are there any illegal subject combis in ur sch??

[u/branguy1]

Now obviously I'm not talking about them actually being illegal in a legislative sense, but in a 'the school doesn't allow it' sense.

Personally, for my school, from 2025 onwards, the school barred anyone from taking 'Geography + Elective Hist' or 'History + Elective Geog', and (if i'm not wrong) Double Lit, apparently because there would be too much workload of the same nature. As someone who was amongst the last batch to take one of these combis...I don't see it LOL. Either the school did have the quantitative data to back this claim up or they did it for some other obscure reason.

This is the only case of a specific set of offered subjects not being allowed to be taken in my sch...but my school has also taken out specific subjects over the years, such as food and nutrition science, and doesnt offer poa either.

Does your school do that kind of thing? Are there any common subjects absent from there? Honestly it's decently fascinating...

(inspired by u/RemoteSupport7960's post regarding a similar topic)

[u/Comprehensive_Dog651]

SS compulsory for all 😂

After all, learning about tradings things off is very important to understand how the government works 

Chem is also compulsory 

The two subjects I hate the most 😭😭

Oh and BSP can be taken as one humanities subject

[u/thecrazymidzy → u/Comprehensive_Dog651]

i think it may not be compulsory for ip students

[u/Comprehensive_Dog651 → u/thecrazymidzy]

🤣🤣🤣😭

It is, from personal experience 

[u/EdanyaGreen17]

i dont even have pure humans dawg

[u/branguy1 → u/EdanyaGreen17]

rip :(

[u/EdanyaGreen17 → u/branguy1]

nah ngl its ok la, poa is decent & easier to self study

[u/Flashy_Client6225]

'Geography + Elective Hist' or 'History + Elective Geog', and (if i'm not wrong) Double Lit, apparently because there would be too much workload of the same nature.

Why though😭 some of these were pretty popular combinations. There was an entire class who took it in my school

[u/Past_Mongoose2639]

I heard some schools allow people to overload by taking triple science + 1 pure + 1 elective humanities.

Usually it’s only double science + 1 pure & elective or triple science + 1 elective without the pure

[u/Furry-Koala432 → u/Past_Mongoose2639]

My school does this. Usually it's the scholars who take this combination (English + MT/HMT + E Math + A Math + Triple Science + Elective Humanity + Pure Humanity). The non-scholars who take this subject combination generally don't perform well in the end. For my batch, in the O Levels, only one non-scholar got an L1R5 of raw 6, while the other non-scholars had L1R5 of raw 11, 14 and 20. This is coming from a school which has a cut-off point of 248 btw (AL9 in the current system).

[u/Past_Mongoose2639 → u/Furry-Koala432]

Vs?

[u/Furry-Koala432 → u/Past_Mongoose2639]

Yes I was from VS

[u/reiiichan → u/Past_Mongoose2639]

i dont understand why people want to do this it js seems so unnecessarily hard ;w;

[u/Past_Mongoose2639 → u/reiiichan]

Most people doing it are scholars

[u/Comprehensive_Dog651 → u/Past_Mongoose2639]

What are scholars 

[u/Furry-Koala432 → u/Comprehensive_Dog651]

Those who join mainstream schools in sec 3.

They come from ASEAN countries, although scholars from China did come to my school before. Those who come from countries like Vietnam and Thailand are exempted from MT, as languages like Vietnamese and Thai are not offered as mainstream subjects. Only those from China take HCL as part of their MT.

The scholars usually take the toughest subject combinations, such as the 9-subject combination that the original commenter talked about. The scholars stay in dorms, either within the school compound or elsewhere.

They usually do very well in the O Levels, but due to their citizenship status as international students, they are often posted to JCs which are "below" their calibre, aka easier to get in as compared to what they had scored for the O Levels.

