P1 Two-Track Scheme 2027: The 12 Schools and How Phase 2C Changes
Last updated 17 Sep 2026 · By KW Phoon, Founder
From the 2027 P1 Registration Exercise, most primary schools will reserve 60 Phase 2C places instead of 40, and 12 schools will split Phase 2C into two tracks by distance — one for homes within 2km, one for homes beyond 2km. It affects children starting Primary 1 in January 2028.
Two-Track Scheme Checker
Find out which Phase 2C track your address falls into at MOE's 12 Two-Track Scheme schools — read straight off MOE's own OneMap School Query, never our own distance maths.
Enter your postcode above to see your Phase 2C track at each of the 12 Two-Track Scheme schools.
Two changes, both from the 2027 exercise
Two separate changes take effect together, both starting from the 2027 P1 Registration Exercise for children starting Primary 1 in 2028. The first widens how many Phase 2C places are reserved. The second changes how those places are divided — but only at 12 named schools.
Change #1 — Reserved Phase 2C places rise from 40 to 60
At most schools, MOE now reserves 60 Phase 2C places instead of 40 — an increase of 20. Schools with a P1 intake under 180 students keep 40 reserved places; MOE has not published which schools this covers, so we don't name or guess at a list. MOE's stated aim is to improve access for children regardless of whether they have prior connections to a school.
Reserved Phase 2C places — 40 today, 60 from 2027
Exception:schools with a P1 intake under 180 students keep 40 reserved places. This applies to most schools (those with an intake of 180 or more) — MOE has not published which individual schools fall under 180, so we don't name or guess at a list here.
Change #2 — The Two-Track Scheme splits Phase 2C at 12 schools
At 12 schools — selected because public housing accounts for less than 40% of dwelling units within 2km — Phase 2C is split into two parallel tracks: Phase 2C (≤2km) for those living within 2km, and Phase 2C (>2km) for those living beyond it. At the roughly 170 other schools, Phase 2C runs exactly as it does today, with no split.
How Phase 2C splits at the 12 Two-Track schools
How the split works
- All Phase 2C places (including all reserved places) are equally distributed between the two tracks.
- There is no home-school distance priority within each track.
- If SC applicants exceed the places in a track, balloting is conducted for that track.
Who's affected — and what MOE has (and hasn't) confirmed
The rules for Phase 1, Phase 2A and Phase 2B do not change. But the 20 additional Phase 2C places have to come from somewhere: MOE's press release states they come from the earlier registration phases, and confirms the number of reserved places in Phase 2B stays at 20. That means the number of places available in Phase 2A and/or 2B is reduced — six of the 12 Two-Track schools are affiliated schools where Phase 2A is the main event, so this matters for those families.
What Phase 2C actually looks like at these schools
Here is what Phase 2C actually looked like at Nanyang Primary and Singapore Chinese Girls' Primary— both on MOE's Two-Track list — in the last two registration exercises. These are MOE's published figures, not estimates.
| Places available | 42 |
|---|---|
| Applicants | 63 |
| Result | Balloted at 1.50× |
| Same contest from 2027 | 60 places → 30 / 30 |
| Places available | 40 |
|---|---|
| Applicants | 68 |
| Result | Balloted at 1.70× |
| Same contest from 2027 | 60 places → 30 / 30 |
| Places available | 41 |
|---|---|
| Applicants | 58 |
| Result | Balloted at 1.41× |
| Same contest from 2027 | 60 places → 30 / 30 |
| Places available | 41 |
|---|---|
| Applicants | 62 |
| Result | Balloted at 1.51× |
| Same contest from 2027 | 60 places → 30 / 30 |
What this shows. At both schools, Phase 2C sat at roughly 40 places — the current reserved floor. They fill up in the earlier phases, so Phase 2C never rises above the reserve. When the reserve goes to 60 in 2027, that is a real gain of about 20 extra open places per school — and the pool then splits 30 and 30.
What we will not show. MOE does not publish how many applicants live within 2km versus beyond it, so we cannot tell you how these ballots would have divided between the two tracks. Any such figure would be invented, so we leave it out.
Sources: MOE P1 registration results, 2025 and 2026 exercises. Full per-school figures: 2026 live tracker · ballot history 2019–2025.
The odd-number tie-break
When a school's Phase 2C places can't be divided evenly in half, MOE's press release settles which track gets the spare place — a detail that hasn't appeared in news coverage or the factsheet PDF.
Where the places cannot divide evenly, the additional place will be allocated to the Phase 2C (≤2km) track.
From ranking ladder to binary gate
Today — and still at ~170 other schools
From 2027, Phase 2C only, at these 12 schools
One pool. No ranking inside it — 300m and 1.9km ballot on equal terms.
An equal, protected pool — did not exist before.
At these 12 schools, in Phase 2C, distance stops being a ranking ladder and becomes a binary gate. Living 300m from the school confers no advantage over living 1.9km away — both sit in the ≤2km track and ballot on equal terms. And living beyond 2km — previously the lowest priority — becomes an advantage under the new scheme: a protected pool of at least half the Phase 2C places that did not previously exist.
