GEP Selection Test Questions & Preparation Tips [UPDATED]

FREE Primary 3 GEP English, Math & General Ability Questions Alert – only if you read till the end! You’re welcome.

GEP or Gifted Education Programme Selection Test is the second round of the 2-stage identification exercise by Singapore’s Ministry of Education.

If you’re reading this right now, chances are:

You’ve received a letter or Parents Gateway notification on 12 October 2021 Tuesday from your Primary 3 child’s school that your child has been selected for the Second Round. Congratulations!
Your family and friends around you received it and you’re just curious about what it’s all about (a.k.a. kaypoh – aren’t we all…)
Your child is in Primary 2 or lower, but you’re interested to know more about the GEP Selection Test.

Today, we’re here with Think Academy’s GEP Primary 1 to 3 Teaching Team to learn about:

Key GEP Event Timeline
What to expect from the GEP Selection Test & Sample Questions
How to support your child when there’s only less than one month left to the GEP Selection Test

Your Child Has Been Invited for the GEP Selection Test…

Firstly, Congratulations and Well Done!

Your child is in the Top 10%. Only about 1 in 10 students proceed to the second round GEP Selection Test.

The GEP Selection Test will be held on 18 and 19 October 2022.

There are 3 papers – English Language, Mathematics and General Ability, and we’ll cover more about the specifics of each paper in the next section.

Eventually, roughly 400 to 500 students are selected for the GEP, which is available in 9 primary schools. So your child has another 1 in 10 chance of getting past Round 2.

The 9 primary schools offering the Primary 4 to 6 GEP are Anglo-Chinese School (Primary), Catholic High School (Primary), Henry Park Primary School, Nan Hua Primary School, Nanyang Primary School, Raffles Girls’ Primary School, Rosyth School, St. Hilda’s Primary School and Tao Nan School.

In December, if your child has been selected for the GEP, you will receive a big, brown, or dark yellow envelope with an official GEP invitation letter and other documents.

You will also be invited to a GEP briefing session. After which, you and your child will decide if he/she would like to join the GEP! If your choice is a big yes, you will also need to select your top 4 GEP school choices.

Image credit: memecreator.org

The school posting results will be shared in December. Thereafter, you need to visit your child’s current school to collect his or her report card. Your child’s GEP school will also share instructions to prepare for the Primary 4 school year via postal mail.

GEP Selection Test – What is Tested on the Two Days?

The two-day schedule looks something like this:

Day 1	English Language Paper (1 to 1.5 hours) General Ability (English) Paper (~ 1 hour) About 2.5 hours in total (varies by year), with a short break in between the 2 papers – pack a snack!
Day 2	Math Paper (1 to 1.5 hours) General Ability (Math) Paper (~1 hour) About 2.5 hours in total (varies by year), with a short break in between the 2 papers – pack a snack!

Has your child taken a 2.5-hour exam before? Perhaps attended a 2.5-hour Math or English lesson?

Exam Stamina, Strong Focus and Good Time Management Skills are important skills to hone.

4 types of GEP papers

1. GEP Selection Round English Language Paper

Here is an overview:

Vocabulary, Cloze Passages and Comprehension are tested in the English paper that typically has a 1 to 1.5-hour duration

To do well in vocabulary, students need a wide vocabulary built through a hearty appetite for reading and exposure to various genres and forms of text over time.

Image credit: @little_bookroom on twitter.com

Parents have shared that the English level is pitched at the Secondary School level!

Most of the comprehension questions revolve around inference from a short piece of text.

Comprehension passages from past-year Selection Round English papers have ranged from History (Temple of Artemis) to Science (US-Russia Space Race) to Poems (Ballad of Rum).

Your child also needs to know how to read between the lines and make inferences.

Image credit: roadtogrammar.com

2. GEP Selection Round General Ability (English) Paper

Here are some question types that appear in the English General Ability paper:

Word Relation: Understanding how to compare different words
Anagram: Unscrambling the letters of a word to create another
Decoding: Finding the relationship between numbers and letters
Logic: Deducing a conclusion from information provided

Check out the examples below!

Word Relation, Anagram, Decoding and Logic are several types of questions that may appear in the Selection Round’s General Ability (English) paper

3. GEP Selection Round Mathematics Paper

The paper structure varies from year to year, especially so in recent years! It is known to range from 50 up to even 80 questions, so be prepared – stamina and focus will be key!

The Math paper requires strong Higher Order Thinking skills and will include Multi-Step Problems.

