A-Level grading system in Singapore: grades, percentages and 2027 rules

The A-Level grading system in Singapore is the set of grades SEAB gives for the Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-Level: A to E for a pass, S for a sub-pass and U for ungraded at H1 and H2, and Distinction, Merit, Pass or Ungraded at H3. SEAB publishes no fixed percentage bands. Grades are set against a standard each year, then turned into rank points out of 70. Rules below are as of 7 Nov 2026.

What is the A-Level grading system in Singapore?

The A-Level in Singapore uses a seven-point grading system for H1 and H2 subjects: A, B, C, D and E are passes, S is a sub-pass and U is ungraded. SEAB calls A to E "subject passes". H3 subjects use four grades: Distinction, Merit, Pass and Ungraded. A candidate who gets at least an E in one H1 or H2 subject receives the A-Level certificate.

Some parts of the A-Level are graded differently. SEAB's 2026 rules set them out:

• Project Work is shown as Pass or Ungraded.
• Mother Tongue B (Chinese B, Malay B, Tamil B) is shown as Merit, Pass or Ungraded, and SEAB says it is not an A-Level subject.
• Mother Tongue orals and listening are shown as Distinction, Merit, Pass or Ungraded.
• Missing any registered paper gives an Absent grade for that whole subject, unless SEAB has granted an exemption or special consideration.

Source: SEAB 2026 A-Level rules and regulations, section 6.3 and SEAB, national examinations grading system. For a wider tour of the A-Level, from subjects to syllabus codes, see our A-Level explained guide.

What percentage do you need for an A at A-Level?

There is no official percentage for an A. SEAB states that grading for the national examinations "is not based on pre-determined cut-off marks or a pre-determined percentage of candidates for certain grades". Instead it weighs factors such as paper difficulty and the quality of candidates' work, so that standards hold from year to year. SEAB also declines requests to convert a grade back into marks for the same reason.

So any table that says "A = 70%" is not a SEAB table. Those figures circulate widely online, and some junior colleges publish a grade and mark scheme on their own pages. Nanyang Junior College, for example, lists A as 70 to 100, B 60 to 69, C 55 to 59, D 50 to 54, E 45 to 49, S 40 to 44 and Ungraded 0 to 39 for H1 and H2 subjects (NYJC examination matters). That is one school's published scheme, not a SEAB cut-off, so read any such table as a rough guide only.

In practice, no fixed mark promises a grade. The same raw mark could land on different grades in two years if one paper is harder, and a JC preliminary exam uses its own paper and scheme, so treat it as a signal rather than a forecast.

Sources: SEAB on Ask Gov, cut-off marks and SEAB on Ask Gov, converting grades to marks.

Is the A-Level graded on a bell curve?

No. SEAB and MOE say the GCE A-Level is standards-referenced, not graded to a bell curve. Grades reflect how well a candidate has mastered the subject against a fixed standard, not how they did against classmates. SEAB does not force results into a curve or set a quota for each grade, so if more candidates produce better work in a year, more of them get better grades.

Scores across a large cohort often look like a bell shape anyway, simply because ability varies. That is a result, not a rule. SEAB adds that it keeps papers comparable across years, with a steady mix of basic, average and challenging questions.

This is how a mark becomes a grade, as SEAB describes it:

Sources: SEAB, bell curve for GCE-Level examinations, 9 January 2023 and MOE parliamentary reply, 9 January 2023.

What is the difference between H1, H2 and H3 grades?

H1, H2 and H3 use the same idea of a grade but carry different weight. An H2 subject is two academic units (AU) and an H1 subject is one, so an H2 grade is worth twice the points of the same H1 grade in the University Admission Score. H3 is an extension of an H2 subject, carries one AU, and is graded Distinction, Merit, Pass or Ungraded with no rank points.

MOE's norm combination is three H2 subjects and one H1 subject, with at least one from a contrasting discipline, plus H1 Mother Tongue, H1 General Paper and Project Work. Students offer 10 to 12 AUs in total, and Project Work carries 1 AU. A student cannot take the same subject at both H1 and H2.

H3 does not add to the University Admission Score at NUS, NTU or SMU, but NTU says H3 work may be considered under aptitude-based admissions.

Sources: MOE, important notes on subjects offered for the pre-university course, July 2026 and NTU general admission requirements. Our JC subject combination guide helps with choosing the mix.

How are General Paper, Project Work and Mother Tongue graded?

