Bukit Mertajam High School
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| Motto | Aut Coepisse Noli Aut Confice "Accomplish or Do Not Begin" |
|---|---|
| Established | 18th January 1927 |
| Type | Government High School |
| Affiliations | Malaysia Ministry Of Education |
| Founder | Edgar De La Mothe Stowell |
| Grades | Form 1 - Form 6 |
| Location | 77, Jalan Sri Bukit, 14000 Bukit Mertajam, Penang, Malaysia |
| Campus | Large School campus, at the city center |
| Colours | Red, White and Black |
| Website | www.hsbm.net |
Bukit Mertajam High School (sometimes referred to as High School Bukit Mertajam, or HSBM for short) is a secondary school located in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, Malaysia.
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[edit] Name
The name of the school had changed several times, from the Government English School Bukit Mertajam in early years, to Bukit Mertajam High School, and finally to High School Bukit Mertajam. The School, however is most commonly called "high School" by local people.
In Malay, BM High School is named Sekolah Tinggi Bukit Mertajam, and in 1997 was referred to as S.M.K.T.B.M. (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tinggi Bukit Mertajam).
In Mandarin, High School Bukit Mertajam is called DanShanJiao YingWen ZhongXue, which literally means "Bukit Mertajam English Secondary School".
[edit] History
[edit] The early years
Bukit Mertajam High School was the first government school in Province Wellesley, and was to cater for the growing number of schoolboys of the Province. During the 1920s, students crossed the channel twice daily in order to attend school at Penang island to study beyond Std. V. Among the schools in the island were the famous and well-known Penang Free School and St. Xavier's Institution.
Mr. Harold Ambrose Robinson Cheeseman—then Inspector of Schools Penang, later Director of Education in Malaya— was responsible for the school's planning. The first head of the school was Mr. Edgar De La Mothe Stowell. From the very outset, Mr. Stowell sought to create a replica of the famous Sedbergh English Public School, which he had attended and which is known for its stringent discipline.
Mr. H. A. R. Cheeseman wrote the following on the occasion of the school's 21st anniversary:
I was almost heart-broken. The High School is an exact replica of the elementary school building of Rangoon Road in Singapore. I protested in vain...
The school was officially opened in January 18, 1927 with an enrollment of 385 students and a total of staff including the headmaster himself.
The pioneer staff comprised the following people:
| Mr. E. la M. Stowell (Headmaster) | ||
| Mr. Chan Ewe Pin | Mr. Cheah Chong Chee | Mr. Cheong Hong Oon |
| Mr. Chin Yoon Ngean | Ms. A. Cornelius | Mr. Gan Hock Hye |
| Mr. Kam Kee Hock | Mr. Khor Kok Seng | Mr. Ng Cheong Weng |
| Mr. S. Subbiah | Mr. Tan Hock Sian | Mr. Tan Kok Kee |
| Mr. S.M. Rouse |
The main wooden block was constructed in 1926, directly facing the Bukit Mertajam Hill that stands sentinel over Bukit Mertajam. The school hall, however, came into being in 1929 .
The students started without a playing field of their own. Like the school road, the proposed playing field was still in the process of making. Cutting and leveling out the slop in front of the school went on for several years until Mr. C.E.H. Jacobs came into office in 1931. He persuaded the Public Works Department to plant capalogium over the surface, cut the creepers when they had grown to two or three feet high, and plough them back into the clay. The filed was then left for months for the vegetation to rot and help break up as well as fertilize the soil. The operation took about a year, and now the ground was ready for grass to be planted. The field was titled "Jacob's Green" after C.E.H. Jacobs's particular care in the state of the field. Jacobs's Green Society came into being two years later with the object of improving and beautifying not only the field but also the grounds in general.
[edit] Second World War
The following was written in captivity in Changi Prison, May 1942, by J.E. Tod, headmaster from 1947 to 1950:
When the war has ceased, and the first strange hush of peace,
Falls on the land, I shall return and meet,
And talk again with those, whose heart and hands,
Fashioned throughout the Cataclysm of War,
The tools of Victory. And I shall find
Beneath the lowering English skies,
Amid war-blackened English streets,
The Steady heart of England beating still.
Towards the end of 1941, the school was occupied by the Australian Army and the school was removed to the rice mill behind the Bukit Mertajam District Hospital. The removal was carried out entirely by the boys and a handful of school staff. By December 13th, the opponents were bombing Penang regularly. Everyday the students could see ten or twenty Japanese Zero Japanese Zero plane flying over Bukit Mertajam on their mission to bomb Penang Island.
Accidentally one bomb fell on the Bukit Mertajam Railway Station, causing an explosion. The students immediately went under their desk for cover. After half an hour, Rev. Colin King held an assembly and told the boys that the school was going to have a long holiday. The boys were very happy and clapped their hands loudly - not knowing that the holiday would last for more than three years and many of their class and school mates would be killed in World War II. By January 1945, the fortunes of war had shifted. The boys whose English educated had been so interrupted were now much bigger and older, but they had all been biding their time. In September 1945 the Japanese surrendered, the high school re-opened and registered the boys who wished to study again. Mr. Cheong Hong Oon was the Acting Headmaster before Mr. D.K. Swan arrived in 1946, and he wrote the following of the events post-war:
All the boys who were keen to pick up the broken threads of their education again were enrolled, irrespective of their age. The High School spirit had revived and the school flourished again...
[edit] After the War
On May 28, 1951, Penang Habour Board presented Bukit Mertajam High School the School Bell. It was first rung by the Honourable, The Resident Commissioner, Mr. A. Caston when officially opened the Science Block.
On May 15, 1952, His Excellency the High Commissioner to Malaya Sir Gerald Temper, visited High School accompanied by Mr. Aitken, the District Officer. The headmaster, Mr. F.H. Jones took him around the school. He walked around the classes in the new building and was particularly interested in the School's statistic. He remarked that the school had a workmen-like air about.
In 1963, the school tradition was broken when some girls were admitted for the first time into Remove Class. The pupils in Remove Class were selected from various vernacular schools based on their result in th Std. VI Examinations. More girls were admitted in 1965 with setting up of Form Two Transitional Class. Bukit Mertajam High School celebrated her Golden Jubilee in 1977.
In August 31, 1986, a tragedy occurred when the upper floor of Block B was on fire. The school library and four classrooms were burnt down in the fire. Old school magazines, reference books and other main documents were destroyed.
Bukit Mertajam High School was on it peaks of glory in the early 1990s, when the school was awarded The Penang State Level "Sekolah Harapan Negara" in 1992. In 1997, High School emerged as one of the earliest school in the country to make it compulsory for students to wear ties and implemented Muslim Students to wear Baju Melayu. As a Premier School (Sekolah Perdana), Bukit Mertajam High School was among the pioneer school in the state to provide Information Technology subject for both the MGCE and MHCE.
[edit] School Tradition
[edit] The Assembly
In the early days of the school, the morning assembly was held in the hall. As the Headmaster strode up the stairs, leading to the stage, where the teachers were seated in a semi-circle, the Colour Captain (present House Captain) who was on duty would step on to the 'Castle'. The 'Castle' was a platform about one and half feet high and a yard square. It had four massive but beautifully carved legs, and a couple of steps led up to it. The 'Castle' was placed immediately in front of the stage on the cement floor. In his hand the Colour Captain held a wand about four or five feet high, painted with the colors of his House. The top of the wand ended in a knob on which was mounted a trophy with the Colour(House) had won. The trophy was usually in the form of a statuette. The Colour Captain then would lead the boys in reciting The Compass and in the singing of the Colour Song.
The value of this ceremony cannot be expressed more precisely than in the words of the first Headmaster, Mr. E. La M. Stowell,
"As, in Malaya, the boys have so many religions, I think something, like the Compass or Statement, is the best kind of substitute we can give them for a good, shared, basic ethical purpose with which to start the day "
Moreover, he says,
"They lennd solemnity, and a little ceremony and formality to the opening of the School Day".
