Facts checked against the official pages on 18 Oct 2026.
A Secondary applicant sits two papers on the same day, English and Mathematics. This post collects what SEAB and MOE publish about that day, from SEAB's test details page, MOE's test details page and the Instructions to Candidates (June 2026).
The two papers
English takes 2 hours 10 minutes and has two parts.
- Part 1 is writing. A Sec 1 candidate chooses 1 of 2 topics and writes 200 to 300 words. A Sec 2 candidate chooses 1 of 4 topics and writes 250 to 350 words. A Sec 3 candidate chooses 1 of 4 topics and writes 300 to 400 words.
- Part 2 is comprehension and language use: 50 compulsory multiple-choice questions. They are comprehension based on 2 passages (15 items), comprehension cloze based on 2 passages (15 items), vocabulary (10 items) and grammar (10 items).
Mathematics has two parts.
- Part 1 is multiple-choice, 34 items, with 30 minutes.
- Part 2 is 20 short-answer items and 10 to 15 open-ended items, with 1 hour 45 minutes.
Calculators are not allowed. For short-answer and open-ended questions, candidates show their method in the spaces provided. Multiple-choice answers are shaded on the Optical Answer Sheet with a 2B pencil.
The day
- Candidates report at least 45 minutes before the start of the test, and must be seated at their assigned desks at least 15 minutes before it starts. The test hall closes for entry 15 minutes before the start.
- Parents are not allowed to enter the test venue during reporting.
- The duration of each test includes reading time. No extra time is given for reading.
- Secondary candidates have a lunch break of 60 minutes before the start of the English paper. All candidates are dismissed from the hall during this break and must report back to the exam hall by 1330 hour for the English paper in the afternoon.
- No calculator and no print or electronic dictionary, including a translation version, is allowed for either paper.
What we could not confirm
- The 2027 schedule. MOE's test details page lists the 2026 dates, 1 September 2026 for Secondary 1 and 2 September 2026 for Secondary 2 and 3, and no 2027 dates.
- The order of the two papers on the day. The Instructions to Candidates place the lunch break before the English paper and the English paper in the afternoon, and do not state the time of the Mathematics paper.
Sources