SOTA conducts ONE (1) Admission Exercise a year through the Talent Academy (TA). Application opens in April and closes in May. This year’s TA is currently scheduled to take place from 23 June to 18 July 2020. Please refer to the DSA-Sec (Non-MOE) How To Apply tab for more information on the application process.

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

All shortlisted DSA-Sec (Non-MOE) applicants must complete all TA activities within the stipulated time. In view of the COVID-19 situation, this year’s TA activities will be conducted online and will include the following:

• Individual auditions or portfolio presentations
• Panel interviews
• Online questionnaires
• Entrance tests for English and Mathematics set at the local MOE Primary 6 level
• An entrance tests fee of $30.00 is applicable

Applicants are not required to take MOE’s SPERS test for admission to SOTA.
 

There is no TA Registration Fee. There is an entrance test fee of S$30.00 payable by shortlisted DSA-Sec (Non-MOE) applicants.
 

Applicants may refer to the Primary 6 or PSLE assessment books. Download the Preparation Notes and Checklist to learn more.
 

No, there isn’t. SOTA admits 100% of its Year 1 cohort through the DSA exercise. As such, there is no other admission exercise for Year 1 intake for Academic Year 2021 other than the DSA exercise.
 

Applicants must meet the following:

• At least 12 years old (born in 2008), and
• Current level of study is Grade 6 and must complete by December 2020, and
• Studying in a local non-MOE mainstream school, or
• Returning Singaporeans or Returning Singapore Permanent-Residents

Interested applicants should only submit their applications if they are able to start school in January 2021.

13 May 2020: In view of the COVID-19 situation, all International Students who are not residing in Singapore are not eligible to take part in this year's DSA-Sec Exercise, and will not be able to apply for the Talent Academy. Please refer to https://go.gov.sg/nmsdsa-sec-application for more details.
 

The application is open to Singaporeans, Singapore Permanent-Residents, Returning Singaporeans, Returning Singapore Permanent-Residents, and Foreigners who meet the eligibility criteria stated in the first question of this section.
 

Please see the following:

• Home-schooled in Singapore and taking the PSLE in 2020: DSA-Secondary
• Home-schooled in Singapore and not taking the PSLE in 2020: DSA-Secondary (Non-MOE)
• Home-schooled overseas: DSA-Sec (Non-MOE)

 

No. Applicants cannot be underage. Singapore’s minimum age requirement for entry to Year/Secondary 1 is that students turn 13 years old in 2021.
 

No. The entrance tests would consist Grade 6 topics, which you might not have covered yet. You would be at a disadvantage. You should apply for TA in 2021 for admission in AY2022 instead. Do note that you can only apply once.
 

Yes, you can apply for Year 1 for TA 2020 provided that you meet the age eligibility criteria (at least 12 years old).
 

Applicants aged 13 years and above and have completed Grade 7 may not apply for admission to Year 1 for TA 2020. You may only apply to the level that you will be starting or still studying in 2021, provided that you meet the age eligibility criteria for admission to the level you are seeking to apply to.
 

• If you are born in 2008 (12 years old) and will be completing Grade 6 by December 2020, you may apply via the DSA-Sec (Non-MOE) category. Learn more about the DSA-Sec (Non-MOE) Application Process, or
• If you are currently in Grade 7, 8 or 10, you may apply via the Non-DSA category. Find out if you are eligible to apply by checking the "Eligibility" section of the "Criteria" tab on the Non-DSA page.

 

No, you are not required to have any formal training or certification in order to apply. For Music pupils, it is important that you are able to sight-read and sight-sing.
 

To gain admission into SOTA via DSA-Sec (Non-MOE), shortlisted applicants must satisfy the following criteria:

• Obtain a registration number (in the format of RGxxxxxxx) from the MOE Customer Service Centre. Please visit MOE’s website for more information.
• Receive a Confirmed Offer for the final outcome of their Talent Academy application
• Indicate SOTA during the Exercise School Preference Submission at the MOE Customer Service Centre

 

The art forms available for admission to Year 1 are:

• Dance
• Literary Arts
• Music (Performing) or Music (Creating)
• Theatre
• Visual Arts

Applicants may apply for up to TWO (2) art forms only.
 

No. You may only apply for ONE (1) instrument (including ‘voice’) and to ONE (1) Music track only.
 

You may apply to ONE (1) track only. Based on the Music Faculty’s assessment of the portfolio submitted, you may be shortlisted to audition for the other track instead, if you are found more suitable for that.
 

