N-Level in Singapore: grades, ELMAB3, routes after the exam, and the SEC G1 and G2 that replace it

SEAB's own wording, on its SEC page, is that "the G1, G2 and G3 subjects adopt the same grading structure as the N(T)-, N(A)- and O-Level examinations respectively", and it lists G2 as "Grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6" and G1 as "Grades A, B, C, D and E". So N(A) grades run 1 to 6 and N(T) grades A to E, with 1 and A the best.

Some sites say N(A) grades run 1 to 5 plus U. That mixes up two things. Grade 5 is the pass line: SEAB says the N(A) certificate goes to candidates with "at least a Grade 5 or better", and the N(T) certificate to those with "at least a Grade D or better". U is an ungraded result: MOE's DPP rules say "The N(A)-Level grade of U will not be considered for computation of the ELMAB3 aggregate score." Grade 6 is a graded result below the certificate line.

SEAB does not publish the mark range for each grade, so this page does not give one. From 2023 to 2025, more than 9 in 10 N(A) students got Grade 5 or better in English and Maths, and about 9 in 10 N(T) students got Grade D or better in English and Mother Tongue, with about 8 in 10 in Maths.

Results day checklist: the result slip, the Form N (DPP invitation) if the school gives one, Singpass for the ITE application portal, a short list of preferred courses, and a parent to talk the choices through before the application window closes.

• School candidates go back to their school on results day to collect the results. The school announces the time.
• If your child cannot go, appoint a proxy and tell the school in advance. The proxy brings the documents the school asks for.
• Private candidates view results on SEAB's Candidates Portal (myexams.seab.gov.sg) with Singpass, or with the account made at registration. SEAB mails a certificate within five working days if there is at least one pass.
• Appeals: a school candidate can appeal for a review of results through the school within the appeal period. SEAB says the appeal is for "the review of the marking of the scripts and a full clerical re-check". The fee is set each year per subject, including GST, and late appeals are not accepted. Private candidates appeal on the Candidates Portal.
• Free advice: school ECG counsellors and teachers, and the ECG Centre at MOE, which offered online or phone counselling on weekdays from 9am to 5pm and Saturday mornings after the 2025 results. Book at go.gov.sg/moe-ecg-centre. MOE's CourseFinder and the MySkillsFuture Student Portal list courses.

ELMAB3 stands for English, Mathematics and the Best 3 other subjects. Add the five N(A)-Level grades: the lower the total, the better. The best possible is 5. MOE uses the raw total, without CCA bonus points, for Sec 5, PFP and DPP. Maths can be Mathematics Syllabus A or Additional Mathematics. A grade of U is not counted.

Example: English Grade 3, Maths Grade 2, and Science 2, Social Studies with History 3 and Principles of Accounts 4 as the best three others gives 3 + 2 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 14. That meets the Sec 5 and DPP grade rules but not the PFP limit of 12.

A student who also took O-Level subjects can convert those grades and use the better grade for a subject taken at both levels. MOE's conversion for DPP is A1 to B3 = 1, B4 to C6 = 2, D7 = 3, E8 = 4, F9 = 5. For PFP it is the same up to E8, and an O-Level grade 9 does not count.

These are MOE's rules for the students who sat the N-Level in 2026. Meeting them makes a student eligible to apply. Places in PFP, DPP and ITE courses still go by merit and vacancies.

This table reads MOE's grade rules against the raw ELMAB3. Check the subject grades in the routes table too, because a low total with a weak English or Maths grade can still miss a route.

• A grade worse than Grade 5 in a subject counted for Sec 5 rules out Sec 5 with that subject, and the DPP needs English and Maths at 1 to 4. A U does not count in the ELMAB3 at all.
• ITE courses through the Joint Intake Exercise remain open, each with its own entry requirements.
• If a grade looks wrong, appeal through the school within the appeal period for a review of the marking and a clerical re-check.
• Retaking as a private candidate: from 2027 private candidates register for SEC subjects at G1, G2 or G3 on SEAB's Candidates Portal. SEAB's current rules set a minimum age of 15 on 1 January of the exam year, and pupils in government, government-aided, independent or specialised schools cannot register as private candidates. SEAB says it publishes the 2027 private candidate registration details in March 2027.
• Talk to the school's ECG counsellor before deciding. A retake takes a year, and an ITE course may suit the student better.

In 2027 SEAB combines the N(T), N(A) and O-Level into one exam, the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate (SEC), as Full Subject-Based Banding reaches Secondary 4. Each subject is taken at G1, G2 or G3, and students get one certificate that shows every subject at its level. G1 follows the N(T) standard, G2 the N(A) standard and G3 the O-Level standard. There is no N-Level exam for school candidates from 2027.

The SEC timetable is different: English and all Mother Tongue written papers move to September, the other written papers run in one period from October, and all results come out together in January of the following year. Former N-Level students therefore get their results in January instead of mid-December.

A fifth year stays. For the SEC cohort, MOE's rule is either 3 or more G3 passes without qualifying for JC, MI or a polytechnic diploma, or 2 or fewer G3 passes with a gross ELMAB3 of 21 or less, an ELB3 of 14 or less or an MAB3 of 14 or less at G2, with Grade 5 or better at G2 in every subject counted. Only students with an ELMAB3 of 19 or better can take all their subjects at G3 in the fifth year.

From 2028, one Post-Secondary Admissions Exercise replaces the separate JAE, PFP and ITE intake exercises for SEC holders. Students who sat the 2026 N-Level still use the current exercises.

• Start from SEAB's syllabus for the exact subject code. It lists the topics, the papers and their marks, and whether a calculator is allowed.
• Work through past-year and school papers under timed conditions, then mark them against the mark scheme and redo every wrong answer a week later.
• In English, practise the listening and oral formats early, because they are taken before the written papers.
• In Maths, write the working in full, so a slip in the last step does not cost the whole question.
• Keep a one-page list of each subject's weak topics and revise those first in the last month.