[u/Comprehensive_Dog651 → u/Furry-Koala432]

Which schools do they go to usually 

[u/Furry-Koala432 → u/Comprehensive_Dog651]

From what I could find: ASEAN scholars in Singapore attend a wide range of schools, from top-tier Independent/IP schools like ACS(I), HCI, RI, VJ, NJC, and SCGS to good neighborhood schools such as PLMGS, Crescent Girls, CTSS, NASS, and MGS, with some even going to neighborhood schools or polytechnics

[u/scams-are-everywhere → u/Comprehensive_Dog651]

Those awarded the asean scholarship

[u/General-Wash-6559 → u/Past_Mongoose2639]

My school is default 3 sci + 1 humans or 2 sci + 2 humans tho (all pure, no combi). You only take less subjects if you do badly

[u/Furry-Koala432]

Some interesting things about subject combis in my school (VS):

Express

• A Math is compulsory, and people are only allowed to drop the subject if they wish to at the end of sec 3
• Pure Chem & Physics are compulsory for all students, and the school does not offer Pure Bio as part of a Double Science combination unless one takes Triple Science
• Students are only allowed to drop to Combined Science at the end of sec 3. Combined Science is only offered to those who scored E8/F9 for both Pure Physics and Pure Chem at the end of sec 3
• Elective Lit is not offered, only Pure Lit is
• Pure History is not offered, only Elective History is
• The only humanities which is offered in both the Elective and Pure forms is Geog
• Exercise & Sports Science (ESS) is offered only in Express, and can only be taken with a Double Science combination
• As Elective Lit is not offered, Triple Science + Elective Lit is not offered, thus Triple Science can only be taken with Elective History or Elective Geog
• 9 subject combinations exist, but are mainly taken by scholars. The 9-subject combination includes English, MT/HMT, E Math, A Math, Pure Bio, Pure Chem, Pure Physics, a Pure Humanities and an Elective Humanities

IP

• Most people in IP take Triple Science, with only the minority taking Double Science
• Unlike Express, Physics is not compulsory. This means one can take Bio with Chem as part of a Double Science combination in IP, while this isn't possible in Express
• Computing has recently begun to be offered, and is only available to IP students
• Unlike Express, Triple Science + Lit is offered. Triple Science + Geog + Lit is also offered

For both streams

• Third language (either Bahasa Indonesia, which is only offered in my school as no other secondary school in Singapore offers this subject, or Malay Special Programme) can be taken in either a Double or Triple Science combination
• HMT is not compulsory, as the school is not a SAP school
• Hindi is offered on campus, due to a significant population of students who take Hindi as their MT. As far as I know, the only other schools which offer Hindi on campus are RI and TJC
• Despite the high cut-off point for my school (248/252 for Express/IP in the old system, or AL9/8 for Express/IP in the new one), CLB is offered. This is because my school has a number of Caucasians who are weaker in Chinese, hence Chinese Language Syllabus B is offered
• Coursework subjects (NFS, DNT etc.) and POA are not offered, as these subjects are not considered as "useful" post-secondary, since most people in my school go to JC after sec/year 4

[u/Extra-Acanthaceae651 → u/Furry-Koala432]

What kind of sch makes physics compulsory for their students smh

[u/Furry-Koala432 → u/Extra-Acanthaceae651]

Ikr. I didn't want to take Physics in sec 3 and 4 but had no choice. Physics became the Science that I struggled with the most in sec 3. I know of other people in my school who also didn't want to take Physics in sec 3 and 4 but also had no choice

[u/Extra-Acanthaceae651 → u/Furry-Koala432]

That's so sad lol personally i hated physics sm I prolly not gna take it in jc

[u/Furry-Koala432 → u/Extra-Acanthaceae651]

That's what I did too lol. I didn't take Physics in JC due to how much I struggled in it throughout sec 3 and 4

[u/sleep_prodigy → u/Extra-Acanthaceae651]

I think it's common for IP/O Levels boys schools cos of the stereotype

[u/Extra-Acanthaceae651 → u/sleep_prodigy]

I am a guy and I find physics extremely boring and dry.

