FAQs

Application is via MOE online portal https://www.moe.gov.sg/secondary/dsa/application from 6 May 2026, 11am to 2 June 2026, 4.30pm.

You can apply for up to two talent areas in the same school.

You have the option to give additional information regarding the level of competence of your child in the selected talent area in a text box provided on the application form.

Shortlisted applicants for RVHS DSA-Sec exercise 2026 for the respective DSA talent areas will be notified via email and be informed of the interview session on one of the following scheduled dates:

·       29 July 2026 (Wed)

·       31 July 2026 (Fri)

·       4, 5 August 2026 (Tues, Wed)

All applicants for RVHS DSA-Sec Exercise 2026 will be notified of their outcomes (i.e. Confirmed Offer / Waiting list / Unsuccessful status) between 17 August and 28 August 2026 via email.

You will have to indicate your preferences in ranked order for up to three schools during the School Preference Submission Exercise via the online MOE DSA portal.

The DSA scheme provides students with an alternative route to gain admission to RVHS. All applicants will be assessed for their talents during the trials or auditions, and ability to cope with the IP curriculum based on strong and consistent academic performance particularly in P5 and P6.

As a SAP school that believes in bilingualism, we will assess your child’s ability to cope with our RVIP Chinese Language Programme in the shortlisting process based on the results provided in the application.

While Higher Chinese Language (HCL) is not a prerequisite for admission to RVHS, all students in RV must take Higher Chinese Language from Sec 1 to 4.

The 2026 DSA CCA list is available on our school website.

There is no fixed quota. The objective of DSA is to identify talent, taking into consideration the student’s interest and long-term development potential.

If your child is admitted to a secondary school through DSA, they are not allowed to:

• Participate in the Secondary 1 (S1) posting process.

• Change their CCA if it is the chosen talent area

• Transfer to another school after the release of the PSLE results. They must commit to their chosen school for the duration of the programme.

In accepting a DSA offer, your child is expressing a commitment to study in that school and develop their talent in the chosen area. Your child should honour this commitment.

If choice of CCA is important, your child should avoid applying for admission via DSA due to the aforementioned conditions.

No, your child does not need to meet the school’s Cut-off point under Secondary 1 Posting. To be successfully admitted to a school through DSA, your child's PSLE results must qualify them for the Posting Group offered by the school.

No, for sports, they will train thrice a week and for the performing arts, they will train twice a week, just like the rest of their teammates.

Your child’s nationality does not matter in the DSA exercise. Our assessment is based on talents and ability to cope with the rigour of an IP school.

Students should display a strong aptitude in the talent area they applied for. Auditions and interviews will be conducted to assess their suitability in that talent area.

While a dance background in any genre is beneficial, it is not a requirement. Previous experience as a lead dancer in school CCAs is not necessary, as selection is based primarily on your child’s performance during the audition. All successful candidates will receive training in both Chinese and contemporary modern dance styles.

Yes, having any dance skills would be an advantage but do note that in RV Dance society, the dancers do not take hip hop or street dance at the secondary level. Street Dance CCA is offered at the JC levels.

The school will assess a student’s musicality, which is the ability to perceive and reproduce differences in the aspects of music including pitch, rhythm, and harmony. Basically, it is the ability to be able to reproduce music in addition to creating music (musical creativity). At the application phase, past achievements, competition involvement and academic requirements will be taken into consideration for shortlisting. For Chinese Orchestra, the school will consider all musical instruments excluding guzheng and violin. For Concert Band, the school will consider all musical instruments excluding piano and violin.

The school team is selected only prior to the team registration for the National School Games. Generally, most DSA students qualify for the school team due to their talent, ability and sustained commitment to training.

Students should display strong aptitude in the talent area they applied for. Trials and interviews will be conducted to assess their suitability in that talent area.

Yes, you can still apply for DSA.

The primary school should have recorded your child’s Leadership and Achievements in the CCA Certificate.

Your child’s primary school CCA record should reflect that he/she holds a key position (head prefect, vice-head prefect, or EXCO member) in the school prefectorial board. For DSA leadership, we are specifically looking for a greater leadership capacity. Being in a key leadership position is a signal that the student has been recognised to have the capacity to be stretched and developed, hence chosen, among their peers whom they work together, to be the representative of the prefectorial board.

Upon entering RV, the child will be in our Student Leadership Development Academy and Students' Council and be part of leadership projects and initiatives.

Prior knowledge of Python programming is highly recommended as it is an accessible and beginner-friendly language. Students who are well versed in other common programming languages, such as C++ or Java, may also apply. The school will provide appropriate Java and C++ IDEs for students who choose to use these languages during the trial. Block-based programming languages are not accepted.

For Scientific Investigation, students should have a deep passion in science and innovative problem-solving skills. They should also demonstrate a natural curiosity in Science through their performance in science inquiry tasks. Besides academic excellence in Science in school-based exams, students' involvements in related competitions and enrichment activities (e.g. Primary School Science Club programmes and science / innovation research projects) are good evidence in the student portfolios, which they need to present during the DSA trials, to highlight their interests in these domains.

CCA is compulsory for all secondary school students.

Students with the right aptitude for particular CCAs are matched to them. There is no CCA that is made up entirely of DSA candidates.

If the student's involvement in a sport is under the National Sports Association, we will award CCA points.

Students who can cope with the school’s academic and main CCA demands may take up another CCA. We have students who have demonstrated the ability to handle a diverse range of commitments in CCAs and Academies.

There are three training sessions per week for sports CCAs. Generally, training sessions are held on Tuesdays, Fridays and one other weekday. Each training session is 3 hours long, from 3pm to 6pm. Performing Arts CCAs are held on Tuesdays and Fridays. More practices are arranged only when there is a need to prepare for a competition or a performance. In such instances, parents and students will be notified at least two weeks in advance. Our students’ well-being is our priority, hence during the post-season and end-of-year examination period, CCA sessions will be phased down.