Your child needs to exercise Critical Thinking Skills to understand the questions deeply and solve them.

There might be questions on Number Patterns that require Counting and Creativity. Or Practical Application of Combinatorics such as the Pigeonhole Principle. Or Logic Problems that require Strong Logical Reasoning Abilities!

Give this sample GEP Selection Round Math question a shot!

Can you solve it without listing? What method did you use to solve it?

Think Academy’s GEP Math & General Ability Courses give students exposure and the know-how to solve it quickly and effectively

4. GEP Selection Round General Ability (Mathematics) Paper

Typically, 30 to 40 questions are included. They could include questions on:

Patterns: Finding the odd one out, forming sets and more
Spatial Awareness: Rotation and reflection of objects, 3D shapes, etc.
Logical Reasoning

Your child needs good ‘Math Sense’ for the General Ability Math paper.

Try out this General Ability Math question that involves Pattern recognition! What is your answer, and why?

GEP Math & General Ability Courses such as Think Academy’s give students exposure and the know-how to solve it quickly and effectively.

These kinds of questions are beyond the MOE school syllabus. However, giving your child exposure to such question types and learning their problem solving methods is possible! (We provide MORE such questions at the end of this article.)

General Ability Math questions are the sweet spot between PSLE, Math Olympiad, and Brain Teaser types of questions.

How Can You Help Your Child Get Ready for the GEP Selection Test?

With only a few weeks left to the GEP Selection Test,

We’ve divided our tips into 3 categories:

GEP English Tips & Tricks
GEP Math Tips & Tricks
General Tips and Tricks

GEP English Tips and Tricks

Time Management is of the essence!

Get plenty of practice to build up reading stamina. Sit for Mock Tests to assess your child’s current level of reading and comprehension speed and ability.

In the Exam Room…

Normally, we’d recommend doing Comprehension first, because it requires more brainpower. BUT, if time is an issue, work on Vocabulary questions first! The marks per minute spent is higher.

If you’re reading this for future GEP Tests and not this year’s…

Cultivate a habit of reading for leisure, but treat it more seriously. Reading together on a routine basis helps to build reading comprehension. It makes reading FUN too! Discuss what you are reading makes reading come alive and encourages critical thinking too!
Make an effort to look up new and unfamiliar words. Encourage your child to ask questions? For example, “what does this sentence mean?”

GEP Math Tips and Tricks

It’s All About SPEED.

Practice, practice, practice!
Be VERY familiar with the Times Table and other calculation fundamentals
Gain familiarity with Advanced Problem-Solving Steps and Techniques

Gain Exposure to Exam Questions

Learn various advanced problem-solving techniques and concepts up to the PSLE level
Focus on commonly tested Selection Round topics. Some examples are Number Patterns and Combinatorics

Learn to Check your Answers

Working backwards – If the question asked to multiply, then check by dividing!
Substitution – Plug your answer back into the question!
Estimation – If we want to find 25 x 20, this must be close enough to 20 x 20.

General Tips and Tricks

Eat and Sleep Well

Eat a nutritious meal on the morning of the exam. Do not stay up late studying for it!

Destress

Being overly worried can have a negative impact on your exam condition. Focus on the process, not the result!

Bring along your exam-friendly lucky charm

Admittedly, luck plays a part in GEP admissions! Bring your lucky pen or eraser with you.

Finally…

Generally, based on parent feedback and our experience, the difficulty of preparing for each subject varies.

The rate of return for GEP English and General Ability (English) preparation is relatively lower compared to that of GEP Math and General Ability (Math). A longer investment period is required to yield results.

Based on your child’s ability, decide how the last few weeks should be spent.

If you’re looking for Primary 3 GEP Selection Test intensives, check out our Primary 3 GEP October Selection Round Intensive Workshops for English and Math! They are taught by former GEP students Teacher Belinda and Teacher Olivia.

Maybe your child is younger and you wish to provide GEP Math and General Abilities exposure? We have 2023 Primary 1 GEP, Primary 2 GEP and Primary 3 GEP year-long programmes as well! Registrations are now OPEN for these 2023 programmes! Classes begin this November, just as the school holiday starts.

While working towards the goal of preparing well for GEP gives a clear direction for actions, ultimately, it is the learning journey that matters most.

The best takeaway is the accumulated new ways of thinking, understanding of the world, and sense of curiosity and wonder that learning brings.

We wish all Primary 3 students taking the GEP Selection Test…