How places move between tracks, and who gets priority
- There is no home-school distance priority within a track — 300m and 1.9km are treated identically.
- If Singapore Citizen (SC) applicants exceed the places in a track, balloting is conducted for that track only.
- If a track has places left after all its SC applicants are admitted, those leftover places flow to SC applicants in the other track.
- “All SC applicants under both tracks will be admitted first, before Permanent Resident applicants are considered for any remaining vacancies thereafter.” SC continues to have priority over PR, same as today.
The 12 Two-Track schools
Selected because public housing accounts for less than 40% of dwelling units within 2km of the school.
- 1Anglo-Chinese School (Junior)
- 2Anglo-Chinese School (Primary)*
- 3CHIJ (Katong) Primary
- 4Methodist Girls' School (Primary)
- 5Nanyang Primary School
- 6Ngee Ann Primary School
- 7Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School
- 8Raffles Girls' Primary School
- 9Singapore Chinese Girls' Primary School
- 10St. Margaret's School (Primary)
- 11Tanjong Katong Primary School
- 12Tao Nan School
* Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) is expected to exit the Two-Track Scheme in 2030, when it relocates to Tengah — its surrounding housing profile will no longer meet the under-40%-public-housing criterion.
MOE reviews this list periodically and doesn't expect frequent changes, since housing profiles don't shift drastically over short periods. One change is already known: Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) is expected to exit the Two-Track Scheme in 2030, when it relocates to Tengah and its surrounding housing profile no longer meets the under-40%-public-housing criterion.
What does not change
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Phase 1, 2A and 2B rules | Unchanged |
| Phase 2A / 2B place counts | Reduced (see above) |
| Phase 2C Supplementary | Unchanged — not split into tracks |
| Phase 3 | Unchanged |
| Affiliation priority (Phase 2A) | Unchanged as a rule |
| SC priority over PR | Unchanged |
| Distance priority at schools other than the 12 | Unchanged — 1km / 1–2km / beyond 2km bands stay as they are |
Flow order at the 12 schools: Phase 2C → [Phase 2C (≤2km) | Phase 2C (>2km)] → Phase 2C Supplementary. Flow order at all other schools: Phase 2C → Phase 2C Supplementary.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly changes in P1 registration from 2027?
Two things change, both starting from the 2027 P1 Registration Exercise for children starting Primary 1 in 2028: most schools raise their reserved Phase 2C places from 40 to 60, and 12 schools split Phase 2C into two tracks by distance — one for homes within 2km of the school, one for homes beyond 2km.
Is it true that each track only gets 30 places?
No. All Phase 2C places at the 12 schools, including the reserved places, are split equally between the two tracks — 50% to the 2km-or-less track and 50% to the beyond-2km track. The exact number of places depends on how many are left after the earlier phases.
Are Phase 1, 2A and 2B registration rules changing too?
The rules for Phase 1, 2A and 2B stay the same. But MOE has confirmed the extra 20 Phase 2C places come from these earlier phases, and that Phase 2B's reserved places stay at 20 — so the number of places available in Phase 2A and/or 2B is reduced. MOE has not published exactly how much comes from each phase.
What happens if the places can't be split evenly between the two tracks?
MOE's press release states that when Phase 2C places cannot be divided evenly between the two tracks, the additional place is allocated to the Phase 2C (≤2km) track.
Does living closer to a Two-Track school still help my child's odds?
Not within a track. There is no home-school distance priority inside either the ≤2km or >2km track — a family 300m from the school and one 1.9km away ballot on exactly the same terms.
What if there aren't enough places for everyone in a track?
Balloting is conducted only for the track that's oversubscribed. If a track has places left after all its Singapore Citizen (SC) applicants are admitted, those leftover places flow to SC applicants in the other track — never the other way round until all SC applicants in both tracks are placed.
Do Permanent Resident (PR) applicants get the same priority as Singapore Citizens?
No. SC applicants in both tracks are admitted first; PR applicants are only considered for any places that remain afterwards. This SC-before-PR priority is unchanged from today's Phase 2C.
Which 12 schools have the Two-Track Scheme, and could the list change?
The 12 schools are listed above, chosen because public housing makes up less than 40% of dwelling units within 2km. MOE reviews the list periodically and doesn't expect frequent changes — though Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) is expected to exit the scheme in 2030 when it relocates to Tengah.
Does Phase 2C Supplementary change too?
No. Phase 2C Supplementary is unchanged and is not split into tracks — it runs the same way it does today, after Phase 2C at all schools.
Sources
- MOE — Changes to the P1 Registration Framework
- MOE — P1 Registration Framework Changes factsheet (PDF)
- MOE press release (10 Sep 2026) — Enhancing the Primary One Registration Framework for Greater Access and Inclusivity
Cross-checked against Straits Times, AsiaOne and Mothership reporting from 10–11 Sep 2026.