Besides the biennial SYF performances, students in the performing arts CCA have many platforms to perform such as our annual Arts Fest performances, Reverie. In addition, the Performing Arts CCAs perform in many internal and external school events ranging from Honours Day to performances at the Istana. Under the guidance of our experienced instructors, they also get to take part in competitions and when they are at their apex, they may be sent for external MOE courses such as the conductor’s course, to hone their skills.

Your child has to remain committed to the CCA that he or she got in via DSA, so it must not coincide with the training schedule of the other CCA that your child would like to join.

The Cultures of Thinking (CoT) framework is infused into the various programmes so as to develop our students’ critical thinking skills.
Inquiry-approach, research-based, process-oriented CID Curriculum
* We offer Bicultural Studies Programme (Chinese) and SAP Scholarship
* We have six talent academies - Science  Leaders Academy, Humanities and Social Sciences Leaders Academy, Mathematics Leaders Academy, Bicultural Leaders Academy, The Eco-Sustainability Leadership Academy and Student Leadership Development Leaders Academy to stretch our students’ potential

As an IP school, students are exposed to varied learning experiences and opportunities through its six-year seamless programme where they do not sit for the O-Level Examinations and instead, take the GCE A-Level Examinations in JC2.

As an Integrated Programme school, our students go through a seamless 6-year educational journey, hence the GCE A-Level curriculum is taught in RV.

RV students have been performing above the national average in the GCE A-Level Examinations and the school has been consistently value-adding to the students’ A-Level performance. Our graduates are enrolled in local and overseas universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial college, London School of Economics, UC Berkeley, Harvard, Stanford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan and other renowned universities. This shows the dedication and support of our teachers to ensure that our students do well in the examinations.

As a school, we provide our fullest support to our students. This caring and enabling environment comprises the form teachers, subject teachers and Year Masters, who monitor students' progress and collaborate to help students reach their fullest potential. Coupled with strong home-school partnership, we are confident of helping our students to do well in the GCE A-Level Examinations. Students who asked to leave RV typically do so because they want to pursue a course that is not offered in the A Level curriculum.

Note: DSA students are not eligible to transfer to other secondary or IP schools after acceptance of the Confirmed Offer.

Being able to proceed directly to the A-Levels is an advantage for our students as they get more time and opportunities to develop core competencies over six years through our customised programmes.

After completing their Secondary 4 education, all students will obtain an IP Certificate which is issued by MOE to reflect their academic status.

Note: DSA students are not eligible for any transfer to other secondary or IP schools after acceptance of the Confirmed Offer.

As an SAP school, we strongly believe in the importance of both languages, given the global landscape that demands proficiency in both languages and bicultural sensitivity in order for us to engage with the rest of the world. By placing equal emphasis on both languages, our students will have a competitive edge when they graduate as they can be the bridge between the East and the West.

Students who took both English and Chinese at the PSLE can opt for SAP schools. They need not have taken HCL in primary school.

Students who obtained Pass, Merit or Distinction in HCL are eligible for a posting advantage when applying to SAP schools.

When multiple students with the same PSLE score apply to an SAP school, those with better HCL grades will be given priority. This applies before the tie-breakers.

The cut-off point (COP) of SAP schools include the HCL grade of the last student posted to the school, if applicable.

Yes, we have after-school programmes to support the students’ learning of the Chinese Language. In addition, our school has various enrichment programmes to ignite their love for the language.

Students will sit for the GCE "O" Level HCL Examination in secondary 4.

We offer other mother tongue languages to our JC students only.

We do not limit students' capacity and interest. With the right aptitude, membership in more than one Academy is possible and encouraged.

We select candidates based on their aptitude and capabilities for competitions.

We support students' learning and interest areas, and we have different talent programmes ranging from speaking to writing, and prepare them for competitions.

We have bite-sized assessments to assess students' understanding and they are spread out across the term so that they can pace their revision.

No, your child will still be taking the same core subjects as the rest so that they can keep their options open when it comes to choosing their subject combination in Secondary 3.

Just like any other school, there is a set of promotion criteria that students need to meet in order to be promoted to the next level.

The posting results will be announced by MOE in early December and once they are released, schools will post the relevant information on their websites.

School begins at 8 am from Tuesday to Friday, with a later start time of 9:00 am on Mondays. Lessons typically end around 2:30 pm, although the exact timing may vary depending on the student's level and subject combination. On some afternoons, students may attend supplementary classes or enrichment programmes.

On average, we have about 30 to 35 students in each class.

The school provides transport for all third language students.

No, we do not provide bus services as the school is conveniently located near Boon Lay MRT station with excellent public transport connectivity, including multiple bus routes serving the area.

Our school has the Tham Tuck Meng Scholarship for Sec 1 students.

Students who are successfully admitted to the school via DSA are required to honour their commitment to the school for the duration of the 6-year Integrated Programme, and participate in the activities related to the talent they are selected for from Sec 1 to Sec 4. Students are strongly encouraged to continue pursuing the same talent area when they are in Junior College.

Parents may call the school at the end of the academic year to check if there are any vacancies. If there are, parents may apply and the student will sit for the aptitude tests.

The cohort size varies every year.

International students (IS) who want to join RV at Secondary 1 to 3 will have to apply through MOE. Please refer to MOE’s webpage on admissions for international students. For Secondary 1 DSA application, IS will have to obtain a registration number from MOE first before participating in RVIP DSA exercise. They will also have to pass MOE AEIS for their DSA results to take effect.

PSLE results must be eligible for Posting Group 3 in order for a student to be posted to RVHS through DSA-Sec.