a brief history of our school 学校简史
15/06/1918 – Mr Tan Kah Kee and other philanthropists proposed a secondary school catering to Chinese boys living in Singapore. Mr Tan Kah Kee contributed $30,000 and raised a further $490,000 for the building fund for the setting up of the school at where Singapore Chinese Girls School (Primary) is situated now.
21/03/1919 – Singapore Chinese High School was completed at Niven Road, offering 4 years of secondary education to an initial enrolment of 73 boys. Mr Tan Kah Kee was elected to be the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, Mr Tan Kah Kee was forced to resign and he returned to China, leaving Mr Lin Yi Shun as his successor.
1923 – Construction of the Singapore Chinese High School’s Bukit Timah campus, which covers an area of 79 acres, begun. Mr Tan Kah Kee’s generous funding and support ensured that the school was well-equipped, with facilities such as a school hall, many classrooms and a hostel.
1925 – Construction of the Bukit Timah campus is completed. Students and staff moved in on 08/10/1925.
1928 – A staff hostel, the Haw Par Building, the 2 school gates, the driveway and the track was constructed.
1934 – Mr Lee Kong Chian, son-in-law of Mr Tan Kah Kee, became the Chairperson of the Board of Directors and donated funds for the construction of the Kuo Chuan Science Block, in memory of his deceased father. The science block consists of a physics lab, a chemistry lab, a biology lab and a library.
1941 – The science block was completed.
1942 – The clock tower was used as the headquarters for the Allied defense. After Singapore was occupied by the Japanese in World War II, the school was used as a Japanese base, with its clock tower serving as an ideal surveillance tower. It was also used as a concentration camp to detain prisoners for interrogation during the Sook Ching massacre.
1945 – After the end of World War II, regular lessons resumed. However, since that most of the facilities were destroyed, lessons were conducted in the nearby Nanyang Girls’ High and the Sin Chew Kindergarten.
1947 – The Board of Directors donated $100,000 for the reconstruction of the school.
1949 – Construction of a school canteen located behind the Science Block and construction of more classrooms beside the school hall to meet increasing enrolment begun.
1952 – Canteen and classrooms completed.
1954 – Completion of a larger school field.
1955 – Construction of the school library begun after 4 years of planning.
1956 – Completion of the school library, which was named Kong Chian Library in memory of Mr Lee Kong Chian, who funded its construction.
1967 – A new and larger Science Centre replaced the aging building.
1969 – Mr Zheng Jin Fa, principal of the Chinese High School at that time, introduced the Enhanced Pupil Performance Program (EP3) to improve the image of the school and also to enrich the students.
1974 – Introduction of a full day curriculum which improved the academic standards of the students.
1981 – Construction of the boarding school, including an administration centre, an activity centre and a canteen began, funded by the Ministry of Education.
1983 – Completion of the boarding school and the computer centre.
1984 – The Chinese High School was chosen by the Ministry of Education to offer the Art Elective Programme, with scholarships provided to talented students with a passion to pursue art as a career. The school also adopted the philosophy of “Win-Win”.
1985 – Construction of the swimming pool, also funded by the Ministry of Education, began.
1988 – The Chinese High School became an independent school and introduced many groundbreaking changes unheard of in Singapore, such as the abolishment of mid-year examinations in favor of camping trips for the whole school and the introduction of numerous enrichment programmes such as Projects Day.
1990s – Extensive renovation of the school’s facilities begun, which as new hall which was named the Kah Kee Hall, a gymnasium, a renovated tower block and more classrooms. The school also unveiled a new school vision of a World Class Institution. Consortiums Quest, Aphelion, ProEd and Radix were introduced at the end of the decade.
19/03/1999 – The clock tower is officially gazetted as a national monument.
2000 – iSpark was set in for students in the Gifted Education Programme and exceptional students from other consortia.
2002 – Introduction of the China History Programme, which aims to educate students about China’s history, geography, culture and modern China. The Hwa Chong Institution Boarding School, which can accommodate up to 1000 students, was completed at the cost of $40 million.
