St. Margaret's Secondary School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Motto | Charity, Devotion, Patience |
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| Established | 1842 |
| Type | Government-Aided, Secondary, Single session |
| Principal | Mrs Marion Tan |
| School code | 7021 |
| Colours | Green, White |
| Locale | Bukit Timah, Singapore |
| Enrollment | |
| Website | Link |
 Republic of Singapore |
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St. Margaret's Secondary School (SMSS) is a government-aided girls' secondary school in Singapore. Established in 1842, SMSS is the second oldest school in Singapore (the first school being Raffles Institution).
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[edit] Vision
A Community of Learners Growing and Glowing for God.
[edit] Mission
To provide an All-Round Education in a Christ-centred Environment to nurture Confident, Creative and Caring Young Ladies who will serve God, the Country and the Community.
[edit] Core Values
Upholding Integrity
Learning Continuously
Taking Pride in all we do
Living a Gracious & Healthy Lifestyle
Showing Care & Concern
[edit] Crest
The green background represents creation, of which we are a part. It stands for life and activity, creativity and growth.
The white cross represents the Christian Mission of the school. Like a directional compass, it shows the right way to take and it points us to God's love, truth and provision.
The white band running diagonally across from the upper left hand corner to the lower corner stands for purity in thought, word and deed.
[edit] Motto
Our Motto ~ Charity, Devotion, Patience.
The school is named after Queen Margaret of Scotland who was known for many good qualities, among them, love (charity), patience and devotion for her people.
[edit] History
[taken from the school website]
[edit] The Beginning
Mrs Maria Dyer a missionary of the London Missionary Society was enroute to China when she stopped in Singapore. Walking along the streets she was horrified to see a pitiful group of young girls auctioned as slaves for the homes of the rich. This was the "Mui Tsai" slavery.
Moved by compassion for these poor girls, Maria resolved to do something for them. In 1842, she obtained permission to start a home for homeless girls, regardless of race, in a tiny shophouse in North Bridge Road. Thus began the first girls' school in Singapore.
The girls were given an elementary education in English, instructed in the Christian religion and were taught how to be good homemakers with cooking and needlework lessons.
For many years, it was the only girls' school in Singapore.
In the early years, the enrolment comprised only twenty students but the school soon became so highly reputed for its effective character-building that many young men in the region, some as far away as China, wrote to the school in search of suitable wives!
[edit] The Changes
As the number of pupils increased, the school relocated several times before finally settling at 134 Sophia Road in 1861, with a boarding house built in its grounds. It was named the Chinese Girls School.
In 1900, The Church of England Zenanah Missionary Society took over the management of the school which was re-named the CEZMS School. At that time, there was still no consciousness on the part of the public that education was beneficial to girls as well as to boys. By providing education for girls, the school helped to change the attitude of Singapore parents.
In 1928, more academic subjects were introduced. The school had its first Science laboratory.
[edit] The War Years
The Second World War did much damage to the school building. When regular teaching resumed, the Bishop of Singapore changed the name from CEZMS to St. Margaret's School, after Queen Margaret of Scotland.
[edit] The Recovery
The school soon recovered from its wartime setbacks and set about consolidating its curriculum. Extra-mural activities like netball, swimming and the Girl Guides were organised for the first time.
[edit] The Growth
Goodbye, Juniors
In tune with the changes in Singapore, the school endeavored to provide students with a broad based education- academic, physical, social, moral and spiritual. Soon, the school had grown so much that space for further expansion was required.
In 1957, plans were made to build a new Secondary School at Farrer Road. Completed in 1960, it was officially opened by the Rt Rev RF Gibson Jr, Bishop of Virginia on 20th February 1963.
The school continued to excel academically and in the sports area. It won many national tennis and badminton championships in the 1980's.
To meet the changing needs of education in the 21st century, redevelopment of the secondary school commenced in 1998. The school then moved to its temporary premises at Commonwealth Avenue.
In December 2000, the school celebrated its homecoming to a brand new campus with the state of the art facilities back at Farrer Road. The crowning touch to this momentous event was our special guest, Dr James Hudson Taylor III, the great grandson of Mrs Maria Dyer, the founder of St. Margaret's.
On 26th July 2002, 160 years since the founding of the school, St. Margaret's Secondary School's new campus at Farrer Road was officially declared open by Dr Tony Tan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence.
[edit] Affiliation
SMSS is affiliated to:
