After receiving your O-Levels results, you may be considering going to a JC. If you’ve taken triple science in Secondary School, is it possible to take such a combination in JC?
Here’s what you need to know:
Can I take triple science in JC?
It is not possible for you to take triple science in JC, as you are required to take at least 4 content-based subjects, and one of these subjects is required to be a contrasting subject. You are only able to take 3 subjects from the Science stream, so you cannot take triple science as this means that you won’t be taking Mathematics as a subject in A-Levels.
Here are some of the rules that are set out by MOE when you are taking A-Levels:
You are required to take 4 content-based subjects
For A-Levels, you are required to take 4 content-based subjects that count into your total A-Level score.
Usually, this will mean that you will take either 4 H2 subjects, or 3 H2 subjects + 1 H1 subject.
This is different from the O-Levels, where most students will take either 7 or 8 subjects.
You are required to take a contrasting subject
While you can take 4 subjects, MOE requires you to take 1 subject as a contrasting subject.
This means that you will need to take 3 Science subjects and 1 Arts subject if you are in the Science stream.
Here are some of the ‘Mathematics and Sciences‘ subjects that you can take:
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Mathematics
- Computing
You are only able to take 3 out of these 5 subjects. Most JCs would require you to sit for the Mathematics paper, since it is a requirement for certain university courses.
As such, it will not be possible to take all 3 sciences (Bio, Chem and Physics) under the 3 ‘Mathematics and Sciences’ subjects.
You can only take a maximum of 12 Academic Units (AUs)
For the A-Levels, you can take a maximum of 12 Academic Units (AUs).
Here are the number of units each subject has, depending on the level (H1 / H2 / H3):
| H1 | 1 AU |
| H2 | 2 AU |
| H3 | 1 AU |
Most JCs require you to take either 3 H2 + 1 H1 or 4 H2s as the subject combination for your core subjects. This will amount to a total of 7 – 8 AUs.
Don’t forget that you’ll need to take GP (H1) and PW (H1), which will add an additional 2 AUs.
This will leave a remainder of 2 AUs left. If you are taking a Mother Tongue Language, it will count as another H1.
Furthermore, you may want to take an H3 subject (such as H3 Chemistry) or Knowledge and Inquiry instead of GP, which will add another 1 AU!
As such, it will be quite hard to add another H1 or H2 subject (for an additional Science subject) to your current subject combination.
Do any JCs offer triple science?
In all JCs, it is not possible for you to take triple science as a subject combination.
Let’s look at the subject combinations that are offered in the JCs in Singapore:
If you look through all of the subject combinations that are being offered by these JCs, Mathematics is found in almost all of the subject combinations.
Since this is the case, it is not possible for you to take all 3 sciences as the 3 ‘Science and Mathematics’ subjects.
However, it is possible for you to take both Mathematics and Further Mathematics as 2 of your ‘Science and Mathematics’ subjects!
Another thing you may want to note is that Millennia Institute offers the Commerce stream, which is not found in other JCs. This may be useful if you are intending to pursue a business-related course at university.
Conclusion
Due to the restrictions set by MOE with regards to the number of ‘Science and Mathematics’ subjects, it is not possible to take a triple science subject combination.
This is because you are only able to take 3 ‘Science and Mathematics’ subjects, and most JCs would want you to take Mathematics as one of the subjects!
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