Integrated Programme (IP) Vs O-Level: What’s the difference?

After the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), students who qualify for the express stream by scoring 4-20 for PSLE will have two choices: O-Level or Integrated Programme (IP). IP is a 6-year course leading to the GCE A-Level examination or International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma or NUS High School Diploma. Students in the Integrated Programme do not need to take the GCE O-Level examination in Secondary 4.

Basically, GCE O-Level Programme is a 4-year course, where students sit for the O-Level Examination at the end of Secondary 4. From there, students can choose whether they want to enter Junior Colleges (JC) to take A-Level Examinations at the end of their second year or go to polytechnics to obtain a diploma at the end of their third year. Alternatively, students can even choose to go to an International Baccalaureate (IB) school to get their IB diploma. In a way, there is higher flexibility and more choices for O-Level students at the end of the 4 years, as compared to IP students, who have to decide on their education pathway right away after PSLE and stick to it.

In general, IP is seen as a more academically challenging programme, since students will be taking on senior secondary school level subjects in lower secondary school. An exception to note is that students on the O-Level track who perform well can apply to transfer to the IP at Secondary 3. There are currently 17 schools that offer integrated programme (IP).

IP Schools for A-Level:

1. Catholic High School
2. Cedar Girls’ Secondary School
3. CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School
4. Dunman High School
5. Hwa Chong Institution
6. Nanyang Girls’ High School
7. National Junior College
8. Raffles Girls’ School (Secondary)
9. Raffles Institution (Secondary)
10. River Valley High School
11. Singapore Chinese Girls’ School
12. Temasek Junior College
13. Victoria School

IP Schools for International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma:

1. Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)
2. Methodist Girls’ School
3. St Joseph’s Institution

IP School for NUS High School Diploma:

1. NUS High School of Mathematics and Science

Now, let’s take a look at some of the possible pros and cons of the two routes. Firstly, for O-Level students, they will have one more GCE O-Level national exam certification than IP students. Some may feel that having more academic certificates is generally better and safer for higher employment chances. However, the cons is that students will face tougher competition to get into a Junior college compared to IP students whose places are already guaranteed. There will be many more O-Level students competing to be enrolled into a JC of their choice during JAE. One will have to score well for their L1R5 during O Level.

For IP students, one more advantage is that they have 6 years to prepare for A level or IB or NUS High School Diploma, as compared to JC students who only have a much shorter time period of 2 years to study for A Level. It is well known that the 2 years in JC are the hardest and most stressful period, as there is so much to learn, yet so little time. IP students can skip that period and have more than sufficient time to prepare for their final major examination. In addition, there is more time for IP students to have a holistic and real advanced learning experience.Students will also have more opportunities for special programs such as overseas trips and seminars, instead of mainly focusing on studies.

However, not having to take the O-Level examinations may be a disadvantage in itself, as IP students may be too relaxed and start to slack off in the first few years until they reach year 5 and 6, where they will be overwhelmed by the heavy academic workload and expectations. It may even become too difficult for some to catch up, causing them to not score as well in the final major examinations. What is worse is that they have nothing to fall back on.

In conclusion, both routes have their own advantages and disadvantages. Ultimately, parents should look at their child’s strengths and interests to determine which education pathway is right for them. It is important to start planning for your child’s education path at an early stage. Should your child need extra help in their studies to be enrolled in their dream school, look no further than Sophia Education!

With our tuition classes at Sophia Education, students are able to receive ample time for consultations to work through their doubts and misconceptions. The small class sizes for our group tuition also ensure that our tutors with many years of experience can devote more attention to each student, a feat that might not be possible for regular school teachers who are focusing on up to 40 students at a time, which also allows us to provide personalised tuition services for every student.

With our personalised tuition and an abundance of resources that we will print for you every lesson, we strongly believe that your grades will improve significantly! Do visit our website www.sophiaeducation.sg to learn more about our tuition services, and even for study tips and resources!

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