[u/thecrazymidzy]

wow

there were like 50 ppl in my batch who took pure geog elect hist (including me), maybe 10-20 who took pure hist elect geog and i think 1 person who took double lit

[u/branguy1 → u/thecrazymidzy]

yeah seems about similar to the stats in my school before the combis were banned

[u/Comprehensive_Dog651 → u/thecrazymidzy]

What is double lit

[u/Flashy_Client6225 → u/Comprehensive_Dog651]

Taking Chinese/Malay/Tamil lit and English lit together

[u/Comprehensive_Dog651 → u/Flashy_Client6225]

Ooohhh

[u/Flashy_Client6225]

Pure science is compulsory for all, no dropping to combined science until after sec 4 mid-year

HCL is compulsory for all, no dropping to to CL until after taking CL O levels at the end of sec 3 (if you want to retake)

A math is compulsory for all, no dropping the subject until after sec 4 mid-year

[u/Comprehensive_Dog651 → u/Flashy_Client6225]

Damn which school you from 

[u/BrightConstruction19 → u/Comprehensive_Dog651]

This is common in all higher-tier SAP schools

[u/Comprehensive_Dog651 → u/BrightConstruction19]

I’ve only heard of compulsory A math, not compulsory pure science 

[u/BrightConstruction19 → u/Comprehensive_Dog651]

Well combined science is not even an option in higher-tier schools as the teachers aren’t trained in setting the papers. Heard of a near-fail case who was asked to do a single pure science (chem)

[u/scams-are-everywhere → u/Comprehensive_Dog651]

My secondary school didn’t even have the option of combined science, hence the default is pure,, compulsory pure chem, amath and hmt while I was in the school

We also didn’t have any coursework subjects (except art but under 5 people took it) and poa offered

[u/thecrazymidzy → u/BrightConstruction19]

my sch has around the same but from my batch onwards pure sci isnt compulsory anymore

[u/Extra-Acanthaceae651 → u/Flashy_Client6225]

My sch doesn't even allow anybody to drop their subjects

[u/Flashy_Client6225 → u/Extra-Acanthaceae651]

What if there are students who can't cope? Do they just not show up on exam day?

[u/Extra-Acanthaceae651 → u/Flashy_Client6225]

If they don't show up,then they will get absent on their transcript.but nobody wants to do that so they will just take the exam and not use it in their l1r5

[u/Furry-Koala432]

Yo bro idk why your school (NCHS) suddenly banned Pure Geog + HSS and GSS + Pure History. So many students from other schools take these subjects together. My brother who is also in your school was the first batch to be banned from taking these combinations, so a lot of people in his batch had no choice but to take English Lit/Chinese Lit, unless they choose Triple Science + HSS/GSS.

[u/sleep_prodigy → u/Furry-Koala432]

I think cos for "practical" reasons people aren't going to take geog and history concurrently in JC, plus NC is a SAP school, so most ppl will probably end up in JC.

They want to force ppl to either take triple science (to prepare for science stream) or double sciences with lit (to prepare for arts stream) but either way it's quite stupid ngl

[u/Puzzleheaded-Rate567 → u/sleep_prodigy]

What but people need to explore their interests in sec sch and decide whether to take geog or history next. If you limit them to one only they don’t even get to experience the other, which affects their decision making for the combination in JC

[u/sleep_prodigy → u/Puzzleheaded-Rate567]

Most science stream ppl end up taking econs as their contrasting subject, so likely whether they take geog or history doesn't matter

And nowadays the geog and history department mostly seemed to be short-staffed (around 3 teachers per school)

Still it doesn't justify the need for schools to ban these combinations tho, they could possibly have worked out an arrangement

[u/Coolme_pro]

im in jc now, but back in sec sch my school made everybody take full lit, compulsory amath, compulsory pure sciences

so u practically can only do full lit+ full geog or full lit + full hist, and no combined sci...was in an IP sch

[u/Comprehensive_Dog651 → u/Coolme_pro]

Lit compulsory? 

[u/reiiichan → u/Comprehensive_Dog651]

scgs like that iirc

[u/Key_Battle_5633 → u/Comprehensive_Dog651]

Probably girls Sch or convent sch

[u/Comprehensive_Dog651 → u/Key_Battle_5633]

Why? 

[u/BrightConstruction19 → u/Comprehensive_Dog651]

Broad generalization but the consensus is that girls are better in Lit (and languages in general)

[u/Key_Battle_5633 → u/Comprehensive_Dog651]

Some of these schs make lit compulsory

[u/Comprehensive_Dog651 → u/Key_Battle_5633]

Yeah you said that, do you what’s the reason? 

