Subject Combinations

Find out which A-Level subject combinations are available, and what grades you need to qualify for each subject.

Last updated on 22 September 2026

A-LEVEL COURSE REQUIREMENTS

The GCE A-Level curriculum requires students to offer the following subjects:
- 3 H2 and 1 H1 content-based subjects (at least one of which must be from a contrasting discipline),
- H1 Mother Tongue Language (MTL),
- H1 General Paper (GP)
- Project Work (PW).
Students who have obtained 10 points or better for their L1R5 raw aggregate, AND 8 points or better in their 4 relevant O-Level subjects are eligible to take 4 H2 content-based subjects, of which at least one must be from a contrasting discipline.
Students who offered O-Level MTL are required to offer H1 MTL at JC1. Students who achieved a grade of D7 or better in O-Level Higher MTL are exempted from taking H1 MTL. Students who offered Mother Tongue B Syllabus (MTB) at O-Level will continue with MTB at GCE A-Level.

CONTENT-BASED SUBJECTS OFFERED

Table A shows the content-based subjects to be offered in 2026:

Table A:

Content-based subjects offered in 2026 by discipline and level

Discipline	Subject	H1 Level	H2 Level	H3 Level
Humanities & the Arts	Economics (Econs)	√	√	√
	Geography (Geo)	√	√	√
	History (Hist)	√	√	√
	Literature in English (Lit)	√	√	√
	English Language & Linguistics (ELL)*		√
	Mathematics & Science	Biology (Bio)*	√	√
Chemistry (Chem)*		√	√	√
Physics (Phy)*		√	√	√
Mathematics (Math)*		√	√	√

* Please refer to Table D for more information

SUBJECT COMBINATIONS

Table B shows the 3 H2 and 1 H1 subject combinations to be offered in 2026:

Table B:

H2 and H1 subject combinations by stream and code for 2026

Stream	Code	H2 Subjects			H1 Subjects (choose one)
Science (23S)	S1	Math	Chem	Phy	Econs, Geo, Hist, Lit
	S2	Math	Econs	Phy	Chem, Geo, Hist, Lit
	S3	Math	Bio	Chem	Econs, Geo, Hist, Lit
	S4	Math	Chem	Econs	Bio, Phy, Geo, Hist, Lit
	S5	Bio	Chem	Econs	Math
	S6	Chem	Econs	Geo	Math
	S7	Chem	Econs	Hist	Math
	S8	Math	Chem	ELL	Bio, Phy, Econs, Geo, Hist, Lit
	S9	Bio	Chem	ELL	Math
Arts (23A)	A1	Math	Econs	Geo	Bio, Chem, Phy, Hist, Lit
	A2	Math	Econs	Hist	Bio, Chem, Phy, Geo, Lit
	A3	Math	Econs	Lit	Bio, Chem, Phy, Geo, Hist
	A4	Econs	Geo	Lit	Bio, Math
	A5	Econs	Hist	Lit	Bio, Math
	A6	Math	Econs	ELL	Bio, Chem, Phy, Geo, Hist, Lit
	A7	Math	Geo	ELL	Bio, Chem, Phy, Econs, Hist, Lit
	A8	Math	Hist	ELL	Bio, Chem, Phy, Econs, Geo, Lit
	A9	Math	Lit	ELL	Bio, Chem, Phy, Econs, Geo, Hist
	A10	Econs	ELL	Geo	Math
	A11	Econs	ELL	Hist	Math
	A12	Econs	ELL	Lit	Math
	A13	ELL	Lit	Geo	Math
	A14	ELL	Lit	Hist	Math

The italicized subject is the contrasting subject within the subject combination.
Students who wish to take H2 ELL are required to sit for and pass a selection test before a place can be confirmed.

