DSA-Sec by Talent Area: Which Schools Offer What (Non-Art)

This directory covers seventeen Singapore secondary schools and the non-Art DSA-Sec talent areas each published for the 2026 exercise. They run from Hwa Chong Institution's 13 sports and its Mathematics and Science areas to Woodlands Ring Secondary's Robotics and Marsiling Secondary's Sepaktakraw. Because the Ministry of Education (MOE) names only the broad categories while each school decides what it offers and how it selects, this directory is built school by school from each school's own DSA page. This directory from Ancourage Academy covers those 17 schools, grouped by talent area and leaving out Visual Arts, which our DSA Art schools list already covers. A DSA offer still needs a qualifying PSLE Score, which is why our P6 Mathematics programme matters as much in a DSA year as in any other. For how the exercise works end to end, see our DSA guide.

Ancourage Academy's P5 Mathematics classes run in small groups of 3 to 6; book a trial class (usually $18) to start with a diagnostic of where your child stands.

Who Decides Which Talent Areas a School Offers?

MOE runs the DSA-Sec Portal and sets the rules; each school chooses its own talent areas, criteria and selection dates.

MOE says so directly on its DSA-Sec page: "Schools offer different talent areas and each has its own selection process and schedule. Schools' websites will be updated with more information by late April." A school's talent areas are set for one exercise at a time and can change from one year to the next.

MOE describes DSA-Sec as a pathway "for students to gain admission to secondary schools based on their interests, aptitude and potential, beyond their performance at the PSLE." It also warns that it "is not a pathway that suits every student." This directory shows where a talent area exists, not whether applying is right for your child.

What Talent Area Categories Does MOE Use?

MOE lists seven broad kinds of talent a Primary 6 student can apply on, and its school filter sorts programmes into seven named categories.

On its eligibility page, MOE says "P6 students can apply for DSA-Sec based on a wide range of talents, including:"

• Sports and games
• Visual, literary and performing arts
• Debate and public speaking
• Science, mathematics and engineering
• Languages and humanities
• Uniformed groups
• Leadership

The same page filters schools by seven category names, with a separate Integrated Programme option: Entrepreneurship and Innovation; Language and Humanities; Leadership and Uniformed Groups; Performing Arts; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; Sports and Games; and Visual Arts, Design and Media. Several schools use these names on their own DSA pages, so the directory below uses them too. The filter's talent-area menu runs to about 400 entries, from Aerospace to Wushu.

Which Schools Offer Which Talent Areas? The 2026 Directory

The table below lists the non-Art talent areas that 17 secondary schools published for the 2026 DSA-Sec exercise (Secondary 1 intake in 2027), each taken from the school's own DSA page. Categories follow the school's own heading; an asterisk marks the closest MOE category where the school names none. Art talent areas, such as Hwa Chong Institution's Art Elective Programme and River Valley High School's Chinese Painting, are left out.

The table does not show selection criteria, which differ even between schools offering the same talent area, or the number of places, which most schools do not publish. At Catholic High School, Bilingualism, Humanities, Mathematics and Science are listed for the IP track only.

Which Schools Offer Academic and STEM Talent Areas?

Among the 17 schools checked, Mathematics and Science as subject talent areas appear only at Hwa Chong Institution and Catholic High School (IP track); the others frame STEM as applied work such as Robotics, STEAM or Environmental Science.

Catholic High School's DSA-Sec page asks Mathematics applicants to "Have a portfolio of outstanding achievements and work that demonstrates passion and aptitude for Mathematics." River Valley High School notes that for Robotics "Prior knowledge of Python programming is highly recommended" and that "Block-based programming languages are not accepted."

An academic portfolio is built over years, not in a single test. Ancourage Academy's P5 Mathematics and P6 Science classes cover the school syllabus, not competition content. Families weighing an academic talent area alongside the Integrated Programme may also want our Integrated Programme guide and GEP guide.

At secondary level, the Singapore Junior Physics Olympiad (SJPO) and Singapore Junior Biology Olympiad (SJBO) are both entered through the school rather than by families directly. Our SJPO and SJBO guide covers what MOE says about competition results and DSA-JC.

Where a Mathematics portfolio includes competitions, our maths olympiad pathway guide sets out how NMOS, APMOPS and the SMO work, and notes that no organiser or MOE page promises a DSA place for a result.

What About Languages, Bilingualism and Humanities?

Bilingualism is the most common language-based talent area among the schools checked; Evergreen Secondary also offers Chinese and Malay, and Riverside Secondary offers Tamil. At Special Assistance Plan schools, the Chinese requirement can apply whatever the talent area.

Catholic High School, a SAP school, is explicit: "As with other SAP schools, we only take in students who offer Chinese or Higher Chinese in their primary school." It adds that IP students "must offer Higher Chinese Language in Years 1 and 2." River Valley High School lists "Good performance for Chinese Language in P5 and P6" among its shortlisting criteria for every talent area.

Ancourage Academy's P6 English and P6 Chinese classes build reading, writing and speaking for the PSLE. They are not a DSA preparation course, and no tuition centre can promise a DSA outcome.

How Do the Application Rules Shape Your Choices?

A student can make up to three DSA-Sec choices, with at most two talent areas at the same school, and the order of those three choices does not matter at the application stage.

