Victoria School
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| Motto | Nil Sine Labore Nothing without labour |
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| Established | 1876 |
| Type | Autonomous Government, Single |
| Principal | Low Eng Teong (Mr) |
| MOE Code | 3014 |
| Colours | Red, Yellow |
| Locale | Marine Parade, Singapore |
| Enrollment | |
| Website | http://vs.moe.edu.sg |
| Ministry of Education | |
 Republic of Singapore |
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Victoria School is an autonomous government secondary school, ranked as one of Singapore's premier education institutions. It was founded in 1876 and had its origin in an early English Class organised by Mr M. Hellier while Singapore was still a British crown colony.
Victoria School has moved five times since it was established in Kampong Glam; well-known VS campuses include the Tyrwhitt and Syed Alwi campus, of which the latter is one of three institutions featured on the reverse side of the Republic's S$2 note. The school's new campus is located at the exclusive Siglap Link in Marine Parade, about 1 kilometre from Victoria Junior College.
The school has produced numerous Queen's and President's Scholars, politicians, top civil servants, top military generals, academics, corporate figures, and sportsmen. It is also the former institution of the incumbent President of Singapore, His Excellency Mr S R Nathan.
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[edit] Symbols
[edit] School Crest
The school crest is somewhat similar to Oxford University’s crest, possibly due to the school's English origins.
The open book symbolises lifelong learning, while the torch symbolises truth and the passing on of tradition. It also illuminates the way of Victorians who venture forth to excel beyond the shores of Singapore.
[edit] School Colours
Yellow: Signifies dignity and excellence, closely assosciated in an Asian society.
Red: Symbolises universal brotherhood and equality.
[edit] School Motto
"Nil Sine Labore"
The school's motto is in Latin, meaning "Nothing without Labour", emphasising the need for Victorians to work hard in fulfilling their dreams and passion.
[edit] Victorian Anthem
The Victorian Anthem has a somewhat upbeat neo-colonial tinge to it, befitting the school's image as an English institution. The Victorian Anthem is sung by students of Victoria School during important events, and on Mondays during the flag-raising assembly. Traditionally, during important events, Victorians will do the spelling cheer and other cheers right after singing the Victorian Anthem.
The anthem is also shared by Victoria Junior College after minor adaptation from the original Victoria School song [pre-1987]. The original VS school song began with 'Victoria School in Singapore' [sang as Vic-to-ria School] and had "school" after the first three "Victoria" [currently sang as Vic-to-ri-a] i.e. in the first 2 paragraphs shown below but was slightly modified to allow Victoria Junior College to also use the song as a common anthem.
Victoria in Singapore
There are other schools we know
Victoria is something more
The school that watch'd us grow
For here we've learnt and striven too
And played the sportsman's game
Victoria we give to you
The honour that you claim
Victoria thy sons are we
And we will not forget
Victoria thy triumphs see
And victories we share yet
For others came before and went
And carried to the world
Victoria's fame and our intent to
Keep her flag unfurled.
Lyrics by J A Frazer (pre-1987 version)
Music by W E Meyer (pre-1987 version)
[edit] Culture & Tradition
[edit] Uniform
Victoria School's uniform, like many other local schools, adopt a British-school style. However, it differs in the use of blazers. While British schoolboys don blazers on normal school days, maroon blazers in Victoria School are restricted to formal events, due to climate differences.
Victoria School's formal uniform consists of a short-sleeved shirt, with either khaki shorts (for secondary 1 and 2 students) or long white trousers (for secondary 3 and 4 students). A label bearing 'Victoria' is sewn on the back pockets of the shorts/trousers. Secondary 3 and 4 Victorians may wear a black school belt with 'Nil Sine Labore' engraved on their metallic buckles. Traditionally on Mondays, Victorians wear a maroon striped tie across their bleached apparel. The word 'Victorian' is written in italics on the tie. Victorians wear the school badge above the left chest pocket, while student bodies such as the Prefectorial Board and Monitors' Council instead wear the badges of their respective student bodies. Boys typically own 3 sets of uniform.
For physical activities and camps, students wear a bright yellow T-shirt with black trim, and black shorts. The shorts of an average length of 30 cm for Secondary One Victorians, a fitting T-shirt, and long white school socks, gives Victorians a classic 'schoolboy' appearance. On the T-shirt, the school crest is located on the left chest area (8cm) while the word 'Victorian' (*) is printed in bold (5cm) on the back. On the shorts, the a yellow and red outline of the school crest is located in the bottom right corner (5cm). There is a black string attached to tighten or loosen the shorts, though it is seldom visible as Victorians typically tuck it in. There are pockets on both sides of the shorts, with the right pocket having a zip. Boys typically own 3 sets of PE attire/PT kit, though some may choose to buy extra sets for camps.
Each house has their own running vest (singlet) available in the respective house colours. The house colours include yellow (Rochore), blue (Kallang), green (Kapor), purple (Whampoa), and red (Glam). It is worn during competitive athletic events like the annual Sports Day. Runners would wear the yellow T-shirt over it prior to running.
The school socks are white with the initials 'VS' imprinted in red on both sides of each sock. It is compulsory to wear the socks for all Victorians. In 2005, an official 'Victoria School' shoe bearing the letter 'V' on each side was introduced, but wearing it is optional.
Teachers have no formal wear.
There are 4 types of school badges, the default school badge, the Prefect badge (a badge worn by members of the prefectorial board, or rather, prefects) the Monitor Badge (worn by monitors, who are from the Monitor's Council) and the Peer Support Leaders Badge (worn by Peer Support Leaders, who are from the Peer Support Board.)
There are also collar badges such as AV Club, Librarian, Choir, Chinese Orchestra, Concert Band, Arrow Scouts, NCC (Sea) and Boys' Brigade badges, and the use of these is to represent the respective CCAs the students are in. They were in use in lieu of the default school badge as late as in the year 1995.
[edit] Uniform History
Until 2000, the black PE shorts had two stripes on each side, one yellow, and the other red, representing the school colours. The stripes were later removed and the present design is as above.
[edit] Identity
The name 'Victorian' was given to all Victoria School students to forge a common identity.[citation needed] The students of the school are often referred to and addressed as "Victorians" or "Gentlemen", and it has become a tradition of sorts. The word "Victorian" in bold black letters across the upper back of the yellow PE T-shirt makes students wearing it very identifiable.
[edit] Affiliation
Victoria School is affiliated to Victoria Junior College, which was established in 1984 to provide boys from Victoria School a choice where they may have 2-year Junior College education in an institution named after and affiliated to Victoria School.
Victoria School boys choosing to enter Victoria Junior College can get two bonus points off their 'O' level L1R5 academic aggregate although Victoria Junior College also has a small portion of its total student in take enrolled through VJC's own Integrated Programme (IP) - which VS boys has equal opportunity of enrolling. Both schools are located within close proximity of each other.
[edit] Secondary One Bonding Camp
On the first week of school, all Secondary One Victorians will have to go for a three-day-two-night camp at MOE Jalan Bahtera Adventure Centre. They would participate in various activities, which are physical, interactive and character building. Interactive activities vary each year, and includes forming the longest chain^, boys balancing on a bench or helping each other to overcome certain physical obstacles. Physical activities involve runs and morning physical training (PT) which include push ups and sit ups. In the past, boys used to stay in tents in a central area. Ten boys would squeeze into a tent of about 3m by 3m in size, together with their bags, and the yellow horde would inevitably pile on top of each other. Now, small structures have been built at the campsite to replace tents.
^This activity involves making use of any belongings of each Victorian to make a chain. Two groups would compete to form the longest chain in a given period. Items such as bottles, watches, socks and shoes are used. The biggest challenge would come when the bolder boys would remove their yellow t-shirts and use them to lengthen their chain. Finally, the boys would lie along the chain with their arms outstretched for the judging.
[edit] Secondary Three Overseas Adventure Camp
Victoria School is the first school to have sent its entire cohort of Secondary Three students on an overseas camp, having done this since 2001. It is held in a farmland camp in Malaysia. The aim of the camp is to bond the new secondary 3 students and help them settle into their new classes after having been streamed according to their subject combinations. Activities such as kayaking, trekking and such are held. The camp is typically held for four days and three nights. Sometimes, water supply is not regular and when supply gets cut off, the boys would have to forgo a bath and soak in the full rugged, outdoor experience.
[edit] Leadership Training Camp(LTC)
The LTC is an annual four-day-three-night overseas leadership camp organised for secondary two students who wish to be leaders of their respective CCAs and clubs/societies. The LTC training style is very regimented and disciplined, and incorporates physical training as the highlight of the camp. Strict practices such as uniformity among the squad, which include the ban of watches and having the same attire, as well as in conversation (e.g. addressing their seniors as 'SL', short for Senior Leader) are strongly enforced. Standing and sitting positions are also much restricted as it is in the military. It is not unusual to be woken up in the wee hours of the morning to start the day with physical training.
Punishments conducted are often physical in nature, which include push-ups and extra runs. Certain rules extend to the school as a whole, though in LTC, it is enforced at a higher level. For example, all PT kits have to be tucked during PE lessons, though it can be pulled out a little for comfort purposes. In LTC, shirts have be tucked in completely at all times.
After completion of the camp, the trainees are promoted to the rank of 'Junior Leader' and are given a red T-shirt (as such they are called 'red shirts') with a badge in front that marks 'INSTRUCTOR', and the words ' Leadership Training Camp' on the back of their shirts. Their seniors, whom were their trainers during the camp, are promoted to the rank 'Senior Leader' and given a black T-shirt representing seniority over the 'red shirts'. While many Victorians wear their PT (physical training) kit freely in public places and at home, the conventional wearing of the red shirt is not allowed. If any instructor is seen wearing the red shirt conventionally in public, he will be dealt with at a later stage.
[edit] Camp Instructors Camp(CIC)
CIC is an outdoor camp held locally whereby secondary two students are trained to run camps and conduct activities commonly carried out during outdoor camps. Unlike LTC, the tone of the camp is different in that a 'brotherhood' approach to development is employed. Standard school rules, however, are still very much enforced.
After the camp is concluded, the secondary twos are promoted to the rank of 'Camp Instructor' and the secondary threes to the rank of 'Camp Leader'. They will be given either red shirts or black shirts. Black shirts being the more senior.
However with effect of 2007, the LTC and CIC have merged, forming a new camp called VELOCI-T( Victoria Enhanced Leadership Outdoor and Camp Instructors Training). This allows the leaders to have an all-rounded training, as skills from the two camps are taught in VELOCI-T.
[edit] Prefectorial Board
The board is responsible for organising school events and regulating school discipline. The board is governed by a Head Prefect and two Deputy Head Prefects, namely the First Deputy Head Prefect (Internal Affairs) and the Second Deputy Head Prefect (External Affairs). The top 3 committee positions, which are the head prefects, 1st deputy prefect and 2nd deputy prefect are chosen annually by students and teaching staffs of the school through an online voting process.
[edit] Monitors' Council
The Council encourages bonding between Monitors and acts as an area for Monitors to support one another. The Council also aims to nurture leadership potential and inculcate a sense of responsibility among monitors, to forge council identity and promote a healthy council climate and to devolve decision making to the student level – opportunities for monitors to learn, manage and make decisions.
The Executive Committee in the Council aims to constantly improve the standard and welfare of the Monitors. The Council is currently headed by the Chairman, two Vice-Chairmen and several Executive Committee members.
[edit] Houses
The 5 houses of Victoria School are Kallang, Kapor, Whampoa, Glam and Rochore. The names of the houses is a reflection of some of the busiest settlements of Singapore past. The houses are most active during inter-house games such as soccer and other sports, as well as at the Sports Day at Victoria Junior College, and the School Cross-Country held at Macritchie Reservoir.
[edit] The Victorian Community
Victoria School, evidently, sticks to its colonial roots. Victorians are expected to address all male teachers as 'Sir' and female teachers as 'Ma'am', a highly cultured, and very English, form of respect. Such respect is hardly seen in schools in recent times. Victorians are widely known, among the local schools, to address teachers in this manner. When Victorians walk past teachers, they are also expected to greet them with a 'Good morning/afternoon/evening, Sir/Ma'am!' However, this form of respect is reciprocated. Teachers, on the other hand, address a cohort as 'Gentlemen'
[edit] Recent History
The school has moved five times since it was established in Kampong Glam; Victoria School campuses include the Tyrwhitt and Syed Alwi (Victoria Bridge) campus, of which the latter is featured on the reverse side of the Republic's S$2 bill alongside the former Raffles College (King Edward VII College of Medicine).
When top schools were given a choice to go independent, or remain autonomous or government-linked, in 1990, Victoria remained an autonomous school. The school advisory committee concluded that for the institution to retain its character as a school for students of all backgrounds, it did not want to raise fees, an act done for independent schools due to the lack of government subsidies.
Victoria School became the second autonomous school after Dunman High School to have a Gifted Education Programme (GEP) department in Singapore when it started with one GEP class in 2001.
The school's new campus is located at Siglap Link in Marine Parade, sandwiched between Marine Parade Road and the ECP (like its affiliated junior college Victoria Junior College. Neighbouring landmarks like the East Coast Park are occasionally used to conduct lessons and activities. The ceremonial move in 2003 to its new campus was graced by The President Of The Republic Of Singapore. The campus was officially declared open by The President Of The Republic Of Singapore on the 22nd Of July 2006, which was also the school's 130th anniversary.
In 2005, an article published on the Singapore Newspaper hinted that the school might be going co-ed for academic reasons. This caused an uproar within the student population, especially because the school has remained an all-boys school for many decades. The proposal to go co-ed was eventually shelved.
[edit] Achievements
VS has also been awarded the Ministry of Education's Sustained Achievement Award (SAA) for the Arts (since 2004), Physical Fitness (since 2004) and Uniformed Groups (since 1999). VS also attained the Academic Value Added Award (Silver) and Character Development Award in 2006.
The full list of achievements can be found on the school website at [1]
[edit] Academic Performance
Victoria School ranks among the finest non-independent institutions in Singapore. It is consistently ranked in the top band (Band 1 in 2007), which is associated with academic excellence, strength in co-curricular activities, and a vibrant sporting culture.
The school has put in place programmes such as the Enhanced Study Programme (ESP) alongside enrichments such as Learning Styles and Resiliency courses (which has been made compulsory to all students for several years now) to aid weaker students to maintain the school's performance. Upon request from students, the school has also extended its library operating hours past office hour, and has also made the study area on the second floor open to all students.
[edit] School Campus/Facilities
Victoria School moved into its seven-storey compound in Siglap Link in the year 2003. A virtual tour of the school is available at the VS Open House Website
The design for the current Victoria School Campus marks a new threshold in designing for the new learning. Outdoor spaces are no longer considered secondary, but are integrated as part of the design process to become the very heart of the school itself. The Eco-Street forms the central artery of the school, and is the organising element for the linear plan that relates to the metaphor of a learning journey, one through which the child learns, interacts, socialises and develops into a "Victorian Gentleman". This learning journey is translated into a variety of learning and social spaces, with the various teaching blocks and elements that capture the history of the school strategically strung along this linear route. The linear space is marked by the 'Victorian Torch' and the 'Victorian Platform' at either end, symbolising the beginning and the culmination of this Victorian experience, respectively. At the heart of all these lies the Eco-Street, a unique landscaped waterway running along the length of the school. The boundaries between building and landscape are blurred, with linkways, bridges and footpaths weaving through the lush greenery, revealing a tapestry of nature enriched by student activity and interaction within an "outdoor classroom". The Eco-Street thus assumes the important roles of social and learning space rolled into one.
Functionally, the Eco-Street takes the form of a central green lung that provides a relief space between the classroom suites and the special teaching rooms. The setback between blocks allows more natural light to filter into the interiors and better ventilation through the various spaces.
One exceptional feature of the school that distinguishes it from other schools is also how landscape is transformed into a learning tool. The flora and fauna of the Eco-Street provide not only visual and experiential benefits. It forms a stage set for outdoor learning to take place. In tandem with the school's emphasis on integrating nature and ecology into the curriculum, it is carefully designed to become an active learning space for multi-disciplinary projects. Consisting of water bodies and gardens such as The Victoria Pool, The Learning Garden, The Bio Pod and Exploration Patch, these spaces illustrate a move away from structured classroom-based instruction, to a more authentic learning experience that fosters teamwork, communication and autonomy. Lessons are brought to life outdoors through the diversity of plant and animal species and ponds, and they provide hands-on experiment and investigation opportunities, enabling students to learn about ecology and the life sciences.
The design for Victoria School attempts to use architectural elements as props for learning. This creates opportunities for discovery, enquiry and discussion - key ideas underlying the new learning. The building is conceived not as a passive container of knowledge but as an integral part of learning.
The synergy between building and environment comes alive in the perforated sunscreens with murals of renowned figures that become a historical narrative of the school, reflecting the school's aspirations for its students. These permeable screens also reflect a passive design strategy that is in response to Singapore's tropical climate. Walls are no longer silent backdrops for pinup displays, but are themselves alive with their own stories to tell. They become dynamic canvases that capture the changing moods created by light and shadow, enhancing students' awareness of changing conditions at different times of the day.
Even areas that are commonly played down, such as ceilings, are used to advantage by creating constellation patterns with ceiling panels and lights of different shapes and colours.
By organising the overall plan according to key speciality areas, the design allows flexibility in accommodating the school's subject-room system. This is a faculty-based arrangement by different disciplines and specialist subject areas. The classrooms are assigned to different subject areas and students move from class to class. This illustrates that planning decisions can determine how effective the school can be in supporting learning and the curriculum. With the subject-room system, in-between spaces and other terraces and balconies can be converted into additional resource areas, exhibition or gallery areas and experiment terraces etc. to better support their respective disciplines.
