Fewer Sec 3 students taking eight or more subjects, more opting for just six

Lighter curriculum load

Schools have revised their subject offerings, with some students opting for lighter workloads.

Students are also guided in choosing subjects through education and career guidance programmes, subject taster lessons in lower secondary and industry exposure.

About half of the Sec 3 students taking mostly G3-level subjects at Bedok South Secondary School now take six subjects, while the other half take seven. It no longer offers eight-subject combinations.

The school’s principal, Daryl Koh, said the change was an opportunity to place greater emphasis on well-being alongside academic rigour.

It encouraged students to select the right subjects and maintain a sustainable curriculum load, he said.

Swiss Cottage Secondary School in Bukit Batok used to offer only eight-subject combinations for its upper secondary students. In 2026, more than half of its Sec 3 students taking mostly G3-level subjects have opted for seven subjects.

Its principal, Mandy Cheng, said academically inclined students can still take nine subjects. Only a handful do so, typically to pursue interests in a third language or G3 computing offered at external venues.

Balancing aspirations

Students said the revised JC admission criteria allowed them to drop subjects they were not interested in.

The reduced workload has also given them more time for hobbies and leadership roles, said Linus Fun and Alizee Lam from Bedok South Secondary School. Both 15-year-olds opted to do only seven subjects to better manage their time.

“I want to focus on my well-being and ensure I have time to indulge in my interests. If I had taken one more subject, I would have longer school days and a heavier workload,” said Linus, who holds a leadership position in the school’s National Cadet Corps.

An aspiring lawyer, he enjoys taking part in debate competitions organised by the school. He also spends two hours, twice a week, rock climbing in Lavender, a sport he has been doing since the age of four.

His schoolmate Alizee had planned to take one science and two humanities subjects as part of an eight-subject combination.

She changed her mind to take up combined science, which pairs two science subjects into one, and one humanities subject instead.

“I decided to focus on subjects that I was more interested in and which align with my goal of studying psychology or law in the future,” she said.

At Swiss Cottage Secondary School, Sec 3 students Andi’ Syakirah and Natasha Ng are pursuing starkly different subject combinations.

Syakirah is taking seven subjects, some of which are out of her own interests. For instance, she reads Higher Art, Higher Malay, and Malay literature – part of a humanities subject with social studies.

“I’m the kind of person who usually does well in a subject because I like it,” said the 15-year-old, who hopes to become a mother tongue language teacher through the Malay Language Elective Programme in JC.

Her schoolmate, Natasha Ng, 15, chose an eight-subject combination. The aspiring anaesthesiologist is taking biology, chemistry, physics and additional mathematics.

“I know triple science is a lot of work, but my ECG (Education and Career Guidance) counsellor gave me the assurance that if I ever felt there was too much work and I couldn’t cope, I could just drop physics later on,” she said.

Natasha, a student councillor and head of photography in the school’s Media Club, said she would have taken nine subjects under the old system.

She said she was comfortable with the eight-subject load and preferred having more options now.

“It’s better to start with more and then drop one if you cannot cope. Because you cannot go from two sciences to three later on. At least you won’t live with the regret of not trying.”