2004 – Introduction of the Integrated Programme.
2005 – Introduction of the Bicultural Studies Programme (BSP), the Language Elective Programme (LEP) and the Malay Special Programme (MSP).
21/03/1919 – Singapore Chinese High School was completed at Niven Road, offering 4 years of secondary education to an initial enrolment of 73 boys. Mr Tan Kah Kee was elected to be the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, Mr Tan Kah Kee was forced to resign and he returned to China, leaving Mr Lin Yi Shun as his successor.
1923 – Construction of the Singapore Chinese High School’s Bukit Timah campus, which covers an area of 79 acres, begun. Mr Tan Kah Kee’s generous funding and support ensured that the school was well-equipped, with facilities such as a school hall, many classrooms and a hostel.
1925 – Construction of the Bukit Timah campus is completed. Students and staff moved in on 08/10/1925.
1928 – A staff hostel, the Haw Par Building, the 2 school gates, the driveway and the track was constructed.
1934 – Mr Lee Kong Chian, son-in-law of Mr Tan Kah Kee, became the Chairperson of the Board of Directors and donated funds for the construction of the Kuo Chuan Science Block, in memory of his deceased father. The science block consists of a physics lab, a chemistry lab, a biology lab and a library.
1941 – The science block was completed.
1942 – The clock tower was used as the headquarters for the Allied defense. After Singapore was occupied by the Japanese in World War II, the school was used as a Japanese base, with its clock tower serving as an ideal surveillance tower. It was also used as a concentration camp to detain prisoners for interrogation during the Sook Ching massacre.
1945 – After the end of World War II, regular lessons resumed. However, since that most of the facilities were destroyed, lessons were conducted in the nearby Nanyang Girls’ High and the Sin Chew Kindergarten.
1947 – The Board of Directors donated $100,000 for the reconstruction of the school.
1949 – Construction of a school canteen located behind the Science Block and construction of more classrooms beside the school hall to meet increasing enrolment begun.
1952 – Canteen and classrooms completed.
1954 – Completion of a larger school field.
1955 – Construction of the school library begun after 4 years of planning.
1956 – Completion of the school library, which was named Kong Chian Library in memory of Mr Lee Kong Chian, who funded its construction.
1967 – A new and larger Science Centre replaced the aging building.
1969 – Mr Zheng Jin Fa, principal of the Chinese High School at that time, introduced the Enhanced Pupil Performance Program (EP3) to improve the image of the school and also to enrich the students.
1974 – Introduction of a full day curriculum which improved the academic standards of the students.
1981 – Construction of the boarding school, including an administration centre, an activity centre and a canteen began, funded by the Ministry of Education.
1983 – Completion of the boarding school and the computer centre.
1984 – The Chinese High School was chosen by the Ministry of Education to offer the Art Elective Programme, with scholarships provided to talented students with a passion to pursue art as a career. The school also adopted the philosophy of “Win-Win”.
1985 – Construction of the swimming pool, also funded by the Ministry of Education, began.
1988 – The Chinese High School became an independent school and introduced many groundbreaking changes unheard of in Singapore, such as the abolishment of mid-year examinations in favor of camping trips for the whole school and the introduction of numerous enrichment programmes such as Projects Day.
1990s – Extensive renovation of the school’s facilities begun, which as new hall which was named the Kah Kee Hall, a gymnasium, a renovated tower block and more classrooms. The school also unveiled a new school vision of a World Class Institution. Consortiums Quest, Aphelion, ProEd and Radix were introduced at the end of the decade.
19/03/1999 – The clock tower is officially gazetted as a national monument.
2000 – iSpark was set in for students in the Gifted Education Programme and exceptional students from other consortia.
2002 – Introduction of the China History Programme, which aims to educate students about China’s history, geography, culture and modern China. The Hwa Chong Institution Boarding School, which can accommodate up to 1000 students, was completed at the cost of $40 million.
2004 – Introduction of the Integrated Programme.
2005 – Introduction of the Bicultural Studies Programme (BSP), the Language Elective Programme (LEP) and the Malay Special Programme (MSP).