The classroom suites are arranged in pairs, divided by sliding partitions, to allow the flexibility of utilising two standard classrooms as one big learning suite. This arrangement can cater to many different layout combinations that can change in response to different activities and programmes.
The classrooms on ground level are specially designed with additional doors that open out to the landscape, inviting students to the natural outdoors, while classrooms on upper floors open out to balconies. This reflects the school's teaching focus and allows an extension of the classroom space, taking learning beyond the four walls.
Victoria Hall is a hostel built within the Victoria School compound. The Hall is beside the sea and East Coast Park, giving boarders both a bay view and easy access to the sporting facilities at the Park. It is home to about 500 boarders of different nationalities such as Malaysians, Indonesians, PRC Chinese, Indians, Vietnamese and Thais, although the majority of boarders in the hostel are the PRC and ASEAN students.[citation needed]
As Victoria School and its hostel, Victoria Hall had to be integrated within one development, the key challenge was in optimisation of land use, which is especially pertinent in land-scarce Singapore. The designers worked in close collaboration with the School Building Committee comprising the principal and teachers, parents, alumni and the Ministry of Education, in rationalising the project. The objective was to avoid duplication of facilities between the school and hostel and to encourage sharing as far as possible. This process achieved a 13 percent reduction in the net floor area of the hostel, freeing up valuable space for more landscaped areas, which are extremely important within such an intensively built-up development.
Condominiums in the same vicinity typically cost about $1000 per square foot.
[edit] Activities
[edit] Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs)
The school holds many performing arts and sporting activities, with intra-school events such as the biennial Rhapsody, Drama Festival (Dramafest) and Evening of Music & Drama (EMD), as well as the Annual Victoria School Sports and Cross-Country Championships.
[edit] List of CCAs
- Sports & Games
- Floorball
- Shooting
- Badminton
- Cricket
- Cross-Country
- Track and field
- Hockey
- Sailing
- Soccer
- Table Tennis
- Tennis
- Volleyball
- Wushu
- Cultural Groups
- Chinese Orchestra
- Choir
- Concert Band
- Uniformed Groups
- Boys Brigade
- NCC (Air)
- NCC (Land)
- NCC (Sea)
- NPCC
- Red Cross
- Scouts
- Clubs and Societies
- IT Club
- Enviroment Club
- LDDS (English)
- Interact Club
- Library
- Media Resource
- Malay Drama
- Tamil Drama
- Chinese Drama
- Monitors' Council
- Media Club
- Chess Club
- AV Club
- Prefectorial Board
[edit] Performing Arts
In 2003, the school attained the Gold award in the prestigious biennial Singapore Youth Festival Competition for its Chinese Orchestra, Concert Band, and Indian Dance. The Victoria School Choir, the current best all-boys and secondary school choir in Singapore, also attained the Gold award. The Choir is part of the Singapore Choral Excellence scheme. The Concert Band has also represented Singapore in exchange programmes in Australia. Victoria School also attained the Sustained Achievement Award (SAA) for Arts by the Ministry of Education in 2004.
In 2005 , the Concert Band and Choir were each awarded Gold with Honours while the Chinese Orchestra, Indian Dance, and English Drama Society were awarded Gold Singapore Youth Festival Competition. It was the first time in recent years that Victoria School, through the English Drama Society had competed in the Drama category.
In 2007, the Concert Band attained a Silver Award, while the Choir and Chinese Orchestra achieved Golds. This achievement has made the Chinese Orchestra one of only two all-boys Chinese Orchestras (the other coming from the current Hwa Chong Institution) to have achieved three consecutive Golds. The Indian Dance won its second Gold award in a row in 2007, and the English Drama Society attained a Bronze. Its Chinese counterpart, however, clinched the only Gold with Honours award for the school that year.
[edit] Sports
From 1970 to 1973, Victoria School was the first English-language school to win the Inter-Schools Table Tennis competition, a game formerly dominated by the Chinese-language schools since its inception. In particular, two of her players, Seh Chin Chiow & Ang Ghee Leong not only helped bagged the Inter-Schools Team championship but also dominated the "A" Boys Singles and Doubles events. Seh Chin Chiow held the record of winning the "A" Boys Singles Champion for a record 4 years in the Serangoon District Inter-Schools competition as well as the Combined Schools "A" Boys Singles championship from 1971 to 1973. Both of them also made a clean sweep of the Singapore Table Tennis Association's Junior Men's Team titles as well as the Singles and Doubles event during those years, a feat rarely seen even by today's standards. They both went on to don National Colors and represented Singapore in 1973 in the first inaugural Afro-Asian Latin American Invitational Table Tennis Championship held in Peking (Beijing as known today) as a result of the then Ping-Pong diplomacy between China and the United States Of America.
