Direct School Admission (DSA) Exercise 2026

(This document is correct as of 6 May 2026)

Do you have a strength, interest or talent area we are looking for?
Do you think that Ngee Ann Secondary School will be a good fit for you?

The Ngee Ann Secondary School Direct School Admission (DSA-Sec) to Secondary One in 2027 is open to interested applicants.

Application for DSA-Sec can be submitted through the online DSA-Sec Portal. The application is free-of-charge and will be open from 11am on Wednesday, 6 May 2026 to 4.30pm on Tuesday, 2 Jun 2026. For more details, please refer to MOE website – www.moe.gov.sg/dsa-sec ↗ (opens in new tab).

For the most updated information on our school, please visit:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ngeeannsec/ ↗ (opens in new tab)

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ngeeannsec/ ↗ (opens in new tab) 

Think it Through

How do you know if Ngee Ann Secondary’s DSA suits you? The following considerations might help:

(i)            The Ngee Ann DNA. Check out what Ngee Ann stands for from our school website. Do the flagship programmes and the Ngee Ann Experience excite you? Is it aligned to what you look for in your secondary education?

(ii)          Learning culture and rigour. What sort of learner are you? Do you learn well with technology? Do you want breadth with depth? Can you handle independence with discipline? Do you take ownership of your own learning? Can you learn in groups? Decide if our pace and pitching is right for you.

(iii)         Your strength, interest and talent area. Can our DSA programmes meet your needs? Can we take you further? How can you use your strength, interest and talent to enrich, build and serve the Ngee Ann Sec community? 

Parents and students are encouraged to choose schools wisely based on the student’s aptitudes and strengths, bearing in mind the schools’ academic and non-academic requirements, and the programmes available to develop the area of talent.

DSA-Sec Talents Offered

The following talent areas are offered by Ngee Ann Secondary School:

Students who are successfully admitted to Ngee Ann Secondary via DSA are expected to (a) honour their commitment to the school and (b) participate in the activities related to the talent area they are selected in for the duration of the programme. For DSA talent areas associated with a CCA, they are also expected to remain in their CCA. If your child is not able to fulfil the DSA commitment without valid reasons, they may be required to transfer out to another school.

DSA-Sec Talent Shortlisting Criteria

These are our school’s shortlisting criteria for each DSA-Sec Talent offered.

Meeting all the criteria does not guarantee that the student will be shortlisted/given an offer.

In general, all potential students must:

• Demonstrate strong passion for, as well as motivation in the respective talent areas;

• Demonstrate commitment, perseverance and resilience in their talent area endeavour;

• Consistently display exemplary character traits with minimum conduct grade of “Very Good”.

• Applicants who do not have prior experience may also apply. The school will assess applicants based on the selection criteria as well as potential of the applicants.

In addition, each talent area will have their own shortlisting criteria:

DSA-SEC Selection Process and Key Dates

Round One: Selection Process

DSA for Chinese Orchestra

All applicants for the Chinese Orchestra (CO) Talent Area will be informed of their application outcome via email at the start of Term 3. Applicants are advised to check the email address used during registration, including their junk or spam folders.

Shortlisted CO applicants will be invited to the school to participate in an audition, selection test or trial.

DSA for all other Talent Areas

For all other Talent Areas, applicants will be automatically shortlisted and may select one available session to attend the audition, selection test and/or trial.

During the selection process, students will be assessed based on their current level of performance in their respective sport or instrument, as well as their potential for growth and development. Please note that applicants are only required to attend ONE selection test.

Students should come prepared with their instrument, equipment and be dressed in their school sports attire or uniform. They should report to our school’s general office, where they would be directed to the respective venues.

The details for the auditions, selection tests and/or trials (AST) are as follows (Choose one date and report at the starting time):

All applicants will be informed of the outcomes of the Round One selection process (Do check your email, including the spam folder, around 17 Jul 2026).

What to expect during the auditions, trials and selection tests?

Coding

(i)            Applicants are expected to bring their own writing material to sit for a test which assesses aptitude in computational thinking skills. Programming language will not be assessed.

Chinese Orchestra

(i)          Applicants are required to prepare a musical piece of their choice and perform the piece.

(ii)          Applicants are also required to prepare any major scales up to four sharps and flats.

(iii)         Applicants are required to bring their own instrument for the audition. If they do not have their own instrument, they should arrange to loan it from their primary school. For bulky ones like the double bass or percussion instruments, they can borrow the instrument from our school. Please email the teacher-in-charge, Ms Rachel Teo Siew Lian (nass@moe.edu.sg ↗ (opens in new tab); Subject: Attn Ms Rachel Teo – Loan of DSA instrument), to discuss the loan arrangement at least one week before the audition date.

Badminton, Basketball, Volleyball:

(i)            Applicants are to turn up in their school sporting attire (appropriate t-shirt, sporting shorts and comfortable sports shoes) as well as bring along their water bottles.

(ii)          Badminton players are to bring their own rackets.

(iii)         Be prepared to play the game. 

(iv)         Assessors will be looking at applicant’s ability to play the game and the potential for coaching.

Wushu

(i)            Applicants are to turn up in their school wushu training attire (any t-shirt, wushu pants and wushu shoes).

(ii)          Be prepared to showcase basic moves, splits, jumps etc.

(iii)         Prepare up to two routines that they are most confident in. Applicants will be asked to showcase half of the routines. 

(iv)         Applicants can bring their own weapons if they are showcasing that routine. If they do not have their own weapons, they should inform the teacher in-charge beforehand to discuss the possibility of a loan (dependent on availability). Email the teacher-in-charge, Mr. James Wong nass@moe.edu.sg ↗ (opens in new tab), Subject: Attn Mr Wong – Loan of DSA equipment), to make the necessary arrangements at least one week before the audition date.

Round Two: Interview

Successful applicants from the Round One selection process will be notified to attend an interview session.

Dates:             From July till entire of August (exact date to be confirmed)
Venue:           Ngee Ann Secondary School
Time:              From 3 pm onwards

Enquiries

For more information about our programmes and CCAs, please visit our school website.

For other enquiries, you may direct your email to, with subject heading as “DSA matters: General” or “DSA matters: Specific talent area” to nass@moe.edu.sg ↗ (opens in new tab).

We look forward to seeing you and welcoming you at our selections and trials! Come and see whether Ngee Ann Secondary is the Home for You to Grow In!