Full Subject-Based Banding, or Full SBB, is Singapore’s secondary-school framework that lets students take different subjects at different levels according to their strengths, interests and learning needs. From the 2024 Secondary 1 cohort onward, the old Express, Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) stream labels no longer organise a student’s entire secondary-school experience. Instead, subjects are offered at G1, G2 and G3 levels.
This is one of the most important changes for parents to understand because it changes the unit of thinking. The student is no longer best described by one broad stream label. The more useful description is the learner’s actual subject profile: for example, English at G3, Mathematics at G2, Science at G2, and another subject at G1.
Posting Groups still exist, but they are used to facilitate admission into Secondary 1. They are not subject levels. The distinction between Posting Group and subject level is the key to reading the system correctly.
The Short Answer
- PG1, PG2 and PG3 are Posting Groups used for Secondary 1 admission.
- G1, G2 and G3 are subject levels.
- Students can take a mix of subject levels.
- Subject levels can be adjusted at appropriate junctures according to strengths, progress and school guidance.
- From 2027, graduating students sit the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate at the subject levels they actually take.
- Under Full SBB, all students in the 2024 Secondary 1 cohort take the SEC at the end of Secondary 4.
Why Full SBB Exists
The old streaming system grouped students broadly according to one overall academic course. Full SBB changes that logic. A learner can be strong in one subject, average in another and need more support in a third. The system is designed to make those differences visible at subject level.
That means the most useful parent question is no longer “Which stream is my child in?” It is:
Which subject levels is my child taking now, and what does the evidence say about the fit of each one?
G1, G2 and G3: What They Actually Mean
G1
G1 is the least demanding of the three General subject levels. It is designed to build strong fundamentals, practical application and confidence. It should not be read as a permanent ceiling.
G2
G2 increases abstraction, depth and independent application. In English, that means stronger inference, writing development and task control. In Mathematics, it means greater algebraic demand and multi-step reasoning. In Science, it means stronger evidence use, experimental reasoning and quantitative work.
G3
G3 is the most demanding General subject level. It requires greater abstraction, precision, transfer and independent reasoning. A G3 learner still needs strong foundations; a higher level does not make number sense, grammar, evidence or checking optional.
Posting Groups: What PG1, PG2 and PG3 Mean
Posting Groups are used to facilitate admission into Secondary 1. They help determine the learner’s starting subject-level profile, but they are not the curriculum itself.
- PG1 is an admission grouping associated with the least demanding starting profile.
- PG2 is an admission grouping associated with the middle starting profile.
- PG3 is an admission grouping associated with the most demanding starting profile.
Once the learner is in school, the actual subject levels matter more educationally. A learner who entered through PG2 may take English at G3. A learner who entered through PG3 may take another subject at G2. The system is built to allow that flexibility.
Mixed Form Classes
Under Full SBB, students are placed in mixed form classes rather than being separated into Express, N(A) and N(T) streams. This means classmates may take different subjects at different levels.
The practical implication is that a form class is no longer a reliable clue to subject-level demand. Parents should always check the learner’s actual timetable and subject profile.
How Subject-Level Adjustments Work
Full SBB allows subject levels to be adjusted at appropriate junctures. The purpose is not to move everyone upward as quickly as possible. The purpose is to keep challenge and learnability in balance.
A useful decision framework is:
- Is the learner conceptually secure?
- Can the learner perform independently?
- Does performance remain stable across time?
- Can the learner handle unfamiliar material?
- Can the learner sustain the workload across the whole timetable?
- What does the school’s evidence and guidance indicate?
A higher level is useful only when the learner can learn well there. A lower level can be a strategic learning decision when the current demand is preventing useful progress.
How the SEC Fits Full SBB
From 2027, the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate replaces the separate N(T), N(A) and O-Level certificates for the relevant cohorts. Students sit subjects at G1, G2 or G3, and receive one certificate reflecting the subjects and levels they actually sat.
SEAB also provides grade mappings across subject levels for progression purposes. The important point for parents is that the certificate records subject-level achievement, not the learner’s old Posting Group.
Official reference: SEAB Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate.
Why There Is No Full SBB Secondary 5 Branch
MOE’s current Full SBB pathway states that students in the 2024 Secondary 1 cohort sit the SEC at the end of Secondary 4. Secondary 5 belongs to the older N(A)-to-O-Level pathway for earlier cohorts and should not be mechanically carried into the new PG/G-level architecture.
This distinction matters for content accuracy. A useful Full SBB guide should not invent a ‘PG2 Secondary 5’ or ‘G3 Secondary 5’ pathway when the current framework places the common SEC at the end of Secondary 4.
What Parents Should Track Instead of Labels
- the learner’s actual subject levels;
- recent assessment evidence;
- which errors repeat after correction;
- whether the learner can retrieve learning after a delay;
- whether skills transfer into unfamiliar tasks;
- whether workload is sustainable;
- teacher feedback;
- whether the learner is becoming more independent.
The eduKate First-Principles View
We read Full SBB as a system for better matching teaching demand to the learner. The label is useful only if it improves the next teaching decision.
- Confirm the subject level.
- Diagnose the first weak link.
- Fence the target skill.
- Model the expert decision.
- Retrieve after delay.
- Interleave with other skills.
- Transfer into a new context.
- Adjust challenge from evidence.
Start With the Subject-Specific Guides
- G1 Secondary 1 English
- G2 Secondary 1 Mathematics
- G3 Secondary 1 Science
- PG1 Secondary 1 English
- PG2 Secondary 4 Science
- PG3 Secondary 4 Science
Full SBB: The Label Is the Start, Not the Teaching Plan
Full Subject-Based Banding works best when parents stop treating labels as identities and start reading the learner’s actual subject profile. PG1, PG2 and PG3 explain admission. G1, G2 and G3 explain subject demand. The learner’s work explains what should happen next.
Contact eduKate Sengkang if you want help interpreting your child’s Full SBB subject profile and deciding what to strengthen next.