Victoria School is strong in Cross-Country, Badminton, Cricket, Tennis, Soccer, and Track & Field. One sport in which Victoria School does particularly well is cross-country, have won at least one title each year since 1995. In 2005, Victoria School achieved a double gold for the first time since 1999, winning both the National Cross-Country 'B' and 'C' titles. This was repeated in 2006. Victoria is the only school in Singapore to have ever achieved a double gold in that competition.
Many former students have also gone on to represent Singapore in table tennis, football, cricket, track and field and others, also becoming captains of the national teams. In 1978, the captains of the Singapore national teams for rugby and cricket were former Victoria School students, and a few other were also in the national football team.
[edit] Uniformed Groups
Victoria School has seven uniformed groups, consisting of the National Cadet Corps (Land, Air, Sea), the National Police Cadet Corps, the Arrow Scouts, the Red Cross and the Boys' Brigade. Over half of the school population takes a uniformed group as their CCA.[citation needed] Activities common to the uniformed groups include camps, physical training, drills and community service. Uniformed groups are very strict in every activity and punishment is often physical in nature, and so includes push-ups and runs. Responsibility and pro-active involvement is often emphasised in uniformed groups. Boys are exposed to a certain ruggedness as camps and outdoor activities are held with basic provision. During camps held in school, boys sleep on the floor on on tables. At a campsite, tents are set up.
The Uniformed Groups in Victoria School tend to do very well in their various sectors. For example, the National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC), the National Cadet Corps (LAND) and the Arrow Scouts have all attained the Gold Award for the respective Unit Judging Competitions throughout the entire Singapore, for the past several years.
[edit] Community Involvement Programme
[edit] Youth Day
Despite its premier standing, Victoria School actively encourages its boys to serve the community at large through various programmes. One of the most significant activities is traditionally held on Youth Day every year. Victoria boys would attempt to 'paint the town yellow' as they go around the neighbourhood collecting old newspapers and items from the flats. Residents are first notified a few days in advance that the boys would be coming, and the residents would typically pack the old items and hand them to the boys when they come knocking on their doors. The boys would then carry them down the block for disposal. The boys are usually clad in their signature yellow PT kit so they are easily identified by the general public.
[edit] The President's Challenge
Victoria School participates keenly in the President Challenge every year. In 2006, it sold small booklets containing the artworks of Victorians past and present. In 2005, it held a watch design competition and the best designs were made into real watches and put on sale. In 2004, it allowed each class to initiate an activity to raise funds for the charity. Activities included having the boys wash cars for a donation and going door to door, doing chores for households for a donation. The boys were to do small chores for them, including cleaning and washing houses, though in most cases, residents would merely give a small donation and send the boys away.
[edit] Victoria Challenge
Started in July 1987, the Victoria Challenge aims to allow classes to identify task which will contribute tangibly to the school. This contribution can be either aesthetic or ‘atmospheric’. The Challenge is for classes to plan their task carefully and pledge to complete it within the time allocated. It is conducted once every 4 years and has always been regarded by students as a high in their student life in Victoria School.
Special T-Shirts were even being designed for every Victoria Challenge.
1987: The Principal, Mr. Nicholas Tang launched the Victoria Challenge activities by joining the boys in riding the tandem bicycle. The boys rode their bicycle non-stop for 24 hours among many other challenges conducted that day.
1991: The event was officially launched by Mr. S. Dhanabalan. Many challenges were carried out during the 24 hour period. These challenges range from mapping out the entire map of Singapore from the pages of the Street Directory to painting a 115 m long banner. The highlight of the Challenge was carried out by 30 past and present students who completed a 115 km jog-and-walk round the island.
1995: Officially launched by Mr. Lee Yoke Suan in April, the Challenge saw students and Old Victorians completing a multitude of tasks that were demanding as well as rewarding.
"I commend the participants of A Victoria Challenge 1995 for putting in so muich effort in this project. I hope that your efforts to reach out to the less fortunate will not cease with this exercise. There are many other ways in which you can keep alive the spirit of caring and sharing. You can volunteer your time and skills to community service according to your own schedules and commitments. Every little bit helps as each little act of giving, pooled together as a collective effort, goes a long way in helping the less fortunate."
Speech by Mr. Lee Yock Suan
1999: Officially launched by Mr. Nicholas Tang, Deputy Director, Teachers’ Network Ministry of Education, the school refocused the activities of Victoria Challenge to promote a thinking culture in VS. This significant change coupled with the hearty support and response from pupils and staff helped VS win the MOE Best Improved Thinking Culture Award (East Zone) and The Most Improved School Award.
