In theory, choosing the best secondary school in Singapore can depend on various factors, including academic performance, CCAs, school culture, location, and the specific needs of the student. However honestly, most parents judge secondary schools based on academic performance by default, and it makes a lot of sense.
Unlike primary school, where you simply can’t get academic performance rankings, for secondary schools in Singapore, there’s a straightforward and publicly available metric to calculate their rankings: the PSLE cut off scores.
So, the best 10 secondary schools in Singapore in 2024, in terms of academic ranking, AKA PSLE cut-off point (COP), are:
| School | 2024 Intake COP (IP) | |
| 1 | Raffles Girls’ (Secondary) | 6 |
| 2 | Raffles Institution (Secondary) | 6 |
| 3 | Methodist Girls’ (Secondary) | 6 |
| 4 | Hwa Chong Institution (Secondary) | 7M |
| 5 | Nanyang Girls’ High | 7D |
| 6 | CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ (Secondary) | 7M |
| 7 | National Junior College (Secondary) | 7 |
| 8 | Anglo-Chinese School (Secondary) | 7 |
| 9 | Dunman High (Secondary) | 8M |
| 10 | Singapore Chinese Girls’ School | 8 |
Please take note, the PSLE cut-off point does not really accurately indicate academic performance of the secondary school, because PLSE score is what the student achieved before entering the school. O-level scores seem like a better metrics. Unfortunately, most all of the best secondary schools are IP schools, therefore their students bypass O-level exams.