SINGAPORE - Candidates taking the GCE A-level examination last year turned in the second-best performance since the curriculum was revised about 12 years ago.

Of the 12,502 students who sat last year's examinations as school candidates, 11,624 received at least three H2 passes, as well as a pass in General Paper or Knowledge and Inquiry, said the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) on Friday (Feb 23).

Last year's passing rate of 93 per cent improved on the 92.6 per cent achieved by the 2016 cohort. Students in 2015 set the benchmark for the highest pass rate since the curriculum was revised in 2006, at 93.1 per cent.

Candidates' wait for their results ended at 2.30pm on Friday, with most collecting them from their schools.

Private candidates will receive their results by post, but those with SingPass accounts can obtain them through the Internet Examination Results Release System (iERRS) on www.seab.gov.sg immediately.

In a Facebook post on Friday morning, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong wished candidates waiting to hear how they did, "all the best".

"Whatever your results are, remember that this is just one step in your lifelong learning journey," he wrote.

"We are not only defined by result slips or certificates, but by what we achieve in life and what impact we make on those around us."