The Victoria Challenge was also held in 2003 and 2007.
[edit] Incentives & Sanctions
Victorians are expected to have the right attitude towards learning and be well-behaved. All Victorians are expected to know and apply five basic principles that will help them to achieve a high standard of personal discipline, which are following rules, showing respect, taking responsibility, building relationships and practising reflection.
The most common sanctions include School Community Service and Demerit Points for less serious offences. For more serious offences, caning is prohibited, or otherwise, a police report is made.
Many awards are given out during the annual Speech Day to recognise and reward various contributions to the school.
[edit] Demographics
Victoria School has a student demographic which largely reflects that of the State. Ethnic Chinese students come from both Chinese-speaking and English-speaking backgrounds and the school has numerous Southeast Asian (ASEAN) and Chinese scholars in its enrolment.
In line with the institution's core value of establishing 'strategic alliances' and being 'global-minded', Victoria School has established links with many schools abroad to promote a Singaporean brand of education and an exchange of ideas, particularly in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The school also has bilateral exchange programmes with schools in the PRC, Malaysia and Thailand. Some examples are Chung Hwa High School (Malaysia) and Hebei-Baoding (PRC). The school also has students studying foreign languages representing the Ministry of Education Language Centre (MOELC) on the month-long Study-cum-Immersion Programmes (SCIP) to countries of their respective language like France, Germany and Japan.
[edit] Former Victorians
- Heads of State
- Yusof bin Ishak: First President of Singapore, 1959-1970
- C V Devan Nair: Third President of Singapore, 1981-1985
- S R Nathan: Sixth and present President of Singapore, 1999-
- Politics
- S Dhanabalan: Former Cabinet Minister, 1980-1993 and Member of Parliament, 1978-1996; Chairman, Temasek Holdings
- Peter Sung: Former Minister of State and Member of Parliament, 1988-1997
- Teo Ser Luck: Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports and Ministry of Transport; Member of Parliament, 2006-
- Dr Ong Chit Chung: Member of Parliament, 1988-
- Lim Biow Chuan: Member of Parliament, 2006-
- Sha'ari Tadin: Former Senior Parliamentary Secretary and Member of Parliament, 1968-1976; First Malay graduate PAP MP, 1968
- Major Abbas Abu Amin: Former Member of Parliament, 1980-1991; Former Chairman, Football Association of Singapore
- Andy Gan: Former Member of Parliament, 2001-2006
- Dr Kanwaljit Soin (Ms): Former and first female Nominated Member of Parliament
- Assc Prof Ngiam Tee Liang: Former Nominated Member of Parliament, 2002-2005
- A Samad Ismail: Leading Malay political activist in 1950s-60s and a founding member of People's Action Party
- Ken Sunn: Founding member and former secretary-general of opposition National Solidarity Party
- Civil Service
- Chiang Chie Foo: Permanent Secretary, Prime Minister's Office and Ministry of Defence; Chairman, Energy Market Authority; Colombo Plan Scholar, 1975
- Ho Meng Kit: Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts
- Lee Chiong Giam: Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Lam Chuan Leong: Ambassador-At-Large; Former Permanent Secretary; President's Scholar, 1967
- V K Rajan: Former Ambassador
- Academic
- Dr A Vijiaratnam: First Pro-Chancellor, NTU; Olympian, 1956
- Prof Edwin Thumboo: Emeritus Professor; First and former Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, NUS (1980-1991)
- Prof Wee Chow How: Head, Division of Strategy, Management and Organization, Nanyang Business School, NTU; Former Dean, Faculty of Business Administration, NUS
- Prof Brian Lee Chang Leng: Professor (Adjunct), NTU; Former Dean, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, NTU
- Prof Chou Siaw Kiang: Vice-Dean, Faculty of Engineering, NUS
- Assc Prof Yip Yew Kwong: Vice-Dean (Academic), School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, NTU
- Assc Prof Chan Wai Meng: Director, Centre for Language Studies, NUS
- Prof Jon Quah: Former Head, Dept of Political Science, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, NUS
- Assc Prof Tsoi Wing Foo: Former Head, Dept of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, NUS
- Assc Prof Ho Wing Meng: Former Head, Dept of History, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, NUS
- Assc Prof Sim Keng Yeow: Former Head, Dept of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, NUS
- Dr Chew Chin Hin: Adjunct Senior Fellow, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS; Former Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Health
- Ong Teong Wan: Consulting Partner, Singapore Institute of Management
- Lee Fong Seng: Former principal, Raffles Junior College
- Armed Forces/Police Force
- LG (NS) Ng Yat Chung: Former Chief of Defence Force, Singapore Armed Forces, 2003-2007; SAF (Overseas) Scholar, 1980; Managing Director, Portfolio Management, Temasek Holdings
- MG Neo Kian Hong: Chief of Army, Singapore Armed Forces, 2007-; SAF (Overseas) Scholar, 1984
- MG Ng Chee Khern: Chief of Air Force, Singapore Armed Forces, 2006-; President's Scholar, 1985 & SAF (Overseas) Scholar, 1985.