MOE's application instructions read: "Select up to 3 choices. You may select up to 2 talent areas for the same school. If applying for 2 talent areas at the same school, list both as separate choices. The order of your 3 choices does not matter." MOE also states: "There are no application fees."

How many places a school may fill through DSA-Sec depends on the type of school. MOE sets out the quotas on its page on choosing a DSA-Sec school:

MOE adds that these three schools "do not participate in S1 Posting"; SOTA and the Singapore Sports School take applications directly. For the published 2026 dates, see our key dates calendar.

Which Posting Group Must a DSA-Sec Offer Still Meet?

One the school offers: a DSA-Sec offer only turns into a place if the child's PSLE Score qualifies them for a Posting Group that the school offers.

MOE puts it plainly: "Your child's PSLE score still matters. Students offered placement in a DSA-Sec school still need a PSLE score that qualifies them for the Posting Group offered by the school. For example, if a school offers only Posting Group 3, the student needs a PSLE score within Posting Group 3 (i.e. PSLE score of 4 - 22)." Our glossary entry on Posting Groups and our PSLE scoring guide explain how the PSLE Score is built.

MOE's selection outcomes page lists three outcomes: Confirmed Offer, Wait List or Unsuccessful. On the Wait List: "In previous years, about half of the students on the schools’ wait lists were eventually given a place."

The commitment is the part families underestimate. MOE's commitment page says a student admitted through DSA-Sec may not "Submit school choices during S1 Posting" or "Transfer to another school after the release of the PSLE results". All DSA-Sec students "must participate in activities related to their selected talent area" from Secondary 1 to 4 on the SEC track, or Year 1 to Year 4 on the IP, and the school commitment itself runs "For 6 years (Year 1 to Year 6, from secondary to post-secondary)" for IP students — a four- or six-year decision, not an entry ticket.

How Should Parents Use This Directory?

Use the table to build a shortlist, then confirm every entry on the school's own page and on MOE's SchoolFinder in the year your child applies, because talent areas change every year.

1. Start from the child, not the school. Find the talent area your child has sustained for years, then read down that category.
2. Check the Posting Group. Compare the school's Posting Groups with a realistic PSLE Score range, using our secondary school cut-off points page as context. A cut-off point is a past outcome, not an entry requirement.
3. Read the school's own criteria. Many set conduct or academic bars; Peirce asks for "a conduct grade of at least ‘Very Good’ in their Primary 5 and Primary 6 school reports".
4. Use the three choices on genuine fits. Two talent areas at one school spends two of the three choices there.
5. Re-check from late April. MOE says school websites are updated "by late April"; the 2027 exercise may differ from this list.

For context near our centres, see secondary schools near Bishan and Woodlands secondary schools; our guide to choosing a secondary school covers the wider decision.

Where Do Art Talent Areas Fit?

Visual Arts is covered separately in our complete list of DSA Art schools.

If your child's strength is visual art, Art by Ancourage runs a dedicated DSA Art Portfolio programme at both centres. For every other talent area, Ancourage Academy's most useful support is steady progress in the four PSLE subjects. A trial class (usually $18) starts with a diagnostic of where your child stands.

Common Questions About DSA-Sec Talent Areas

Is there an official list of DSA schools in Singapore?

Yes. MOE's SchoolFinder lists every DSA-Sec school and programme for each year's exercise and can be filtered by talent area. It is the authoritative source; this article covers 17 schools as they published their 2026 talent areas, so confirm on SchoolFinder and the school's own page before applying.

Which schools in this directory offer Robotics as a DSA-Sec talent area?

Five of the 17 schools name Robotics on their 2026 DSA-Sec pages: River Valley High School, Woodlands Ring Secondary School, Riverside Secondary School and Admiralty Secondary School list it outright, and Hwa Chong Institution lists Infocomm (Programming and/or Robotics). River Valley High School adds that prior knowledge of Python is highly recommended and that block-based languages are not accepted.

Do DSA talent areas change every year?

They can. Each school sets its talent areas for one exercise at a time, and MOE says school websites are updated by late April. This article reflects the 2026 exercise for Secondary 1 entry in 2027, so treat it as a starting shortlist and re-check each school before the next window opens.

Can my child apply for DSA without prior experience in the talent area?

Yes. MOE says applicants without prior experience may apply and that schools may assess potential. Admiralty, Woodlands Secondary and SST repeat that line on their own pages. Most selection criteria still ask for evidence such as CCA involvement, competition records or leadership roles.

Which schools list Mathematics or Science itself as a DSA-Sec talent area?

Only two of the 17: Hwa Chong Institution (Mathematics, Science) and Catholic High School (Mathematics and Science on its IP track). Every other school frames STEM as applied work such as Robotics, STEAM, Scientific Investigation or Environmental Science. Catholic High School asks Mathematics applicants for a portfolio of outstanding achievements and work that shows passion and aptitude for the subject.

Do SAP schools in this directory require Chinese for every talent area?

Catholic High School, a Special Assistance Plan school, states that it only takes in students who offer Chinese or Higher Chinese in primary school, whatever the talent area, and that IP students must offer Higher Chinese in Years 1 and 2. River Valley High School lists good performance in Chinese Language at P5 and P6 among its shortlisting criteria for every talent area. Check each SAP school's page before spending a choice on it.