Every child in Singapore undergoes at least ten years of general education. This comprises six years of primary education and four years of secondary education. Primary education is made up of four years foundation stage and two years orientation stage with formal streaming carried out at the end of Primary Four. Pupils are provided with a working knowledge of English and a good grounding in the mother tongue and mathematics. They will also have civics and moral education, science, social studies, music, art and crafts, health education and physical education.
Secondary education is either four or five years.
Pre-university education is either two or three years. Subjects offered in the Arts stream include literature, economics, history, geography, mathematics, art and music. Pupils in the Science stream can opt for physics, biology, chemistry, physical science, mathematics, further mathematics, economics and computer science. Commerce pupils offer principles of accounting, management of business, economics and mathematics. Cross-discipline combinations are also available in some junior colleges.