General Paper is an H1 subject graded A to U like any other, and it always counts in the University Admission Score at up to 10 points. Project Work is graded only Pass or Ungraded and earns no points, but a Pass is needed for the local autonomous universities. H1 Mother Tongue is graded A to U and counts only if it raises the score.

Project Work. From the 2024 JC1 cohort, Project Work is no longer treated as an H1 subject, though it still carries 1 AU. A student who fails it but is promoted to JC2 may be offered a retake at the school's discretion. One who fails and is not promoted takes it again. Private candidates and students exempted from Project Work do not need the Pass.

Mother Tongue. The H1 Mother Tongue written paper is sat at a Mid-Year sitting (on 2 June in 2026). Candidates may sit it again at the Year-End sitting, and the better grade is shown when the year-end results come out. A student with D7 or better in O-Level Higher Mother Tongue has already met the H1 Mother Tongue requirement. From 2028, MOE says students posted to JC or MI will offer either H1 Mother Tongue or Mother Tongue B, depending on the subjects they took at the SEC.

Sources: MOE pre-university subject notes, MOE, A-Level curriculum, updated 3 November 2026, NUS FAQs on the revised UAS and Temasek JC UAS guide. For paper-level help with GP, see our GP Paper 1 and Paper 2 guide.

How do A-Level grades become rank points out of 70?

Each H1 or H2 grade converts to rank points, and the University Admission Score (UAS) adds three H2 subjects at up to 20 points each and General Paper at up to 10, for a maximum of 70. A fourth content subject and H1 Mother Tongue are added only if they raise the score, with the total rebased back to 70.

A quick worked example: H2 grades A, B and C with a B in General Paper give 20 + 17.5 + 15 + 8.75 = 61.25 out of 70. An A in the fourth subject (H1 weight, 10 points) gives 71.25 out of 80, which rebases to 71.25 × 70 ÷ 80 = 62.34, so it is used. A B in the fourth subject would leave the score at 61.25.

Enter your child's grades here to see the score with every option applied.

Point values are from Nanyang JC's results guide, an MOE school. More worked examples are in our A-Level rank points and UAS guide.

Which cohorts use the old 90-point and the new 70-point score?

The scale depends on the year the A-Level was sat and the year of university application, and NUS says applicants cannot choose. Anyone who sat in 2025 or later is scored out of 70. Anyone who sat in 2024 or earlier is scored on the old 90-point scale, weighted down to 70, when applying for AY2026 or AY2027, and on the 70-point scale from AY2028.

Worked example on the old scale. A 2024 candidate with H2 grades A, B and C, a B in the H1 content subject, a B in GP and an A in Project Work scores 20 + 17.5 + 15 + 8.75 + 8.75 + 10 = 80 out of 90. Weighted to 70, that is 80 × 70 ÷ 90 = 62.22. A 2025 candidate with the same H2 grades and GP scores 61.25 out of 70, and the H1 subject is added only if it lifts the total.

Because a fourth subject is rebased, a weak one can pull the score down, which is why it now counts only when it helps. MOE announced this change, and the removal of Project Work from the score, on 1 March 2023.

Sources: NUS FAQs on the revised UAS, February 2026, Nanyang JC, factors to consider and MOE press release, 1 March 2023.

What does the A-Level result slip and certificate show?

On results day, school candidates collect their results and certificate from school, and the same results are on SEAB's Candidates Portal. The digital result lists every subject sat with its grade, including S, Ungraded and Absent. The certificate lists only the subjects passed, so S, Ungraded and Absent never appear on it. A certificate needs at least an E in one H1 or H2 subject.

Singapore Citizens and PRs with Singpass can download their results in OpenCerts format from MySkillsFuture's Skills Passport two weeks after results day, and send them electronically to universities and employers. SEAB does not reissue lost certificates. There is no separate result slip for the Mid-Year Mother Tongue sitting, as its grade appears with the year-end results.

Sources: SEAB 2026 rules, sections 6.3.2 to 6.3.5, SEAB, private candidates and SEAB, statements of results. Our A-Level results guide walks through results day itself.

How do NUS, NTU, SMU and the polytechnics use A-Level grades?

The local autonomous universities rank A-Level applicants mainly by the University Admission Score out of 70, then check subject prerequisites, the Project Work Pass and the Mother Tongue requirement. Each university publishes an indicative grade profile showing the grades of the 10th and 90th percentile of students it admitted the year before. Polytechnics take A-Level holders by direct application, with module exemptions in many courses.

