It is a special programme offered by the Ministry of Education to provide opportunities for students with an aptitude for music to pursue a deeper study in music listening and music making.

The MEP is not a programme for music performance. It is a programme that facilitates deeper study of the topic, and covers issues such as history, analysis, criticism, philosophy, ethnic music and harmony, in addition to musical performance. The weightage of the performance module is 20% of the entire course, and the remaining 80% is taken up by the history, analysis, criticism, harmony, and ethnic music modules.

Students should have distinction (or higher) on ABRSM Grade 7 (or equivalent) on their first instrument, in addition to ABRSM Grade 5 (or equivalent) in their music theory. Applicants will also have to sit through an interview, an audition, and a simple aural and composition music test. Applicants who do well will then be considered for entry into RGS via DSA.

The MEP in RGS welcomes students who play a variety of instruments, but in order that the student is not disadvantaged in their learning due to the extensive use of Western Music terminology in the course, students whose first instrument is an ethnic instrument have to sit through a theory paper (approximately Grade 5 standard) in addition to the above entry prerequisites.

As RGS is an IP school, students do not sit for the GCE 'O' Level Music paper at the end of year 4. Students who graduate from RGS at the end of year 4 are highly encouraged to continue pursuing music as an academic subject in years 5 and 6 with Raffles Institution (Junior College).

As MEP is considered an academic subject, the student's Grade Point Average (GPA) for MEP is as valid as GPAs for all other academic subjects (eg. Physics, Mathematics) when applying for entry into RI(JC).

Although RGS girls do not have to sit for the GCE 'O' Level Music paper, the MEP in RGS does shadow the GCE 'O' Level Music curriculum so as to ensure that students who wish to take up music at GCE 'A' Level at RI(JC) will not be in a disadvantaged position. At the same time, because the MEP in RGS does not have to follow the GCE 'O' Level Music paper, it is able to offer a larger range of study topics (eg. A wider variety of setworks, more different topics etc.) than the GCE 'O' Level music syllabus.

Every year, MEP students in RGS organize their own MEP concerts featuring performances from students in the MEP. The school also organizes workshops, masterclasses and talks for students so that their learning is not just limited to the classroom, but they get the opportunity to learn from world-class musicians and artistes in the field. DSA students in the MEP are also strongly recommended when the school is asked to nominate student representatives for concert performances/attend overseas workshops.

As the MEP in RGS is a 4 year programme, students are expected to fulfill the 4-year commitment, and requests to leave the programme will be considered only under exceptional circumstances, and only on a case-by-case basis. As the number of MEP students per year in Singapore is limited, for every student who enrolls in the programme, there is one student who is not allowed on the course. As such, prospective students are urged to consider the implications before signing up for the programme.

Based on MEP rules, students are only allowed to leave the course if they do exceptionally poorly, or if they have medical reasons (validated by medical evidence). All other reasons, including CCAs, 3rd language classes, or taking up other subjects are not considered valid reasons to drop out of the course.

MEP lessons in RGS for Secondary 1 and 2 fall within curriculum time, and take the place of the aesthetics classes (eg. Home economics, Design and Technology) in the curriculum. MEP lessons in Secondary 3 and 4 fall on Wednesday afternoons, 3pm-6pm. As such, MEP students are not allowed to take part in activities with long-term commitments (including CCAs, 3rd Language classes, private tuition etc.) that fall on Wednesday afternoons.

As the school does not provide individual instrumental coaching for students in the MEP, students are required to continue their private music lessons on their first performing instrument while they are in the MEP programme.

As MEP is an academic subject which requires time for revision, homework, and studying, students who enroll in the MEP are strongly encouraged to choose their subjects wisely to avoid overloading themselves. As such, the MEP in RGS strongly encourages students to consider carefully the commitments involved when signing up for special programmes, including MEP.

Students in the MEP are strongly encouraged to take part in a musical CCA to extend their musical learning outside of the classroom. Nonetheless, there are students who may wish to develop other aspects of themselves in their CCAs, and students are free to take up any CCA that they wish, on the condition that it does not clash with MEP lesson times.

One class size.

The auditions will be held on 22nd & 23rd July 2010. For more information, please refer to the school website, or email Mr Xu Yang'en (see below)

Please feel free to contact the RGS MEP coordinator Mr Xu Yang'en at yangen.xu@rgs.edu.sg if you have any further inquiries.