P1 Registration 2027: Phase 2C Changes and Two Tracks

Under MOE’s revised framework, P1 registration 2027 (the 2027 exercise, for children starting P1 in 2028) raises reserved Phase 2C places from 40 to 60 at most schools, keeps Phase 2B at 20, and splits Phase 2C into two tracks at the 2km line in 12 schools. MOE announced the changes on 10 September 2026.

“P1 registration 2027” can also mean the 2026 exercise, for children starting P1 in January 2027. MOE said on 29 April 2026 that it would not be affected; its key-dates page shows citizen and Permanent Resident registration for it ran from 30 June to 18 August 2026. Dates for the 2027 exercise were not on the MOE pages checked on 17 October 2026.

This guide covers only what changed and for whom. The phases themselves are on the Primary 1 registration explainer, and the learning hub has related guides. Terms such as Phase 2C and the Two-Track Scheme are defined in our glossary of Singapore school terms.

What changes in Phase 2C, and what stays the same?

MOE’s changes page, last updated on 11 September 2026, lists two changes. The infographic shows the first as follows:

• Phase 2B reserved places: 20 today and 20 from the 2027 exercise.
• Phase 2C reserved places: 40 today. From the 2027 exercise, 60 in schools with a P1 intake of 180 or more and 40 in smaller-intake schools.
• Places left after Phase 2A: one-third go to Phase 2B and two-thirds to Phase 2C, as now.

The second change, the Two-Track Scheme, applies only to the 12 schools below. At the other schools, the press release and changes page announce no other change to how distance is used: MOE’s distance page gives today’s order, SC within 1km, SC between 1km and 2km, SC beyond 2km, then PRs in the same three bands.

MOE’s press release FAQ says the extra 20 reserved places come from the earlier registration phases, and that families eligible for Phase 2A or 2B keep priority admission ahead of Phase 2C applicants. The balloting page describes today’s reserve: 60 places per school for Phases 2B and 2C at the start, 20 and 40. In illustrative arithmetic (this guide’s, not MOE’s), the reserve for the two phases together rises from 60 (20 + 40) to 80 (20 + 60), so if a school had 180 places at the start of the exercise, 100 rather than 120 would be unreserved. The 180 is only MOE’s intake threshold, not a real school’s count. Reserved Phase 2C places went from 0 to 20 in 2014 and from 20 to 40 in 2022, MOE told Parliament on 7 July 2026, so 60 is the third step.

Which are the 12 Two-Track Scheme schools?

MOE says it looked at the housing profile around each school, and that for a start it is applying the scheme to 12 schools where public housing accounts for less than 40% of dwelling units within 2km. About 8 in 10 of Singapore’s resident population live in public housing (HDB flats), MOE notes. The changes page and its infographic list the same 12:

• Anglo-Chinese School (Junior)
• Anglo-Chinese School (Primary)
• CHIJ (Katong) Primary
• Methodist Girls’ School (Primary)
• Nanyang Primary School
• Ngee Ann Primary School
• Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School
• Raffles Girls’ Primary School
• Singapore Chinese Girls’ Primary School
• St. Margaret’s School (Primary)
• Tanjong Katong Primary School
• Tao Nan School

MOE will review the list periodically but does not expect frequent changes. The pages read do not say whether any of the 12 has a smaller intake.

Will the changes be delayed for families who already moved?

No. Several MPs asked for a deferral of one to three years. In its reply to Parliament on 7 October 2026, MOE said both changes apply from the 2027 exercise: some families planned their housing around the current rules, but more families benefit the sooner the changes start. The reply also said:

• Phases 2A and 2B: no structural changes for now; the Parent Volunteer Scheme is unchanged (each school decides whether and how to run it), and MOE Kindergarten children keep their Phase 2A priority.
• The 12 schools: the public-housing test is applied consistently, including at CHIJ (Katong) Primary and Ngee Ann Primary.
• Travel from beyond 2km: many of the 12 are reachable by MRT or major bus routes, and Singapore Citizen students in need can get help with public transport and school bus fares.

Which track would my family be in?

This rule follows MOE’s press release and changes page and applies only at the 12 schools above.

1. Check your home-school distance with MOE’s OneMap school tool (www.onemap.gov.sg/school, the address the press release gives). Within 2km is Phase 2C (≤2km); beyond 2km is Phase 2C (>2km).
2. The total number of Phase 2C places, including any that flow in from Phases 2A and 2B when those have more places than applicants, is split equally between the tracks. An odd place goes to the ≤2km track.
3. In each track, if SC applicants outnumber the places, MOE balloting decides. There is no home-school distance priority within a track, so on our reading the current 1km and 1–2km bands no longer rank applicants against each other.
4. If places remain in one track after all its SC applicants are admitted, they pass to SC applicants in the other track.
5. PR applicants are considered only after every SC applicant in both tracks is admitted. Any places then left are shared equally between the tracks for PRs.

