Direct School Admissions into Secondary Schools (DSA SEC)

Please note that information on 2025 Direct School Admission into Secondary Schools (DSA-SEC) will be updated in May 2025. The information below applies to the 2024 Direct School Admission into Secondary Schools (DSA-SEC) for Admission to Secondary 1 in 2025.

Direct School Admissions into Secondary Schools (DSA-SEC)

The DSA scheme provides students with the opportunity to seek admission to a secondary school, based on a diverse range of specific academic and non-academic achievements and talents that they can demonstrate beyond the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE).

Yusof Ishak Secondary School (YISS) invites Primary 6 students to participate in the DSA-SEC Exercise. Under this exercise, successful applicants will gain admission into YISS for the academic year beginning January 2025.

For DSA 2024, YISS will offer the following talents for Primary 6 students.

No	DSA Talent Area	Gender
1	Community Youth Leadership	Boys, Girls
2	Chinese Orchestra	Boys, Girls
3	Concert Band	Boys, Girls
4	Modern Dance	Boys, Girls
5	Robotics	Boys, Girls
6	STEM	Boys, Girls
7	Basketball	Boys
8	Table Tennis	Boys, Girls
9	Wushu	Boys, Girls

DSA-Sec Selection Criteria for Talent Categories

Category	Talent Areas	Selection Criteria *	Selection Process
Leadership	Community Youth Leadership	Demonstrate strong aptitude in service and leadership in primary school; Hold a leadership position in primary school (e.g. Student Councillor / Prefect/ Class Chairperson/ CCA leader etc); and Possess good leadership and communication skills.	Shortlisted applicants will be invited to: Attend in-person selection. Unprepared individual task Interview
Performing Arts	Chinese Orchestra Concert Band Modern Dance	Represented in primary school in SYF Arts Presentation or equivalent; Possess good leadership and communication skills In your application, you may also include the following: Achievements, certifications, or participation in any external performances and competitions related to music or dance. Upload the relevant documents to a google drive or dropbox and share the link. This can be done in Step 4: Fill in non-school based awards/activities (Optional).	Shortlisted applicants will be invited to: Attend in-person selection. Prepared individual task Unprepared individual task Interview
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics	STEM Robotics	Demonstrate strong interest and aptitude to excel in areas related to STEM and/or Robotics; Participated in STEM-related and/or Robotics programmes or projects; and Possess good leadership and communication skills.	Shortlisted applicants will be invited to: Submit an existing e-portfolio (if any) Attend in-person selection Unprepared tasks Interview
Sports and Games	Basketball Table Tennis Wushu	Represented the Primary School at National/Zonal competitions or equivalent and preferably achieved a Top 3 placing; Individuals with outstanding achievements; and Possess good leadership and communication skills. Key player of the School Team who achieved Top 8 placing at National Inter-Primary School Competition(s), or Individuals who achieved Top 8 placing in their individual events at National Inter-Primary School Competition(s), or Individuals with other notable achievements please state/include in your application.	Shortlisted applicants will be invited to: Attend in-person selection Individual performance task Interview

*Meeting all the criteria does not guarantee the student will be shortlisted/given an offer.

General Selection Process

Candidates who are shortlisted are required to go through DSA selection conducted by the school.
Depending on the number of applications and vacancies, shortlisted applicants will be notified via email to attend a in-person selection exercise which will be conducted between 24 June 2024 – 23 August 2024.
Shortlisted applicants will be informed of the exact date, time and venue for the audition/trial.
Letters will be issued/emailed to all shortlisted applicants by 9 September 2024 (Monday), informing them if they have been given a (i) Confirmed Offer (CO), (ii) Wait List (WL) or (iii) Unsuccessful (UN).

Important Dates
7 May 2024, 11am –3 June 2024, 3pm	Submission of online DSA Application Form
By 5 July 2024	School to send e-mail notification to shortlisted applicants.
8 July 2024 – 23 August 2024	In-person selection exercise for shortlisted applicants.
By 9 September 2024	School to inform shortlisted applicants of the selection outcome.

How To Apply

Application for DSA-Sec can be submitted through the online DSA-Sec Portal. The application is free-of-charge and will be open from 7 May 2024, 11 am to 3 June 2024, 3pm. For more details, please refer to MOE website – https://www.moe.gov.sg/dsa-sec.

In your submission, please provide information such as position played in the sports, wushu specialization, instrument played and grade level, STEM/ROBOTICS credentials, Leadership achievements, whichever is applicable for the talent area that you are applying. This information will help in the shortlisting and arrangement of selection exercise schedule.

Parents and students are encouraged to choose schools wisely based on the student’s aptitudes and strengths, bearing in mind the schools’ academic and non-academic requirements, and the programmes available to develop the area of talent.

Students who are successfully admitted to the school via DSA are expected to honour their commitment to the school and participate in the activities related to the talent they are selected for from year 1-4.

For further enquiries, please contact the school at Tel: 6500 9800 or email: yiss@moe.edu.sg.

SUMMARY OF DSA TIMELINE 2024

ACTIVITY	DATE & TIME
Application Opens	Tuesday, 7 May 2024
Closing date for submission of application form and supporting documents	3.00 p.m., Monday, 3 June 2024 Submit your child's/ward’s application online through the DSA-Sec Portal. https://www.moe.gov.sg/secondary/dsa/application
Face-to-face trials/auditions and interviews for specific talent areas	Monday, 24 June 2024 - Monday, 9 September 2024
Notification Letter of outcome to DSA applicants	Late November

Useful MOE weblinks

DSA-Sec Main Webpage	https://www.moe.gov.sg/dsa-sec
Instructions on Application (Mainstream students)	https://go.gov.sg/dsa-sec-application
Instructions on Application (Non Mainstream Students)	https://go.gov.sg/nmsdsa-sec-application
Direct to DSA-Sec Portal (Mainstream Students)	https://go.gov.sg/apply-dsa-sec
Direct to DSA-Sec Portal (Non Mainstream Students)	https://go.gov.sg/apply-dsa-sec-nms
DSA-Sec iFAQs	https://go.gov.sg/dsa-secfaqs
DSA-Sec School Finder	https://go.gov.sg/dsa-secschfinder