My own O.C. (Original Colonisers - aka British) state education in the 1980s included 'O' (ordinary) and 'A' (advanced) level examinations aged 16 and 18 respectively. When I took my 'A' levels there was a 'General Studies' exam, the paper for which was essentially a lucky dip of general knowledge on which we answered two papers, one with multiple choice answers provided, the other where we wrote an essay. It covered things like politics, sociology, philosophy etc. Just general knowledge and our own understanding of the world we lived in. I guess this was our version of the General Paper in Singapore. I know our education system has overhauled it's examinations a couple of times since, but I couldn't tell you if there is still a version of the General (Studies) Paper taken before leaving Secondary (High) School, as my own teen wasn't state educated.