GEP at secondary school level

A couple of years ago, the local papers reported that the Gifted Education Programme (GEP) in secondary school was to be scrapped. This led to quite a bit of confusion as most Singaporeans thought that there would no longer be a differentiated programme for gifted kids after primary school. I was one of them, until I learnt more about it after Lesley-Anne got into the GEP, so I thought I'd write this post for parents seeking clarification in this matter.

Previously, the GEP curriculum by MOE was offered by selected secondary schools in Singapore, so primary school GEP kids who made the grade would join this programme. However, many these top schools gradually became independent, giving them the autonomy to develop their own curriculum. Some of them also became Integrated Programme (IP) schools, meaning the students are offered a through-train to the GCE 'A' levels or International Baccalaureate (only for ACSI) or NUS High School Diploma (only for NUS High), by-passing the GCE 'O' level examinations.

As expected, the IP schools became highly popular with GEP and high ability kids because it exempts you from a national exam. Not to mention, these are the generally the prestigious schools to begin with. Since the primary school GEP kids prefered to go to the IP schools, the MOE-run GEP track in regular secondary schools became redundant. As such, the programme was phased out by 2008.

However, and this is a big however, the GEP essentially still carries on at the secondary school level except it's now in the form of the School-Based Gifted Education (SBGE) programme, designed by the specific school that offers it. MOE continues to advise these schools on the SBGE programme and curriculum, so you'll find that it is very much aligned with the GEP at primary school level.

Here is where it gets slightly confusing: There are some non-IP schools which offer School-Based Special Programmes (SBSP) for GEP kids (similar to SBGE but you still have to take 'O' levels) and there are some IP schools which DON'T offer the SBGE. Whaaaaat? I know, I know, it took me a while to understand this. Plus the rate at which new schools and programmes pop up each year is just mind-boggling.

I will elaborate on IP schools in another post. Meanwhile, this post is just to highlight the point that GEP kids can still continue with their gifted education track beyond primary school. In order to do this, they need to maintain their GEP status, ie it's not guaranteed. To maintain their GEP status, the child must:

• have performed consistently in the GEP from p4-6, including a pass in Social Studies
• have a good attitude
• perform reasonably well at PSLE

Notice the criteria are rather vague. I think this is deliberate because MOE does conduct assessments on a case-by-case basis. At Lesley-Anne's school, the teachers constantly stress the importance attitude, ie if a child shows a willingness to learn and shows great leadership or teamwork, they usually allow him to continue in the programme even if he doesn't meet the baseline in one subject. According to MOE, majority of GEP kids meet the criteria for retaining their GEP status.

If the child maintains his GEP status and gets into an Independent School with IP or SBSP, he automatically earns a scholarship or subsidy of school fees, which is very attractive considering the fees of Independent Schools are considerably higher than those of government or government-aided schools.