Table C shows the 4 H2 subject combinations to be offered in 2026:
- Table C:

4 H2 subject combinations by stream and code for 2026

Stream	Code	H2 Subjects			4th H2 Subject (choose one)
Science (23S)	S1	Math	Chem	Phy	Econs, ELL, Geo, Hist, Lit
	S2	Math	Econs	Phy	ELL, Geo, Hist, Lit
	S3	Math	Bio	Chem	Econs, ELL, Geo, Hist, Lit
	S4	Math	Chem	Econs	ELL, Geo, Hist, Lit
Arts (23A)	A1	Math	Econs	Geo	ELL, Lit
	A2	Math	Econs	Hist	ELL, Lit
	A3	Math	Econs	Lit	ELL

The italicized subject is the contrasting subject within the subject combination.
Students who wish to take H2 ELL are required to sit for and pass a selection test before a place can be confirmed.
For subject combinations with low demand, the College reserves the right to decide whether such subject combinations would be offered.

MERIT-BASED ALLOCATION

Taking into consideration the number of applicants and the number of places available for each subject, the College adopts a merit-based allocation process in the selection of students for the subject combination they have opted for.
In the event that a subject is over-subscribed, students will be selected based on academic merit, including
- L1R5 raw aggregate (excluding bonus points) or equivalent;
- performance in the relevant subject(s).

Table D provides additional information regarding subject allocation:

Table D:

Indicative O-Level grade cut-offs and remarks by subject or combination

*Subject / Combination*	* Indicative Grade Cut-off for the relevant subject(s) at O-Level Examination	*Remarks*
H2 ELL	A2 for English Language	Students who wish to take H2 ELL are required to sit for and pass a selection test before a place can be confirmed.
H2 Bio	B4 for Biology, or B3 for Combined Science (with Biology)	Students who intend to offer H2 or H1 Bio are assumed to have knowledge and understanding of Biology at O-level, either as a single subject or as part of a Combined Science course.
H1 Bio	C5 for Biology, or A2 for Combined Science (with Biology)
H2 Chem	B3 for Chemistry, or B3 for Combined Science (with Chemistry)	Students who intend to offer H2 or H1 Chem are assumed to have knowledge and understanding of Chemistry at O-level, either as a single subject or as part of a Combined Science course.
H1 Chem	C5 for Chemistry, or B3 for Combined Science (with Chemistry)
H2 Phy	B3 for Physics, or A2 for Combined Science (with Physics)	Students who intend to offer H2 or H1 Phy are assumed to have knowledge and understanding of Physics at O-level, either as a single subject or as part of a Combined Science course.
H1 Phy	B3 for Physics, or A2 for Combined Science (with Physics)
H2 Math	B3 for Additional Mathematics	Students who intend to offer H2 Math are assumed to have knowledge of Additional Mathematics at O-level.
Double H2 Sciences: H2 Chem & H2 Phy	B3 for both Chemistry and Physics, or B3 for Chemistry and A1 for Combined Science (with Physics), or B3 for Physics and A1 for Combined Science (with Chemistry), or A1 for Combined Science (Chemistry / Physics)	Students who intend to offer the H2 Chem & H2 Phy combination are assumed to have knowledge and understanding of both Chemistry and Physics, at O-level, either as a single subject or as part of a Combined Science course.
Double H2 Sciences: H2 Bio & H2 Chem	B4 for Biology and B3 for Chemistry, or B4 for Biology and A1 for Combined Science (with Chemistry), or B3 for Chemistry and B3 for Combined Science (with Biology), or A1 for Combined Science (Biology / Chemistry)	Students who intend to offer the H2 Bio & H2 Chem combination are assumed to have knowledge and understanding of both Biology and Chemistry, at O-level, either as a single subject or as part of a Combined Science course.

*The Indicative Grade Cut-off provides an indication of the lowest grade scored in the relevant O-Level subject by the majority of students who were offered the A-Level subject / combination in 2024/2025.

H3 SUBJECTS

H3 subjects are offered to students who are academically strong and desire to pursue a subject or area in which they have passion and aptitude. These students must be prepared to manage a workload beyond the normal subject combination. To read a H3 subject, students are required to take the corresponding subject at H2 Level. Please note that H3 subjects are ONLY offered to students in JC2.
- Students may be offered a H3 subject in the following areas if they have done well in their overall examinations at the end of JC 1, including a high ‘A’ grade in the corresponding subject at the H2 level.
  - University-taught H3 programmes (NUS, NTU and SMU)
  - NUS-MOE Humanities And Social Sciences Research (HSSR) H3
  - MOE-Cambridge H3