Common FAQs

For FAQs related to Posting to Secondary School

For FAQs related to new PSLE scoring system

2. What are schooling hours like?

In 2023, formal curriculum ends at 2.15pm on Mon-Thurs and 12.30pm on Fri for Secondary 1 students. For selected students, lessons end at 3.15pm on Wed. 

For the majority of our CCAs, training sessions are held once a week, on Monday or Friday and ends at 5.30 pm. 

For Sports CCAs, trainings are held twice a week and ends earlier at 4.30 pm. Do note that there may be some slight variation between the CCAs.

Enrichment programmes, supplementary and remediation lessons can be conducted after formal curriculum time on Tuesdays or Thursdays.

3. What is the criteria for my child to transfer laterally to a more demanding course at the next or same level. 

Minimum of 70% in overall percentage of all subjects combined.

1. My child missed the eligibility criteria for SBB subjects but has a strong passion for the subject. May I appeal for my child to take the subject at a more demanding level?

Full SBB was piloted in 28 secondary schools from 2020. Riverside Secondary is one of the pilot schools. It is being progressively rolled out to more secondary schools each year between 2022 and 2024. 

Under Full SBB, there will no longer be separate Express, N(A), and N(T) courses, and students will be in mixed form classes where they can interact with peers of different strengths and interests. Mixed form classes also present more opportunities for students to interact with other students taking different subject combinations, and with different strengths and interests.

In their mixed form classes, students will take a set of subjects at a common level, amounting to about one-third of curriculum time. This would allow students in mixed form classes to spend curriculum time together in these subjects.

The common curriculum subjects in Lower Secondary are Art, Character and Citizenship Education, Design and Technology, Food and Consumer Education, Music and Physical Education.

Our teachers will differentiate and adopt a range of teaching approaches to meet the different learning needs and pace of their students in the same form class.

For other subjects, i.e. English, Mathematics, Science, Mother Tongue Language and Humanities subjects, students will be grouped in different classes based on the levels at which they take each subject.

https://www.moe.gov.sg/microsites/psle-fsbb/full-subject-based-banding/main.html 

2. My child is not eligible for Subject-Based Banding subjects at PSLE. Does my child have the opportunity to take subjects at a more demanding level in Secondary 1? 

Students who have performed well in these subjects at PSLE will be offered to take these subjects at a more demanding level from Secondary 1. 

Students who perform well in school-based assessments for these subjects will also be offered to take them at a more demanding level at a later time.

At Riverside, we also offer humanities (Geography, History and Literature) at a more demanding level to eligible students who are in the Normal course. 

3. My child takes 2 standard and 2 foundation subjects at Primary level, will he/she be offered the standard subjects at Express level?

Students are eligible for SBB subjects at multiple points throughout their secondary school education.

The first point they may be eligible for is at the start of Sec 1 based on their individual subject scores at the PSLE. Subsequently, they have opportunities to be identified for SBB subjects in the middle of the year of Secondary 1 and at the start of Secondary 2, based on their performance in school. The school will work with them to ensure that they take the subject at the appropriate level.

Find out more about Full Subject Based Banding here: https://www.moe.gov.sg/microsites/psle-fsbb/full-subject-based-banding/main.html

1. My child is offered a place at Riverside Secondary School under Direct School Admission (DSA) programme, will he/she be in the same class as other DSA students?

All Secondary 1 students will be evenly distributed according to various considerations.

2. What are the CCAs available at Riverside Secondary School? 

You can find out more about our CCAs on our school website.

3. How many times can my child change his/her CCA?

Students are not allowed to change CCA as this might affect their participation dynamics and mastery of skills in their CCAs. 

4. Will there be any CCA prerequisite or assessment for my child?

Students will go through a few sessions of CCA Exploration to have an insight of CCAs that they may be interested in. After which, students will then undergo a CCA Selection process where they will take part in an interview or trial. They can select up to 8 CCAs (out of 20 CCAs in Riverside) and go through interviews/trials conducted by the CCA teachers to ascertain if they are suitable for the CCA.