School Matters

Getting things ready

Ngee Ann Secondary School vs St. Margaret's School (Secondary)

Compare recorded PSLE entry ranges, CCAs, DSA programmes and location, with intake years shown alongside the data.

At a glance

CompareNgee Ann Secondary SchoolSt. Margaret's School (Secondary)
School typeCo-Ed SchoolGirls' School
LevelSecondary (S1-S4)Secondary (S1-S4)
School tagsAutonomousAutonomous
ZoneEastSouth
Address1 Tampines Street 32111 Farrer Road
Nearest MRTTampines, Simei, Tampines EastFarrer Road
Listed CCAs1821
DSA listings616

Differences to explore

CCA
The records share 1 CCA listing. Ngee Ann Secondary School also lists Art and Crafts (Girls and Boys), Badminton (Girls and Boys), Basketball (Boys), Chinese Orchestra (Girls and Boys) and more, which do not appear in the other school's records. St. Margaret's School (Secondary) also lists Art and Crafts (Girls), Badminton (Girls), Basketball (Girls), Bowling (Girls) and more, which do not appear in the other school's records. Listings may be incomplete; confirm availability with each school.
DSA programme
The records share 0 DSA programme listings. Ngee Ann Secondary School also lists Badminton (Girls and Boys), Basketball (Boys), Chinese Orchestra (Girls and Boys), Coding (Girls and Boys) and more, which do not appear in the other school's records. St. Margaret's School (Secondary) also lists Badminton (Girls), Basketball (Girls), Bowling (Girls), Chinese Dance (Girls) and more, which do not appear in the other school's records. Listings may be incomplete; confirm availability with each school.
The daily journey
Nearby MRT stations listed for Ngee Ann Secondary School: Tampines, Simei, Tampines East; for St. Margaret's School (Secondary): Farrer Road. Compare the full journey from home, including transfers and the walk to school.

Recorded entry ranges

CompareNgee Ann Secondary SchoolSt. Margaret's School (Secondary)
PG3 · Non-affiliated2026 · 6–122026 · 8–11
PG3 · Affiliated2026 · 12–162026 · 10–20
PG2 · Non-affiliated2026 · 212026 · 21–23
PG2 · Affiliated2026 · 21–252026 · 21–25
PG1 · Non-affiliated2026 · 25–262026 · 25–26
PG1 · Affiliated2026 · 25–282026 · 25–28

Each range belongs to the intake year and programme shown. Affiliated and non-affiliated ranges are separate. D, M and P are Higher Mother Tongue requirements. Past ranges do not guarantee admission.

Get to know each school

Ngee Ann Secondary School

Ngee Ann Kongsi proposed the school in 1991. It began operating in 1994 with about 600 students in 15 Secondary 1 classes, temporarily at Springfield Secondary, before moving to its own premises that June. Its official opening followed on 3 August 1996. The school links its founding to the closure of Tuan Mong High and the Kongsi’s continuing education work. Its technology emphasis also has a history: it became the East Zone ICT Centre of Excellence in 2007. The heritage record gives conflicting autonomous-status years, so no precise year is assigned here.

YouNG Academy @ NAS, or YANAS, coordinates Skills Discovery Electives and Applied Learning Modules. Secondary 1–3 students choose electives consisting of five weekly sessions, across areas such as aesthetics, business and finance, languages, digital skills, STEM and sport. ApLM@Poly offers a taste of applied learning at a polytechnic to support later education choices. The published description gives a useful distinction between short exploratory electives and deeper pathways; it does not establish that every student attends every external module.

St. Margaret's School (Secondary)

St Margaret’s traces its roots to Maria Dyer’s 1842 home and school for homeless girls in North Bridge Road. The school moved to Sophia Road in 1861 and adopted the St Margaret’s name after the Second World War. A separate secondary campus was completed at Farrer Road in 1960 and officially opened in 1963. Redevelopment began in 1998, with a temporary move to Commonwealth Avenue before returning in December 2000; the rebuilt campus was officially opened in 2002. From January 2023, the primary and secondary schools adopted the St Margaret’s School names to reflect their shared heritage. The primary school’s recent Sophia Road return is a separate campus story.

