A-Level Rank Points in 2026: The New 70-Point UAS Explained

A-Level Rank Points in 2026: The New 70-Point UAS Explained

From the 2026 A-Level cohort, the University Admission Score is calculated out of a maximum of 70 rank points instead of the old 90, and Project Work is now graded pass or fail rather than counting toward the score. The new total is built from a student's three best H2 subjects and General Paper. The contrasting subject and Project Work no longer add points the way they used to.

This is a meaningful change for any family with a child in Junior College, because it shifts where the marks that decide a university place actually come from. Here is the new arithmetic and what it changes in practice.

How the new 70 rank points are built

Each H2 subject is worth up to 20 rank points, so the three best H2 grades supply 60 of the 70. General Paper, taken at H1, supplies the remaining 10. That is the whole score.

Project Work, which used to contribute, is now reported as pass or fail and does not add rank points. A fourth content subject, often the contrasting H1, is only folded in if it improves the total. The official treatment is set out in the NUS FAQs on the revised UAS computation.

What this changes in practice

The headline effect is that every H2 grade now carries more weight. When the score was out of 90 and spread across more components, a single H2 slip could be partly cushioned. Out of 70, with only three H2 subjects counting, there is less to hide behind. An A versus a B in one H2 subject moves the total by a larger share than before.

The subject that benefits most from attention is the one sitting in almost every science and hybrid combination: H2 Mathematics. Because it appears so widely and now counts as one of only three weighted subjects, it is arguably the single highest-leverage grade in the new system. Students aiming at competitive courses cannot afford to treat it as the subject they will fix later.

General Paper is the quiet other lever. It is worth 10 of the 70 points and is easy to under-prepare because it has no syllabus to revise in the usual sense. A weak GP grade now costs a clear, countable share of the total.

Project Work, pass or fail

Project Work moving to pass or fail removes a component that students used to grind for points. The practical reading is simple: do enough to pass it cleanly and do not let it consume the time your H2 subjects need. The marginal hour is now better spent on an H2 grade that counts than on polishing a Project Work submission that only needs to clear the pass bar.

What a strong score looks like

The most competitive courses, Medicine, Law, and the popular Computing and Business programmes, effectively expect a score very close to the maximum of 70. Many strong courses are open with a few points dropped. The right target depends entirely on the intended course, and the honest move is to look up the indicative grade profile for the specific course rather than chasing a generic number. NUS publishes these on its indicative grade profile page.

How to prepare under the new system

The plan that fits the 70-point world is straightforward:

• Protect the three H2 subjects above all. They are 60 of the 70 points. Weakness in any one is now expensive.
• Treat H2 Mathematics as a priority if it is in the combination, because of how widely it counts.
• Give General Paper real time, not leftovers. Ten points is too much to gift away.
• Pass Project Work efficiently and reinvest the time saved into the counted subjects.

Old system versus new, side by side

The change is easiest to grasp as a before-and-after. The components have not all disappeared; several have changed how they count.

The practical takeaway from the table is that the score now leans more heavily on fewer things. With 60 of the 70 points sitting in three H2 grades, the cost of a weak H2 subject is higher than it has ever been, and there are fewer components to offset it.

Common questions

What is the maximum A-Level rank point score from 2026?
The University Admission Score is out of 70: three H2 subjects at up to 20 points each, plus General Paper at up to 10.

Does Project Work still count toward university admission?
No. From the 2026 cohort, Project Work is graded pass or fail and does not contribute rank points, though a poor result is still best avoided.

Why does H2 Math matter so much under the new system?
H2 Mathematics sits in nearly every science and hybrid combination and now counts as one of only three weighted H2 subjects, so its grade carries an outsized share of the total.

Does the contrasting subject still count?
A fourth content-based subject is only included if it improves a student's score, so it can help but it can no longer drag the total down.

How do I know what score my child needs?
Look up the indicative grade profile for the specific course at the specific university. The competitive courses expect a score near 70; many strong courses sit a few points below.

Our H2 tuition programmes, including H2 Math and H2 Chemistry, are built around the JC1 to JC2 arc, the pricing page shows costs by level, and you can book a free trial first. The new 70-point system rewards the same thing it always did, strong H2 grades, but it now leaves less room to make up a weak one elsewhere.

Related guides

• A-Level Explained: A Singapore Parent's Guide to the GCE A-Level
• Choosing a JC Subject Combination: H1, H2 and the Three That Count