MOE’s address page (last updated 30 September 2026) says the address used for registration, which should be the parents’ official NRIC address, is used to determine the home-school distance category. The Two-Track wording refers only to living within or beyond 2km and does not mention that category, so the idea that the same address decides the track is our inference, to confirm in 2027.

How does MOE’s School A example work out?

MOE’s changes page uses a school called School A; the press release notes that it has the minimum 60 reserved places and no places flowing in from the earlier phases. Its numbers, one step at a time:

1. School A has 60 places for Phase 2C, so 30 go to each track.
2. There are 65 SC applicants: 40 live within 2km and 25 beyond.
3. In the >2km track, 25 applicants compete for 30 places. All 25 are admitted and 5 places are left over.
4. Those 5 flow to the ≤2km track, which now has 30 + 5 = 35 places.
5. In the ≤2km track, 40 applicants compete for 35 places, so MOE ballots all 40 and 35 get a place. MOE’s balloting page, which describes the current framework, says everyone who has to ballot is assured an equal chance.
6. In total 25 + 35 = 60 places are filled; 5 of the 65 applicants are not placed in Phase 2C (our arithmetic from MOE’s figures).

What the tracks change here (this guide’s arithmetic, not MOE’s, and a simplification that ignores the other phases). Put the same 65 SC applicants and 60 places in one pool under today’s distance order. All 40 who live within 2km are admitted first, leaving 20 places for the 25 beyond 2km, so 20 of those 25 get in. Five applicants miss out either way; with the tracks they come from the 40 living within 2km, and without them from the 25 living beyond.

Take two fictional SC families registering in Phase 2C at School A: Family A lives 0.7km away and Family B 2.9km away. With MOE’s numbers, Family A is one of 40 balloting for 35 places, the same position as a family 1.9km away, and Family B is admitted. In the one-pool comparison, Family A is admitted and Family B is one of 25 balloting for 20 places. Real schools have other numbers; this shows the mechanism, not a forecast.

Does this change my child’s chances?

The pages read give no forecast of anyone’s chances. They point in different directions for different families:

• No prior connection to the school: Phase 2C is open to all, and most schools reserve 20 more places in it.
• Eligible for Phase 2A or 2B: priority over Phase 2C remains, but the extra Phase 2C places come from the earlier phases.
• Within 2km of a Two-Track school: half of Phase 2C is set aside for this group (the odd place, if any, goes to this track), but on our reading living within 1km no longer ranks ahead of living between 1km and 2km.
• Beyond 2km of a Two-Track school: the other half is set aside for this group. MOE says this opens the 12 schools to a more diverse socio-economic mix of families beyond those living in their immediate neighbourhood.

What decides a ballot is how many apply to a school in a given year. MOE’s vacancies and balloting data page, updated on 29 April 2026, carries the 2025 exercise’s figures and suggests considering schools that had more vacancies than applicants, and schools reasonably close to home. MOE is also gradually reducing P1 intake at the majority of schools from the 2026 exercise, per its 29 April 2026 release, so older figures are a guide, not a forecast (this guide’s inference).

What should I check before the 2027 exercise?

Copy this list and fill it in when MOE announces the exercise.

• Dates. The 2026 exercise was announced on 29 April 2026 and opened on 30 June 2026; treat that as a guide to when to look, not a promise. MOE says Parents Gateway carries updates for parents of prospective P1 children.
• Birth-date window. The 2026 exercise covered children born from 2 January 2020 to 1 January 2021. On the same pattern, 2027 would cover 2 January 2021 to 1 January 2022 (an inference); MOE will confirm. Our free K1 and Primary 1 year finder marks each result as MOE’s statement or our inference; it does not know the 2027 exercise’s dates.
• School and track. Is your school still one of the 12, and which side of 2km is the address you will register with? MOE’s address page strongly encourages parents to check their confirmed home-school distance category in June 2027, before the 2027 exercise starts.
• Address and 30-month stay. The address rules, the caregiver declaration and the 30-month stay are covered in the registration explainer. For 2026, the distance page set the 30 months from 30 June 2026, and MOE will transfer a child to a school of its choosing if the requirement is not met. The pages read do not say how it applies to the ≤2km track, so read MOE’s 2027 wording.
• Citizenship, phase and vacancies. SCs come before PRs in every track. Check MOE’s vacancy and balloting data for your shortlist (on 17 October 2026 it still showed the 2025 exercise) and keep a range of schools in view, as MOE encourages.

If your child starts P1 in January 2027, the practice routine is for you; this guide concerns the exercise after that.

Common questions