The Arts Education Programme targets all students through assembly performances and post-examination workshops, with examples including gamelan, creative movement, manga art and storytelling. Enhanced Music is a separate two-year upper-secondary course for students with musical potential and interest. Sec 2 applicants are directed to their Music teacher in Term 3; selection includes aural tests and recordings of two contrasting pieces. The page also describes a written test and audition, so confirm the current procedure. It still names the O-Level examination: incoming cohorts should check their applicable examination and subject requirements. Choir, String Ensemble and Concert Band support Music opportunities but do not guarantee EMP admission.

CCAs and programmes

Ngee Ann Secondary School

  • Art and Crafts (Girls and Boys)
  • Badminton (Girls and Boys)
  • Basketball (Boys)
  • Chinese Orchestra (Girls and Boys)
  • Choir (Girls and Boys)
  • Concert Band (Girls and Boys)
  • English Drama (Girls and Boys)
  • Girl Guides (Girls)
  • Infocomm Technology (Media Production) (Girls and Boys)
  • Modern Dance (Girls and Boys)
  • National Cadet Corps (NCC) (Land) (Boys)
  • National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) (Girls and Boys)
  • Photography (Girls and Boys)
  • Pop and Jazz (Girls and Boys)
  • Robotics (Girls and Boys)
  • Scouts (Boys)
  • Volleyball (Girls)
  • Wushu (Girls and Boys)

St. Margaret's School (Secondary)

  • Art and Crafts (Girls)
  • Badminton (Girls)
  • Basketball (Girls)
  • Bowling (Girls)
  • Chinese Dance (Girls)
  • Choir (Girls)
  • Concert Band (Girls)
  • English Drama (Girls)
  • Fencing (Girls)
  • Floorball (Girls)
  • Girl Guides (Girls)
  • Girls' Brigade (Girls)
  • Indian Dance (Girls)
  • Infocomm Technology (Media Production) (Girls)
  • Malay Dance (Girls)
  • Modern Dance (Girls)
  • National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) (Girls)
  • Netball (Girls)
  • Red Cross Youth (Girls)
  • String Ensemble (Girls)
  • Tennis (Girls)

Listed DSA programmes at Ngee Ann Secondary School

  • Badminton (Girls and Boys)
  • Basketball (Boys)
  • Chinese Orchestra (Girls and Boys)
  • Coding (Girls and Boys)
  • Volleyball (Girls)
  • Wushu (Girls and Boys)

Listed DSA programmes at St. Margaret's School (Secondary)

  • Badminton (Girls)
  • Basketball (Girls)
  • Bowling (Girls)
  • Chinese Dance (Girls)
  • Choir (Girls)
  • Concert Band (Girls)
  • English Drama (Girls)
  • Fencing (Girls)
  • Floorball (Girls)
  • Indian Dance (Girls)
  • Malay Dance (Girls)
  • Modern Dance (Girls)
  • Netball (Girls)
  • String Ensemble (Girls)
  • Tennis (Girls)
  • Visual Arts (Girls)

Questions about these schools

How should I choose between Ngee Ann Secondary School and St. Margaret's School (Secondary)?

Start with programmes, the CCAs your child wants and the actual journey from home. Visit both schools to assess the daily environment. Counts and past results alone do not establish which school fits your child.

How do their recorded PSLE entry ranges compare?

PG3 · Non-affiliated: Ngee Ann Secondary School 2026 · 6–12; St. Margaret's School (Secondary) 2026 · 8–11. PG3 · Affiliated: Ngee Ann Secondary School 2026 · 12–16; St. Margaret's School (Secondary) 2026 · 10–20. PG2 · Non-affiliated: Ngee Ann Secondary School 2026 · 21; St. Margaret's School (Secondary) 2026 · 21–23. PG2 · Affiliated: Ngee Ann Secondary School 2026 · 21–25; St. Margaret's School (Secondary) 2026 · 21–25. PG1 · Non-affiliated: Ngee Ann Secondary School 2026 · 25–26; St. Margaret's School (Secondary) 2026 · 25–26. PG1 · Affiliated: Ngee Ann Secondary School 2026 · 25–28; St. Margaret's School (Secondary) 2026 · 25–28.

Do past admission records guarantee a place?

No. Ranges belong to the intake year and programme shown and can change. Keep affiliated and non-affiliated ranges separate and retain any D, M or P Higher Mother Tongue suffix.