PSLE Cut-Off Points (COPs) for the 2026 Secondary 1 Intake
Submitted by KiasuEditor
As part of your child’s PSLE preparation, it’s good to be aware of what secondary school cut-off points or COPs are. This helps your child to set exam goals, and also choose schools that are within reach, in case of unexpected results.
Key takeaways
Use all 6 school choices, and include at least 2 to 3 schools where your child’s PSLE score is better than the school’s COP.
A single-digit PSLE score is needed for the IP pathway.
There are many options available for students who score 19 points and above, wishing to enter the G3 pathway.
COP data below reflects students who entered secondary school in 2026 (i.e. the 2025 PSLE cohort). This is the most recent data available.
For a smoother school selection process, follow the Ministry of Education’s advice when submitting school choices for your child:
Use all 6 options with a range of COPs so that you are more likely to get a school of your choice.
Consider at least 2 to 3 schools where your child’s PSLE score is better than the school’s COP.
An important thing to note: If you and your child focus heavily on secondary schools that are out of reach, there is a high possibility that your child won’t qualify for these schools. Even if you have “Plan B” schools in your list, choice order does matter in the event of limited spaces.
What you want to avoid is a scenario where your child’s school posting is completely left to the mercy of demand and computer algorithms.
What should we know about PSLE COPs in 2026?
If your child is aiming for the Integrated Programme or IP track, they will need to get a single-digit PSLE score. In fact, scoring 9 for the PSLE will not leave one with many options for the IP.
On this point, we would like to highlight that sometimes children do extremely well for the PSLE, but miss the cut-off for their desired school or course by a point or two.
A member of our KiasuParents team has experienced this: After the PSLE, her child was eligible for IP courses in other schools but opted for their preferred school, going on to take the O-Levels. In the Secondary 2 year, her child was shortlisted to switch over to the IP stream, but did not make the final cut. Eventually, after the O-Levels, her teen qualified for the desired course in a different school. By then, the teen was ready for a change of environment, and she could see that her own hard work and resilience had paid off.
We would also like to draw attention to children who aren’t currently scoring straight As, as it can feel like a score such as 13 or 18 is "not good enough."
In reality, there are still many options available for a child. Below, we’ve featured the COP data from 139 secondary schools, where this data has also been posted on the MOE's SchoolFinder website for easy verification.
Of these, 52 secondary schools were able to accept students who scored 19 and above into Posting Group 3, to take mostly G3 subjects in Secondary 1. (This is equivalent to the former “Express” stream in secondary school, which many parents are more familiar with.)
We know that children and parents can get upset when they realise a certain pathway is out of reach, be it the IP, G3, G2, or G1.
Regardless of the placement outcome for your child, there is now much more flexibility within our education system, and this is worth remembering. Schools will monitor the progress of students, and those who do well may be given the opportunity for pathway transfers, or to do selected subjects at a higher level.
What are the PSLE COPs in 2026?
You will not know the PSLE COPs for students in your child’s cohort until the school selection process is over. Therefore, decisions have to be made based on those who entered secondary school in 2026, i.e. they took the PSLE in 2025.
Below, we’ve made the latest COP data available for you, with filtering options, including for Special Assistance Plan or SAP schools, which some of our community is interested in.
The scores that we're highlighting are the Posting Group 3 (PG3) cut-off scores for students without school affiliations, as well as COPs for IP pathways.
In instances where COPs are listed as 30*, this was when the last posted student had a PSLE score better than 30. However, the school still had vacancies, and could have admitted a student with the PSLE score of 30.
Note: If the search or filters aren’t responding, try refreshing the page once. If it still doesn’t work, please get in touch with us to let us know.
To get the most accurate and updated information, always refer to the Ministry of Education’s SchoolFinder website.
Students in Posting Group 3 will mostly take G3 subjects; Posting Group 2 students mainly G2; Posting Group 1 students mainly G1.
Score range shows lowest to highest AL score admitted; bold = cut-off point (COP).
AL scores: 4 = best, 32 = least competitive. SAP schools: (D) = Distinction in Higher Chinese, (M) = Merit.
1 Kuo Chuan Presbyterian: no non-affiliated students posted via S1 in 2025 — all non-affiliated G3 places taken via DSA-Sec. 2024 COP was 9.
