What AEIS is, and what it is not

The one-sentence version

The Admissions Exercise for International Students (AEIS) is how an international student who is not already in a Singapore mainstream school applies for a place in Primary 2 to Primary 5 or Secondary 1 to Secondary 3 for the following January.

MOE sets the policy. The Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) runs the tests. You apply through SEAB's Candidates Portal.

The shape of the year

MOE's own timeline, in order:

1. Primary applicants only: take a Cambridge English Qualifications (CEQ) test at any authorised centre in any country, no earlier than 12 months before the application month. Meet the required score.
2. July: apply online and pay. For 2026 the windows were 7 to 16 July (Primary) and 8 to 17 July (Secondary).
3. August: download the entry proof from the Candidates Portal.
4. Early September: sit the test in Singapore. In 2026: 1 September (Sec 1), 2 September (Sec 2 and 3), 3 September (all Primary).
5. December: check the outcome online and report to the offered school within the reporting window.
6. January: start school.

What the tests are

• Primary (P2 to P5): Mathematics only. English is assessed through the Cambridge test taken before you apply.
• Secondary (S1 to S3): English and Mathematics, on the same day, with a lunch break between them.

Each test covers the content of the level before the one applied for. MOE's wording: the applicant "needs to be familiar with the Mathematics topics taught in our mainstream schools for the level preceding the one that they applied for." So a Primary 3 applicant is tested on Primary 2 Mathematics, and a Secondary 3 applicant on Secondary 2 English and Mathematics.

What AEIS is not

• Not a guarantee. MOE: "Admission is not guaranteed and is subject to your child's performance in the tests. If successful, placement will be based on the available vacancies in our schools and your declared residential area, where possible."
• Not a published exam. SEAB does not release AEIS papers, and candidates may not take any part of the paper out of the hall. Anything sold as a "past paper" is a reconstruction.
• Not a school choice. You do not pick a school. MOE posts successful applicants to a school with a vacancy, and "the school posting is final."
• Not the only route. Students already in Singapore on certain passes, returning Singaporeans, and students applying to international or private schools follow other processes.

Two exercises a year

AEIS runs once a year (September test, January entry). A smaller Supplementary AEIS (S-AEIS) runs in February or March for entry in April or May of the same year, and only for Primary 2 to 4 and Secondary 1 to 2. The S-AEIS page has the differences.