How to read a profile. A profile such as BBB/C means three H2 grades of B and an H1 grade of C. At the 10th percentile, it means 90% of admitted students did at least that well. It is a guide, not a cut-off, and NUS says a profile of ABC/C can be broadly equivalent to BBB/C. All three universities assume a C in GP and Project Work, and NUS and NTU say their profiles include offers made under aptitude-based admissions. NUS and SMU say that from AY2026/2027 the profile should be read from the three H2 grades, because the H1 subject no longer counts by default.

None of the three universities publishes its profiles as UAS points. The last column is our own arithmetic, not a university figure: the three H2 grades at the 10th percentile plus a C in GP (7.5 points) under the 70-point rules. For example, BBB is 17.5 × 3 = 52.5, plus 7.5 for GP, which gives 60. Treat it as a rough reading only, since these offers were made on earlier results.

The NUS table (January 2026) covers offers for AY2025/2026. The SMU table (published 9 January 2026) covers the 2025 admissions exercise. NTU's A-Level table carries no year, and its intake figures are for AY2025/2026. NUS Law, NUS Medicine, NUS Nursing and NTU Accountancy also use interviews, tests or other assessments.

Mother Tongue. NTU accepts, among other routes, at least an S grade in H1 Mother Tongue, a pass in Mother Tongue B, or D7 in O-Level Higher Mother Tongue.

Polytechnics. A-Level holders apply directly to the polytechnics, not through the JAE. For the 2025 A-Level, SEAB says the April 2026 window opened on Wednesday 25 February 2026, two days before results day on Friday 27 February, and closed on Tuesday 10 March 2026. A second window ran in August 2026 for October intake. Module exemptions are available in about 130 courses, which can shorten a diploma by up to a year.

Sources: NUS indicative grade profile, NTU indicative grade profile, SMU indicative grade profile, NTU general admission requirements and SEAB, 2025 A-Level results. Our university admission guide covers applications course by course.

What share of candidates pass the A-Level each year?

SEAB and MOE publish one national figure each year: the share of candidates with at least three H2 passes and a pass in General Paper. For the 2025 A-Level, that was 10,393 of 10,977 candidates, or 94.7%. They do not publish how many candidates get each grade, how many score A grades, or how many reach 70 points.

Up to 2024, a pass in Knowledge and Inquiry also counted in place of GP for this figure. Because grading is standards-referenced, there is no target share for any grade, so these percentages can rise or fall with the quality of work. Any per-grade breakdown seen online is not an official SEAB or MOE figure.

Sources: SEAB results releases for 2025 and 2024, and MOE releases for 2023 and 2022.

How does A-Level grading compare with PSLE, O-Level and the SEC?

Each national exam in Singapore uses its own scale. A parliamentary reply on 5 May 2026 describes the A-Level as a seven-point system with A to E as passes, the O-Level as a nine-point system with A1 to C6 as passes, and the PSLE as an eight-point Achievement Level system with no pass or fail. The SEC, which replaces the O-Level and N-Level from 2027, keeps those grade scales at G1, G2 and G3.

The biggest switch for families is direction. At PSLE and O-Level, a lower score is better. At A-Level, a higher score is better.

IB Diploma and UK A-Levels. The IB Diploma grades six subjects from 1 to 7 and adds up to three core points from theory of knowledge and the extended essay, for a maximum of 45. A diploma needs at least 24 points. UK A-Levels run from A to E, and the UCAS tariff gives them 56, 48, 40, 32, 24 and 16 points. The Singapore-Cambridge A-Level has no A grade, so students applying to the UK should check each university's entry page for its Singapore A-Level offer.

Sources: SEAB, national examinations grading system (parliamentary reply, 5 May 2026), MOE, PSLE scoring system, SEAB, Secondary Education Certificate, IB, DP passing criteria and UCAS tariff tables. For more, see our guides to PSLE AL scores, L1R5, the SEC from 2027 and IGCSE, O-Level, IB and A-Level compared.

How do JC prelim grades compare with the final A-Level?

There is no official way to turn a prelim grade into an A-Level grade. Each JC sets and marks its own preliminary exam, on its own papers and grading scheme. SEAB grades the national paper against a standard that weighs that year's paper difficulty and the quality of candidates' work. MOE and SEAB publish no table linking prelim results to final grades.

