Q: What does Stretch vs GEP vs SBGE: What IP-Bound Math & Physics Students Need to Know cover? A: Understand Singapore's school-based "Stretch" provisions for the top five to ten percent and the national Gifted Education Programme ≈toponepercent, how both feed into.
TL;DR "Stretch" selects for the top five to ten percent in each school; GEP selects for the top one percent nation-wide selected in Primary 3 and starts in Primary 4; GEP pupils continue in SBGE classes inside seven IP schools. If your child loves F=ma and y=mx+c
, Stretch is the warm-up, SBGE is the marathon.
1 Key terms at a glance
Tier
Cohort size
Where it happens
Main focus
Stretch
Top ≈ five to ten percent of each school
All primary & secondary schools
Breadth + depth enrichment
GEP
Top ≈ one percent nation-wide
9 primary GEP centres
Accelerated & differentiated core
SBGE
GEP alumni (plus DSA admits) in Sec 1-4
7 IP schools
Advanced inquiry, Olympiad prep
2 How the Stretch track works
2.1 Identification
Schools use year-end results, teacher check-lists and MOE's HAL screening. A pupil scoring, say, at least ninety percent in Y1 Science might receive an invitation letter.
2.2 Typical Stretch menu
Curricular add-ons - advanced Maths problem sets & chemistry questions
8-week masterclasses - kinematics datalogger lab, 1.5h a week
Experimental Physics: spreadsheet graph-fit, about one percent uncertainty propagation.
6.3 Why specialist IP tuition helps
Stretch → SBGE students often face a two-year content leap (calculus, electromagnetism) before peers. A small IP-only class lets tutors:
Detect algebra slips ("unit mismatch: N vs Nm").
Provide Olympiad-level extension without derailing school grades.
7 Quick FAQ
"Is Stretch a pre-GEP track?" No. Stretch is school-based enrichment; GEP remains centrally selected. "Can non-GEP pupils enter SBGE?" Yes, via DSA portfolios (Math Olympiad, research). "Will GEP disappear?" It is being embedded in every school, not scrapped.
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