News flash: from 2027, there will no longer by any more O-Levels or N-Levels.

Reader: Why was I born so early… why did I have to take O-Level when I was in secondary school…

I wish I was born later too.

Removal of O- and N-Level and June MTL Exam

Currently, students are streamed into the Express, Normal (Academic), and Normal (Technical) streams, based on their overall academic results for their Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE).

For those who have taken their O- and N-Level exams in recent years, you’ll be familiar with the current system whereby secondary students sit for their Mother Tongue Langue (MTL) exam in June.

After receiving their MTL results later in the year, usually in August, students will be given the option to retake the MTL exam with the rest of their written papers later in the year – in September (N-Level) or October (O-Level).. This gives students who failed the exam a chance to try to pass it again.

Others who are unsatisfied with their results may also sit for the retake exam in hopes of getting a better grade.

From 2027, this system will change. This means that this year’s Secondary 1 students will be the first to sit their national exams under one common timetable in 2027.