So a prelim grade tells you how your child did on one school paper, a few weeks before the real one. It does not tell you the national grade. Schools differ in how hard they set prelims, so a C in one school's prelim is not the same as a C in another's.

What parents can usefully do:

Sources: SEAB on Ask Gov, cut-off marks and SEAB, bell curve for GCE-Level examinations.

Can you appeal an A-Level grade?

Yes. SEAB calls it an appeal for review of results. A school candidate applies through the school and pays on SEAB's Candidates Portal within five working days of results day, counting results day itself. A senior marker who did not mark the script first remarks it and rechecks every mark entry. The outcome comes within six weeks after the appeal deadline.

The fee is set per subject, announced at each results release, and includes GST. Late appeals are not accepted, and a submitted appeal cannot be withdrawn or refunded.

Dates to watch. If the 2026 results come out on Friday 19 February 2027, the deadline would be Thursday 25 February 2027. If they come out on Tuesday 23 February 2027, it would be Monday 1 March 2027. These are expected dates. In 2026, results came out on Friday 27 February and the window ran to Thursday 5 March.

Ill on the day? That is not an appeal but special consideration. A candidate who sat at least 50% of the paper weighting can apply with a medical certificate showing a diagnosis, through the school, no later than three working days after the affected paper.

Source: SEAB 2026 rules, sections 5.2 and 6.2 and SEAB, year-end results release.

How are private candidates graded?

Private candidates get exactly the same grades as school candidates, A to U at H1 and H2 and Distinction to Ungraded at H3, against the same standard. What differs is how they enter: they must be at least 17 on 1 January of the exam year, register on SEAB's Candidates Portal and pay their own fees. They do not need a Project Work Pass for the universities.

• Subject limits. Up to 5 H1 and 3 H2 subjects, or 3 H1 and 4 H2 subjects.
• Fees. Set by subject and citizenship, with GST. Edusave and the Post-Secondary Education Account cannot be used. Late registration costs $75 per examination level.
• Results. Viewed on the Candidates Portal from results day. A certificate is posted within five working days if there is at least one pass.
• Registration for 2027. SEAB says details will be on its private candidate page in March 2027.

Sources: SEAB, private candidates and NUS FAQs on the revised UAS. If your child is weighing a retake, our private candidate retake guide sets out the options.

When is the A-Level in 2027, and when are the results?

SEAB has not published the 2027 A-Level timetable yet (checked 7 Nov 2026). Going by 2026, expect the Mid-Year Mother Tongue papers in early June 2027, science practicals in mid to late October and most written papers through November 2027, with results around late February 2028. The 2026 A-Level results are expected between Friday 19 and Tuesday 23 February 2027.

The 2027 A-Level is sat by students who entered JC1 in 2026. The first cohort to sit the new SEC in 2027 enters JC in 2028 and would sit the A-Level in 2029. MOE and SEAB have not announced any change to the A-Level grades themselves for those cohorts.

Sources: SEAB, important dates, SEAB 2026 A-Level timetable and MOE, 2025 A-Level results release.

Key terms

• SEAB: the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board, which runs the A-Level with MOE and Cambridge.
• H1, H2, H3: the three subject levels. H1 is one academic unit, H2 is two, and H3 extends an H2 subject.
• Sub-pass (S): a grade below E. It is not a pass and is left off the certificate, but it still earns 5 points at H2.
• Standards-referenced: graded against a fixed standard of work, not against other candidates or a quota.
• University Admission Score (UAS): the total out of 70 that local universities use to rank A-Level applicants.
• Indicative grade profile (IGP): a university's table of the grades at the 10th and 90th percentile of last year's admitted students.
• Appeal for review of results: SEAB's remark and recheck of a subject, applied for within five working days.
• Special consideration: SEAB's process for candidates affected by illness or other adverse events on the day.
• Preliminary exam (prelim): a JC's own mock exam, set and marked by the school, a few weeks before the national papers.

Common questions

What are the A-Level grades in Singapore?

What percentage is an A at A-Level?

Is the A-Level graded on a bell curve?

Is an S grade a pass?

Does H3 count towards university admission?

Is Project Work pass or fail?

Can I see my marks or my marked script?

How long do I have to appeal an A-Level grade?

Which UAS scale applies to me?

What share of candidates get A grades?

Can a prelim grade predict my A-Level grade?

When are the 2026 A-Level results released?