[edit] The Statement
It is our bounden duty to uphold the Honour of the School at all times and in all places, both now as boys and later as men and old boys. The Honour of the School will not be upheld by talking or writing. It is by his conduct that a man is judged: his deeds speaks louder than words, and in a little example persuadeth more than precept.
From the School more is to be learnt than the wisdom of books: the conduct of a good man and true may be learnt at school.
A good man and true scorns to succeed by means that a re dishonest. He never gives in, he never admits defeat. After being punished or blamed, he does not sulk or complain. He never deserts his friends, his Colour or his School under any circumstances. Above all he will stand up for the king, the king who keeps his enemies beyond boundaries within which we live and without which, murder, oppression, famine and robbery would stalk through province. To him while we shelter beneath his flag, gratitude and goodness demand our outspoken loyalty.
[edit] The School Motto
The school motto is Aut Coepisse Noli Aut Confice in Latin which means Accomplish or Do Not Begin.
[edit] The School Crest
It was not until 1948, that the school has its own crest. Early in 1948, a competition was organised and Mr. Soon Eng Kong and old boys of the school generously offered to present a prize for the winning entry. Many entries were scrutinized by a panel of judges, composed of the President and Vice-President of the High School Old Boys Association (OBA), the Headmaster Mr. J.E. Tod and Mr. Cheong Hong Oon. In the end, the judges unanimously selected the design submitted by Mr. Oh Boon Tat.
The design has for its central feature the outline of the Bukit, by the side of which appear grains of padi to indicate the dominant agricultural activity of the local environment. On the scroll is inscribed the High School motto, Aut Coepisse Noli Aut Confice.
[edit] The School Colours
The school was divided into four 'Colours' named Red, Green, Blue and Yellow, each having a Leader. Each Colour would be run by a nominated council, which would look into all cases of breach of out-door discipline and administer suitable punishment. In the early days, there were only four sport houses; Red House, Yellow House, Blue House and Green House.
Red House was renamed Cheeseman House, as an honour to Mr. H.R. Cheeseman, the man behind the establishment of the school.
Yellow House was renamed Stowell House, as an honor to Mr. E. de La M. Stowell, the first headmaster of the school.
Blue House was renamed Colin King House, as an honour to Rev. Colin King, the headmaster during the World War II.
The Green House was renamed Soon Eng Kong House, as an honour to Mr. Soon Eng Kong, a generous donor who contributed to the school scholarship - the Soon Eng Kong Gold Medal.
It was not till 1990s when Tun Salleh House was found. Orange color was its color. It was named after Tun Mohd. Salleh b. Ismail, an old boy of the school who was the first Inspector General of Police of Singapore and Malaya.
[edit] School Song
[edit] School Song
| The School Song (earliest school song) Composed by Mr. E. La M. Stowell |
The School By the Bukit (present school song) Composed by Git Kim Ann |
| In the cold and frosty North, There are ancient schools we hear, |
In the land that is north, There's an old great school we hear, |
[edit] The Compass
| Colour Captain: | Accomplish or Do Not Begin |
| Assembly: | Expect diffiulties,in coming there is great delight. |
| Colour Captain: | A man's worst enemy is himself, and from his own sloth, cowardice or evil thoughts arise his greatest difficulties. |
| Assembly: | Be brave enough always to tell the truth in little not less than in big matters; be strong enough to drive from the mind pictures or thoughts which shame or dishonor, and face wearisome duties squarely. |
| Colour Captain: | So shall difficulties be conquered and excellent work accomplished. Who will be worthy or our School and whom shall the School be proud? |
| Assembly: | Even he that leadeth an uncorrupted life and doeth the thing which is right, and speaketh the truth from his heart. He that hath used no deceit in his tongue nor done evil to his neighbour, and hath not slandered his neighbour. He that setteth not by himself but is lowly in his own eyes, and he that sweareth unto his neighbour and disappointed him not, thought it were to his own hindrance. |
