Singapore School Admissions: What Has Changed for 2027

Singapore runs two school calendars side by side, and knowing which one you are on changes everything about your timing. Here is what has changed heading into 2027, so you can plan your family’s search with confidence.

Most families relocating to Singapore will look at international schools, and some will consider the local system as well. The two work to entirely different rhythms, and a great deal of confusion comes from guides that quietly assume one or the other.

A few things are genuinely different this year, and they are worth understanding early. If you would like a fuller view of the landscape, our page on school options across Singapore is a good place to begin.

Two Calendars, Running in Parallel

International schools follow the northern hemisphere year, running from August to June, which means the current year began this month. The Ministry of Education, or MOE, runs the national system from January to November, and the 2027 school year begins on January 4, 2027.

That gap is the single most useful thing to hold in your head. A family arriving in August has arrived at the natural start of one system and roughly two thirds of the way through the other.

If You Have Just Arrived, This Year’s Local Doors Have Closed

The two entry routes into the local system for international students are the Admissions Exercise for International Students, known as AEIS, and its supplementary round, S-AEIS. The 2026 AEIS application window closed in July, and the Primary 1 indication of interest for international students closed in May.

The next realistic door into a local school is S-AEIS: applications open in January 2027, tests are held in February or March, and successful applicants start in April or May. The alternative is the 2027 Primary 1 exercise, which places children for January 2028. Neither is a reason for alarm, but both are reasons to start the conversation now rather than in the new year.

Primary 1 Places Are Being Reduced

MOE has begun gradually reducing the Primary 1 intake at the majority of primary schools, starting with the 2026 registration exercise. Fewer places at the top of the funnel means fewer left at the final phase, which is the phase where international students register.

MOE is explicit that admission at that phase is not assured, because places are allocated to Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents first. It is a straightforward system, well documented, and worth planning around rather than hoping through.

The National Certificate Changes in 2027

Full Subject-Based Banding has replaced the old Express, Normal Academic and Normal Technical streams with Posting Groups, which are used to admit students to secondary school and to set initial subject levels. Students then take individual subjects at the level that suits them.

From the 2027 examinations, the GCE O-Level and N-Level are replaced by the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate, or SEC, beginning with the cohort that entered Secondary One in 2024. A family whose child would sit those examinations should know the certificate their child receives will carry a different name from the one on an older sibling’s.

Fees for Non-Citizens Are Published Only to 2026

Monthly school fees in Government and Government-Aided schools differ sharply between Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents and international students, and they have risen on a published schedule each year.

At the time of writing, that schedule ran to 2026 and no figures had been announced for 2027. A family budgeting for a January 2027 start is budgeting against a schedule that has run out, so it is worth building in some room and checking again later in the year.

What Families Are Most Often Surprised By

Rolling admissions at international schools does not mean places are available. Applications are accepted year-round, but vacancies depend on the year group, and waitlists concentrate at the busy entry points. Nine to twelve months of lead time is the working assumption, and priority tiers for siblings, returning families and corporate-sponsored places mean a waitlist is not a simple queue.

Three practical things catch people out. Priority based on home-to-school distance in the local system carries a commitment to stay at that address for 30 months. A child on a Dependant’s Pass does not need a Student’s Pass, but if the parent’s pass lapses or changes, the child’s enrollment can be affected. And from January 1, 2027, the Employment Pass salary floor rises to the same level as the Dependant’s Pass threshold, which is worth checking if your package sits near it.

Schools also cluster geographically, along the Bukit Timah and Holland corridor, out toward Clementi and Jurong, along the East Coast, and to the north. The commute is paid daily by the child, not by the parent, which is a good reason to decide on the school before signing the lease.

Planning a Move to Singapore?

Our consultants work with these schools year-round and know how the waitlists actually move, where the capacity is opening up, and how to sequence a local application against an international one. We can help you work out which system suits your child, and what your realistic timeline looks like from where you are standing.

Have questions? Start a conversation with our team →

Bennett International Education Consultancy works directly with hundreds of families each year across the globe. We support families by helping them make informed decisions about the best-fit schools for their children; with our guidance, they secure placement in preschools, private day schools, public/state schools, boarding schools, colleges and universities, including schools with particular programs, such as special needs support.