Learn more about the two tracks here.
 

• Application is done online via the TA Portal. You will need to register for an account before you can log in to complete the application form.
• You must download the Preparation Notes and Checklist relevant to the art form that you are applying for to find out what you need to prepare for your portfolio submission, as well as the supporting documents required for submission.
• It takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour to complete the entire application for one art form, provided that the supporting documents and portfolio submission have been prepared in advance.
• Applicants are advised to submit their applications early, as the TA Portal may experience slower connectivity due to high traffic during the application period.
• Incomplete applications will be disqualified. Appeals for late submissions will not be considered.
• Please refer to the DSA-Sec (Non-MOE) How To Apply tab for more information on application process and the timeline to take note of.

 

No, you are not required to submit an application via MOE's DSA-Sec Portal. Students interested to apply to SOTA will continue to apply directly to SOTA via the TA Portal. Read the article here.
 

Please email our technical support team at support@sota.edu.sg or the Office of Student Affairs at sa@sota.edu.sg.
 

You may refer to the YouTube Help page for assistance.
 

You may refer to the Google Support page for assistance.
 

There are many free online websites you can use. Below are a few suggestions. Please note that SOTA is not affiliated to any of these sites. The links below will bring you to an external website not hosted by SOTA.

• Convert word document to pdf document (Link 1 or Link 2)
• Compress / Resize pdf documents (Link 1)
• Merge individual pdf documents into 1 document (Link 1)

 

No. All auditions, assessments, and interviews must be done during the TA dates indicated. All TA schedules will be arranged by SOTA and no change of dates is allowed. Please refer to the DSA-Sec (Non-MOE) How To Apply tab for more information on the application process and the timeline to take note of. We regret that due to the nature of the audition activities, no auditions will take place outside of the TA window.
 

Log in to the TA Portal and:

• check the status of your shortlisting outcome, and
• download your TA Schedule to find out the TA dates/days that you are allocated to. Do note that these may take place over multiple days.
• check the ‘announcement’ tab to learn more about your TA Schedule
• If you are shortlisted for 1 art form you will need to complete the following:
  • One art form audition
  • One panel interview
  • Two online exercises
  • Two entrance tests
• If you are shortlisted for 2 art forms you will need to complete the following:
  • Two art form auditions
  • One panel interview
  • Two online exercises
  • Two entrance tests
• Shortlisted candidates must complete all their scheduled activities within the stipulated time. Absence during any part of the TA will disqualify the application
• Download the Preparation Notes and Checklist to learn more

 

No. All TA schedules are arranged by SOTA and no change of dates is allowed. Please refer to the DSA-Sec (Non-MOE) How To Apply tab for more information on the application process and the timeline to take note of
 

SOTA would have carefully considered each application, and as such, the decision is final.
 

All applications are carefully reviewed and considered by the selection panel according to a rigorous process. As such, the decision of the selection panel is final. The school reserves the right not to release the results and/or the reasons for non-selection of applicants. To ensure the continued rigour of the selection process, we regret that we are not able to provide any feedback.
 

You must log in to the TA Portal to check the status of your final TA outcome. Please refer to the DSA-Sec (Non-MOE) How To Apply tab for more information on the application process and the timeline to take note of.
 

• You must participate in the DSA School Preference Exercise in late October (date TBC)
• Exercise your option and indicate SOTA during the School Preference Submission

 

Yes. Absence during any part of the TA will disqualify the application. Shortlisted candidates must attend and complete all their scheduled activities. As the TA includes group activities, please note that there will not be any make-up auditions.
 

We understand your request for feedback in order to help you improve in your artistic journey. The school maintains strict confidentiality about the audition procedures and criteria for the Talent Academy, to ensure and maintain the authenticity of performances and portfolios at future auditions. As such, we regret we are unable to share any feedback.
 

Regrettably, no. The school evaluates the candidate’s artistic talent and potential based on the admission criteria and a rigorous assessment process during the Talent Academy (TA). Candidates are assessed via solo auditions or portfolio presentations depending on the art form, as well as group workshops, exercises and interviews. Admission to the school is highly competitive. As such, we are only able to accept candidates who have performed consistently well across the assessed areas. The school would have carefully reviewed each applicant’s TA assessment and therefore, the decision is final.
 

You may only re-apply for admission to Year 5 in the year that you are completing Grade 10. This is because you are required to submit a fresh portfolio of works completed in the last 3 consecutive years, and cannot include works submitted in your previous application.