Navigating the Big Shift: From GEP to High Ability

If you have been keeping an eye on the local education landscape, you have likely heard the big news:
the traditional Gifted Education Programme (GEP) is undergoing its most significant evolution in 40 years.

As educators who walk alongside your children daily, we know that any major policy shift can bring about a
mix of excitement and anxiety.

To help you make sense of it all, we have broken down exactly what is changing, what selected students can
expect from 2027 onwards, and how you can support your child through this new landscape.

1. The Revamped Selection Process:
Goodbye High-Stakes Drilling

For decades, the GEP relied on a two-stage examination in Primary 3 (Screening and Selection).

Starting with the Primary 3 cohort participating in the Identification Exercise on 26 August 2026,
the Ministry of Education (MOE) is changing the game:

• A Single-Stage Aptitude Exercise: The old two-stage testing system has been scrapped. Students will
  now sit for a single, streamlined assessment.

• Focus on Raw Aptitude over Content: While the test will cover topics aligned with the Primary 3 syllabi
  for English and Mathematics, questions tested will also be of higher difficulty than what the students have
  been exposed to in school in order to identify those with academic strengths.

• Holistic School-Based Tracking: The written test is no longer the sole gatekeeper. Primary schools will
  heavily factor in teacher observations and students’ school work.

• Multiple Entry Points: This is the best part! Under the old system, if a child missed the P3 window, the
  door was firmly shut. Now, children who demonstrate academic strengths and talents later in their school
  years can be nominated by their schools at the end of any semester across Primary 4 and Primary 5.

2. Life in School from 2027: No More School Transfers

Previously, the top 1% of the cohort had to transfer to one of only nine designated GEP primary schools.
From 2027, this practice ends. Students will remain in their original primary schools.

School-based Provisions

Every primary school in Singapore will scale up its own school-based enrichment provisions (like E2K
Mathematics or Creative Writing programmes) during regular school hours to stretch students with academic strengths and talents. Currently, only 7% of students are able to benefit from these programmes. However,
from 2027, it will be expanded to 10% of the cohort.

Centre-based Advanced Modules

For students who need an even greater intellectual challenge, MOE is setting up 15 regional host centres
across the island (in areas like Yishun, Punggol, Jurong West and Tengah).

Selected students will travel to these nearby hubs once a week for specialised, two-hour after-school modules
in English, Mathematics or Science. Interdisciplinary modules will also be offered during the school holidays. Approximately 2% of the cohort will be eligible for these centre-based advanced modules, almost double the
current GEP cohort.

Important Note: These modules are completely unlinked from the national curriculum. They are taught by specially trained MOE HQ teachers and are designed to cultivate curiosity and critical thinking - not to provide
an edge or shortcuts for the PSLE.

3. What This Means for High-Ability Learners Moving Forward

This structural shift signals a much more inclusive ecosystem for academic talent in Singapore.

By separating advanced learning from examination preparation, the pressure cooker is dialled down. Your child gets to experience the joy of learning alongside like-minded peers without losing their primary school friends and familiar environments.

How Parents Can Support High-Ability Children

While the new identification process is important, parents should remember that a test is only one snapshot of a child’s development.

Here are some ways in which parents can support and nurture your high-ability child at home.

Encourage curiosity rather than performance

Children who ask thoughtful questions often benefit more from opportunities to explore than from simply memorising facts. Encourage them to investigate topics that genuinely interest them, whether in science, history, literature or technology.

Value challenge over perfection

High-ability children sometimes avoid difficult tasks because they are used to succeeding easily. Praise effort, resilience and problem solving instead of focusing only on results.

Read widely

Expose children to books beyond the school syllabus. Fiction, biographies, current affairs and popular science books all help broaden knowledge and develop critical thinking.

Let children pursue their interests

Some children show exceptional strengths in mathematics, while others may excel in language, coding or scientific inquiry. Supporting these interests can help them develop confidence and motivation.

Keep learning balanced

High ability does not mean children need constant academic acceleration. Time for sports, music, friendships and unstructured play remains essential for healthy social and emotional development.

Looking Ahead

MOE's refreshed approach represents a significant shift in how Singapore nurtures academic talent.

By allowing high-ability learners to remain in their own schools while providing more flexible enrichment opportunities, the new model seeks to develop children's strengths without separating them from their peers. At the same time, more students will benefit from challenging learning experiences than under the previous GEP system.

For parents, the message is reassuring: nurturing curiosity, resilience and a love of learning will matter even more than preparing for a single selection exercise. As opportunities become more accessible across all primary schools, supporting a child's long-term growth may prove far more valuable than focusing solely on gaining entry into a particular programme.

How The Learning Lab Stretches Your Child

Here at TLL, we are always extending students’ learning beyond the classroom and syllabus.

While our core curriculum is aligned with the MOE school syllabus, our lessons offer ample opportunities for
students to think critically, apply concepts learnt to real life and extend their knowledge beyond textbooks.

English:

Extending learning to real-life topics

Lessons extend beyond the classroom with our Staying Plugged-in worksheets and media studies lessons. These materials cover a range of topics that are curated to not only capture students’ attention but to grow their knowledge of the world around them. From learning about how supermarkets are designed to make us spend more to understanding how art can reduce stress, our students can use this information to supplement their responses for oral examinations or interviews.

Developing critical thinking

Our students are exposed to a carefully curated set of fiction and non-fiction texts that serve as a springboard for discussions. Guided by their teachers, our students learn to tease out information from the texts, draw inferences from clues and weigh multiple perspectives. This sharpens the students’ critical thinking skills and encourages them to evaluate information more critically in today’s content-rich world.

Maths:

Exposure to non-routine problems

We challenge students with uniquely designed novel context problems in their regular practices and examination-focused handouts. These problems give students the opportunity to attempt unfamiliar scenarios independently before teachers guide them to tackle them systematically. Through regular exposure to such problems, students become less reliant on rote memorisation and more confident in handling non-routine problems.

Integrating real-life application tasks

At TLL, we believe maths comes alive when students see its direct connection to the world around them. Beyond traditional practice, students engage in practical, open-ended tasks – such as analysing global penguin populations using picture graphs or evaluating city layouts through area and perimeter concepts. By bridging abstract concepts with tangible real-world scenarios, students develop critical thinking skills and deepen their understanding of concepts.

Science:

Extending learning to real-life topics

Our Staying Plugged-in worksheets and ‘Did you Know’ sections in our handouts introduce the scientific principles behind current events, breakthroughs in scientific research, and how the concepts learnt in different topics are applied in the real world, such as the use of AI in flower pollination to support agriculture. This allows students to understand how science affects the world around them, nurturing their curiosity.

Exposure to application questions

We consistently challenge our students with questions which require them to apply concepts learnt in the classroom to unfamiliar scenarios, boosting their confidence in tackling such questions when they appear in an exam setting. Every term, students also receive a revision booklet for self-practice which culminates in the final revision booklet that focuses on applying the concepts they have learnt throughout the year with application questions for each key concept.

The Learning Lab is now at 10 locations to suit your needs.

If you have any questions about our programmes, please email us at enquiry@thelearninglab.com.sg or call us at 6733 8711 and we will be happy to assist you.