3237, 3238
3239, 3240		3236, 3237, 3238
3239, 3240		No

Grading

A student's total grade for the GCE N Levels examinations are calculated using this equation: ELMAB3. This equation is short for the combined total grades of the student's English Language, Mathematics and Best 3 subjects grades to form a totality. This total grade of ELMAB3 can be used to determine which courses in higher education the student may pursue after leaving secondary school, although some may still choose to remain in their secondary schools to continue onto Secondary 5 and sit for the GCE Ordinary Levels examinations.
GradeNumeric Score Range
175-100
270-74
365-69
460-64
550-59
U<49

Normal students may be offered GCE O Level subjects depending on the school they are in. Depending on their academic grades reflected from Secondary 1, a student may be considered eligible for taking on GCE O Level subjects as long as they meet the Minimum Entry Requirements for the particular subject. Currently, only English Language, Mother Tongue Languages and Mathematics may be taken by Normal students at the higher GCE O Level standard. Students are normally required to have at least a grade B3 in their Secondary 1 or 2 years to be offered the GCE O Level subject.

Grade Conversion from the GCE O Level to N Level

Courses for N(A) students after N(A) Levels

There are three five types of education pathways a Normal student may pursue after secondary education. These include the Polytechnic Foundation Programme, Direct-Entry to Polytechnic Programme, Early Admission Exercise, Institute of Technical Education Nitec Course and progression to Secondary 5 Normal.
Education PathwayEligibility, Requirements and InformationApplication PhaseNotes
Polytechnic Foundation Programme ELMAB3 equals or below 12
whereby;
English must be grade 3 or better. Some courses may require English to be grade 2 or better ;
Maths and 3 other relevant subjects to be grade 3 or better. Failure to attain a grade 3 or better in relevant subjects will mean the student will not be eligible for enrollment into the PFP.		Application normally starts in or around start to mid-January.-
Direct-Entry to Polytechnic Programme ELMAB3 equals or below 19
whereby;
English, Maths and 3 other relevant subjects must be equivalent to grade 4 or better. Failure to attain a grade 4 or better in relevant subjects will mean the student will not be eligible for enrollment into the DPP. Students also have to meet the required course cut-off points. Students will have to take part in a 10 weeks preparatory course before joining Higher Nitec course in April of the same year.
Students that do well in Higher Nitec will get a chance to proceed to a Polytechnic-related course based on the course taken in Higher Nitec. Students who have gotten a raw GPA of 2.5 or above and are in an Applied Science, Engineering or InfoComm Technology courses will be able to proceed to polytechnic while students with a raw GPA of 3.0 or above in a Business course will be able to move on to polytechnic. However, students with a raw GPA of 3.5 or above that are in an Engineering or InfoComm technology course will be able to move on to year 2 of a related Polytechnic course.		Application normally starts on the day of the GCE N Levels result collection.-
Early Admission Exercise for the Institute of Technical Education Successful candidates of the EAE-ITE must meet the set Minimum Entry Requirements as per NITEC course they were enrolled into, whereby;
English, Maths and 3 other relevant subjects must be equivalent to grade 5 or better.
Students who has done well in Nitec with a raw GPA of 3.5 or above will be able to move on to a Polytechnic-related course.		Application normally starts in the end of May. Interviews will begin in July and the results of the EAE will be published by end August.-
Institute of Technical Education National ITE Certificate Courses ELMAB3 grade differ depending on course type and requirements.
Some courses may accept students with any ELMAB3 grade.
Students who has done well in Nitec with a raw GPA of 3.5 or above will be able to move on to a Polytechnic-related course.		Application normally starts on the day of the GCE N Levels result collection.-

Polytechnic Foundation Programme (PFP)

Polytechnic Foundation Programme is a programme that is for Secondary 4N students. It was implemented in 2012 by the Ministry of Education.It is to provide more pathways to the tertiary education for the Secondary 4 N students instead of going Secondary 5N to take the O-Level. To be eligible, a student must get at least a Grade 3 for the ELMAB3 subjects, getting no more than 12 points and expected to be the top 10% cohort in the whole cohort of Singapore. This programme will only commence estimated during the month of April. Students are expected to pass all modules to advance to Year-One of Polytechnic to take their diploma.

Singapore-Cambridge GCE Normal (Technical) Level

The GCE NLevel-Normal Technical Level, are taken by Normal Technical students after four years of secondary school education. This will eventually lead them to the ITE or Institute of Technical Education. Alternatively, if they performed well enough in Secondary One, they may be laterally transferred to the Secondary 2 N-Normal Academic stream. Students may also opt to read a maximum of 3 subjects at the N level. The curriculum is geared towards strengthening students’ proficiency in English and Mathematics. Students take English Language, Mathematics, Basic Mother Tongue and Computer Applications as compulsory subjects. The aggregate used for the GCE N Level is ELMAB2. The grades are as following:

Grading

A: 75% and above
B: 70% to 74%
C: 60% to 69%
D: 50% to 59%
U: Below 50%, considered Un-graded, or failed
The N-level can be considered a rough analogue of the Certificate of Secondary Education, examined in the UK in the era of the Tripartite System. Schools are not split into technical, secondary modern, or grammar, as they were in Britain, but rather follow the comprehensive system used in Britain today. However, there exists 1 'technical school', or specialised N school.