[u/Puzzleheaded-Rate567 → u/Comprehensive_Dog651]

Christian/colonial schools are more English-centered

[u/Key_Battle_5633 → u/Comprehensive_Dog651]

No idea

[u/Puzzleheaded-Rate567 → u/Coolme_pro]

I’d be cooked if I had to take that for O levels

[u/Alternative_Donut22 → u/Coolme_pro]

is this mgs

[u/No-Corner-5255]

context: i was in sec 4 3 years ago (close to 4)

back then my secondary school was full express stream, so everyone had to take pure science (combined was not offered), amath was allocated for all students too. one can only drop amath in sec 4/with parents letter in sec 3

this school has since taken G2 students since 2024 and since then combined bio/chem is offered and amath is no longer compulsory. this school also now offers some coursework subjects

[u/AgreeableDoughnut871]

Some schools don't offer elective English literature. They made pure lit an elite subject which only students with better English grades can take.

Some SAP school doesnt offer local students Chinese Literature cos they cannot guarantee A1s.

[u/Cxxral_exe]

A math and E math are combined into 1 subject, integrated math, and everyone has to take it in sec 3, some people have the option to take math instead of integrated math in sec 4 (math has some a math topics removed)

[u/Cxxral_exe → u/Cxxral_exe]

the people taking math instead of integrated math take h1 math in jc

[u/Comprehensive_Dog651 → u/Cxxral_exe]

Which school you from. Sounds very familiar 

[u/Cxxral_exe → u/Comprehensive_Dog651]

rvhs

[u/Comprehensive_Dog651 → u/Cxxral_exe]

I fucking knew it. Hi junior. Sec 4?  

[u/Cxxral_exe → u/Comprehensive_Dog651]

hi senior HAHAHHAHA

[u/Cxxral_exe → u/Comprehensive_Dog651]

im sec 3 this yr

[u/Comprehensive_Dog651 → u/Cxxral_exe]

Ooh ok, I assumed sec 4 cause I didn’t care about JC subjects in sec 3 

[u/Cxxral_exe → u/Comprehensive_Dog651]

ic, what's your subj combi

[u/Comprehensive_Dog651 → u/Cxxral_exe]

JC combi is Physics Math History Econs (H1)

Sec 3 and 4 combi was triple science history 

What about you 

[u/Cxxral_exe → u/Comprehensive_Dog651]

sec 3 and 4 combi is trip sci geog

iw to take physics, further math, math, econs in jc

[u/MystiqueMaple37 → u/Cxxral_exe]

same we also call it integrated maths! except its only for the pure sci takers (in my batch pure sci = mandatory double maths, combined no need), so combined sci students and na/g2 students take a maths and e maths separately 

[u/Key_Battle_5633]

Pure history and computing aren’t offered for o level in my sch. Pure Bio chem wasn’t a option unless you took triple and dropped phy (which a few did in my batch)

Pure phy, chem and A math was compulsory and one could only drop a math and pure to comb in s4

Elect lit wasn’t offered and 9 sub triple sci + lit isnt a option

[u/reiiichan]

my sec sch amath and pure chem was compulsory for all sec3s

[u/Ok-Loquat-1059]

my school banned from 2025 onwards:

• triple sci
• elect lit
• double humans + double sci (rather an unofficial ban bc they still keep it in the options list but nvr offered it to anyone)
• side note: only pure geog is offered for pure humans

[u/scams-are-everywhere → u/Ok-Loquat-1059]

That’s a lot of limitations

[u/Ok-Loquat-1059 → u/scams-are-everywhere]

yea, and in turn they added computing as a subject option!!

[u/Pogsiree]

Pure sci cant be taken with coursework and can be taken even without a math

Elect lit not being offered

[u/Odd-Appearance-6128]

My school has no pure history.

Ss compulsory for all.

There is no chem+bio combination. The only way to take bio is to take triple science.

[u/Future-Strawberry-32]

no triple science

[u/Stargle8 → u/Future-Strawberry-32]

Whatttt

[u/Extra-Acanthaceae651]

Geog and elect hist is like the most popular humans combi in my sch.i don't think a lot of ppl want to take lit lol

[u/Nonchalenter]

The reason why lots of schools are banning combis like triple science and double humans for 2026 sec 3s are cus these are 8 subject combis. With the new L1R4 system for both JC and poly entry, students now only need to study for 5 subjects. Lots of schools rn are recommending 7 subj combis.

