O-Level and A-Level 2026: dates by paper and the last eight weeks
The dates below are from the SEAB timetables for the 2026 Singapore-Cambridge GCE O-Level and A-Level examinations, in the version marked "updated as at 13 February 2026". Your school's Entry Proof is the copy that counts; if anything here disagrees with it, check SEAB. Times are start times.
O-Level 2026, the main written papers
| Paper | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Chemistry practical (6092/3) | Wed 30 Sep | in shifts from 08:00 |
| Physics practical (6091/3) | Mon 5 Oct | in shifts from 08:00 |
| Combined Science practical (5086, 5087, 5088) | Thu 8 Oct | in shifts from 08:00 |
| Biology practical (6093/3) | Tue 13 Oct | in shifts from 08:00 |
| English listening (1184/3) | Thu 15 Oct | 14:00 |
| English Paper 1 and Paper 2 | Mon 19 Oct | 13:30 and 16:05 |
| Combined Humanities Paper 2 (Geography or History elective) | Tue 20 Oct | 14:00 |
| Mathematics Paper 1 (4052) | Wed 21 Oct | 14:00 |
| Geography Paper 1, History Paper 1 | Thu 22 Oct | 14:00 |
| Mathematics Paper 2 | Fri 23 Oct | 14:30 |
| Combined Humanities Paper 1 (Social Studies) | Mon 26 Oct | 08:00 |
| Additional Mathematics Paper 1 (4049) | Mon 26 Oct | 14:00 |
| Geography Paper 2, History Paper 2, Literature Paper 2 | Tue 27 Oct | 08:00, 08:00, 10:30 |
| Chemistry Paper 2, Combined Science (Phy/Chem, Chem/Bio) Paper 3 | Tue 27 Oct | 14:00 |
| Additional Mathematics Paper 2 | Wed 28 Oct | 08:00 |
| Literature Paper 1 | Thu 29 Oct | 08:00 |
| Physics Paper 2, Combined Science (Phy/Chem, Phy/Bio) Paper 2 | Thu 29 Oct | 14:00 |
| Biology Paper 2, Combined Science (Phy/Bio, Chem/Bio) Paper 4 | Fri 30 Oct | 08:00 |
| Chemistry Paper 1 (MCQ) | Fri 6 Nov | 08:00 |
| Physics Paper 1 (MCQ) | Fri 6 Nov | 14:30 |
| Combined Science Paper 1 (MCQ) | Tue 10 Nov | 08:00 |
| Biology Paper 1 (MCQ) | Tue 10 Nov | 14:00 |
Mother Tongue written papers were in June and the orals in July, so for most students the year-end run is English, Maths, Humanities and Sciences. Principles of Accounts is 28 and 30 October; Computing is 20 October. If your subject is not in the table, it is on the SEAB timetable, not forgotten.
A-Level 2026, the main written papers
| Paper | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| H2 Chemistry practical | Wed 14 Oct | in shifts from 08:00 |
| H2 Physics practical | Mon 19 Oct | in shifts from 08:00 |
| H2 Biology practical | Thu 22 Oct | in shifts from 08:00 |
| General Paper Paper 1 | Mon 2 Nov | 08:00 |
| H2 Mathematics Paper 1, H1 Mathematics | Tue 3 Nov | 08:00 |
| General Paper Paper 2 | Wed 4 Nov | 08:00 |
| H2 Economics Paper 1, H1 Economics | Thu 5 Nov | 14:00 |
| H2 Mathematics Paper 2 | Fri 6 Nov | 08:00 |
| H2 Chemistry Paper 2 | Tue 10 Nov | 14:00 |
| H2 Chemistry Paper 3 | Thu 12 Nov | 08:00 |
| H2 Physics Paper 2 | Fri 13 Nov | 08:00 |
| H2 Economics Paper 2 | Mon 16 Nov | 08:00 |
| H2 History Paper 1; H2 Physics Paper 3 | Tue 17 Nov | 08:00; 14:00 |
| H2 Biology Paper 2 | Wed 18 Nov | 08:00 |
| H2 History Paper 2 | Thu 19 Nov | 08:00 |
| H2 Biology Paper 3 | Fri 20 Nov | 14:30 |
| H2 Geography Paper 1; H2 Chemistry Paper 1 (MCQ) | Mon 23 Nov | 08:00; 14:00 |
| H2 Geography Paper 2 | Wed 25 Nov | 14:00 |
| H2 Biology Paper 1 (MCQ) | Thu 26 Nov | 14:00 |
| H2 Physics Paper 1 (MCQ) | Fri 27 Nov | 08:00 |
Results dates are announced separately; check SEAB.
The last eight weeks, counted backwards
Count from your first paper, not from today. For O-Levels that is 19 October; for A-Levels, 2 November (or your practical). Put every paper into the exam countdown once, with the time and the room, and let it do the days-left arithmetic so you stop doing it in your head at 1am.
- Weeks 8 and 7: find out where you actually are. One full past paper per subject, timed, no notes. Mark it honestly. Write the topics you lost marks on, per paper, on one page. This page is the plan; everything after this is that page.
- Weeks 6 and 5: the gaps, one at a time. Work the list from the biggest mark loss down. For each topic: read the worked example, do five questions, do one more the next day without looking. Do not re-read the whole textbook. Nobody has ever lost marks because they had not re-read chapter one.
- Weeks 4 and 3: full papers, in the real slot. Your Maths Paper 1 is at 14:00, so practise at 14:00. Sit the whole paper, then mark it the same day while you still remember what you were thinking. Two papers a week per subject is plenty.
- Week 2: shorter, sharper. Half papers and the questions you keep getting wrong. Sort the formulas and definitions you still have to look up into a deck and run it daily. Stop starting new topics.
- Week 1: sleep is revision. Light recall in the morning, nothing new after dinner, in bed at the same time each night. Pack the bag the night before each paper: Entry Proof, ID, calculator, spare pen. Check the start time again; a 13:30 English paper is not a morning paper.
If you cannot start
The plan above fails at one point: the afternoon you sit down and do nothing for an hour. When that happens, open tiny steps, type the actual task ("Chem paper 2 2024, questions 1 to 4") and do only the first five-minute step it gives you. Or sit in a study room with the shared timer running and other people working. Starting is the whole problem; the rest is just time.