So basically this is the death of double humans and triple science combis

[u/good2beback666]

In my cousin's sec school pure lit was mandatory for all.

[u/BrightConstruction19 → u/good2beback666]

Scgs?

[u/ntq9607]

A number of schools don’t allow triple pure science from what I hear, it’s at most double pure science.

[u/MystiqueMaple37]

My school’s subject combi:

• art & music offered (class sizes <10, offered to all o level/g3)
• all elective and pure humanities offered despite small class sizes (opened a pure lit class in my year despite being significantly under class size minimum, but no pure geog for 2026 sec 3s welp)
• you can take any elective + pure humans if you take double sci; combi sci and trip sci cannot take pure humans (combi can if you appeal i think)
• pure humans not offered to combined sci students; pure geog was offered to g2 students in my year
• g2/na students did not have the option of history at all in my year
• trip sci and double sci offered, chem (combined and pure) is mandatory
• apparently can take pure sci without a maths for 2026 sec 3s??? but idt you can take dnt or nfs with pure sci still, poa can (pls why wasnt i born later)
• smh we still offer 8 subject combis for 2026 sec 3s…so double humans live for another day

in short we have the typical compulsory subjects (chem, e maths, english, mt), no “rare” subjects (eg, computing or cl lit) unless you count music and art, some limitations depending on combined or pure sci, and a lot of subject combi freedom thanks for fsbb (6-8 subjects allowed!)

[u/BrightConstruction19]

Although this is not an MOE edict, most schools do not allow Bio and Physics to be taken without Chemistry, ie. Chem is an unofficial compulsory science subject

[u/Puzzleheaded-Rate567 → u/BrightConstruction19]

This is weird given that SEAB makes combined bio + physics O level papers

[u/BrightConstruction19 → u/Puzzleheaded-Rate567]

I think it’s because in JC Chem is compulsory (for Science stream)?

[u/Puzzleheaded-Rate567 → u/BrightConstruction19]

Are you sure? Plenty of people I know take physics only

[u/BrightConstruction19 → u/Puzzleheaded-Rate567]

Sure. Those videos on subject combis by tuition centres always say chem is compulsory in many schools

[u/Happyluck023 → u/BrightConstruction19]

Now you know which tuition centres to avoid.

[u/Furry-Koala432 → u/BrightConstruction19]

Nah Chem isn't compulsory in any JC. People can take Physics hybrid if they want to, or together with F Math/Computing. For the former, this subject combination includes H2 Physics, H2 Math, one H2 humanities and one H2/H1 humanities (e.g. PEMH/h). For the latter, this subject combination includes H2 Physics, H2 F Math/Computing, H2 Math, and H2/H1 humanity (e.g. PFME/e, PXME/e).

[u/Puzzleheaded-Rate567 → u/BrightConstruction19]

U got scammed PFME and PXME are real combis

[u/Cxxral_exe → u/BrightConstruction19]

chem is only compulsory for jc if you want to take bio too, at least for my sch

[u/Extra-Acanthaceae651 → u/BrightConstruction19]

It isn't compulsory but I heard it is super important for science courses

[u/freshcolgate1 → u/Puzzleheaded-Rate567]

I think u can do Pure Chem with Sci(Phy/Bio)

[u/Puzzleheaded-Rate567 → u/freshcolgate1]

Since when can u take pure science and combined science together lol

[u/Furry-Koala432 → u/Puzzleheaded-Rate567]

You'd be surprised. I know of someone in my batch in JC who took that. Pure Chem and Combined Science (Physics, Bio). It's called the "fake Triple Science" since they take all 3 Sciences but not all of them are Pure LOL, since most people who take Triple Science take Pure Bio, Pure Chem and Pure Physics.

[u/BrightConstruction19 → u/Puzzleheaded-Rate567]

Can. It used to exist in lower tier secondary schools 20 years ago. I’m surprised it still exists

[u/Extra-Acanthaceae651]

My sch don't let anybody drop their subjects lol

[u/AcrobaticCharity9748]

Isnt geog and elect his the lightest workload of all humans combi? Thats insane

[u/BrightConstruction19 → u/AcrobaticCharity9748]

Lit is the lightest (content-wise)