- BG Tan Meng Dui: Director, Military Intelligence Organization, Singapore Armed Forces; SAF (Overseas) Scholar, 1986
- BG Loh Wai Keong: Former Commander, 3rd Division, Singapore Armed Forces; President's Scholar, 1984
- COL Lim Yoon Boon: Chief Artillery Officer, Singapore Armed Forces
- LT Iskandar Abdullah: Sword of honour (Best Overseas Cadet), Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, England, 2005. First SAF officer in 14 years to be named Best Overseas Cadet at Sandhurst
- Tee Tua Ba: Former Commissioner of Police, Singapore Police Force (1992-1997)
- Teo Hong Guan: Former Director, CID, Singapore Police Force
- Legal
- Prof Ahmad Ibrahim: Singapore first non-British Attorney-General
- Koh Eng Tian: Senior Counsel and former Solicitor-General
- Giam Chin Toon: Senior Counsel and former President, Law Society of Singapore
- Toh Kian Sing: Senior Counsel; Partner, Rajah & Tann
- Dr Chandra Mohan: Former Director, Legal Aid Bureau and former district judge
- Adrian Soon Kim Kwee: District Judge, Subordinate Courts
- Sowaran Singh: District Judge, Subordinate Courts
- Corporate/Business
- G Ramachandran: Former President, Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce
- Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan: Malaysian tycoon; Founder of Hong Leong Group Malaysia
- Lim Hua Min: Founder and Group Executive Chairman, PhillipCapital
- Wong Hung Khim: Chairman, Zhonghui Holdings; Former Permanent Secretary
- Philip Eng: Chairman, Accord Customer Care Solutions; Vice-Chairman, MCL Land
- Mohd Salleh Marican: Founder and Chairman, 2nd Chance Properties
- Lim How Teck: Chairman, Tuas Power
- Dr Han Cheng Fong: Chief Executive, China Operations, Sino Land; Former Permanent Secretary
- Liak Teng Lit: CEO, Alexandra Hospital
- Daniel Yun: Managing Director, Mediacorp Raintree Pictures
- Ong Teong Pin: Principal Partner, APCO Architects and Town Planners Collaborative
- Foo Kok Swee: Former Vice-Chairman and CEO, ECICS Holdings
- Lua Cheng Eng: Former Chairman and former CEO, Neptune Orient Lines
- Sports
- Dr Lau Teng Chuan: Former Secretary-General, Singapore National Olympic Council
- Ali Ahmad: Sprint champion; First Singaporean to clock 10 seconds for the 100 yards, 1940
- LTC (RET) Kesavan Soon: Only schoolboy to run in 1956 Melbourne Olympics; Olympian, 1956
- Choo Seng Quee: Former Singapore national football coach; Coach of the Year, 1977; First and only person to have coached national teams of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia
- V Subramaniam: Former Singapore national football coach
- Eric Paine, Ho Kwang Hock and Ronnie Liew: Former national footballers
- Fabian Tan: National Under-23 (Young Lions) footballer; One of the few Chinese and only NUS undergrad playing in SLeague, 2006
- Seh Chin Chiow and Ang Ghee Leong: Former national table tennis players. Broke the Chinese Schools dominance in Inter-Schools Table Tennis competition since its inception by winning the Team, Singles and Doubles titles for a record 4 years - 1970-1973. Both represented Singapore in the First Inaugural Afro-Asian Latin American Invitational Championship in Beijing, 1973 to which Chin Chiow was also the team captain.
- Song Koon Poh: Former national rugby captain and Sportsman of the Year, 1978
- Tan Wearn Haw: Sailing champion; Sportsboy of the Year, 1992 and 1995; Olympian, 2000; PSC Scholar
- Jonathan Leong: National golfer, 2002-current; SEA Games silver medallist
- Rezza Gaznavi: Captain, Singapore national Under-15 cricket team, which won the Asian Under-15 cricket tournament, 2007
- Culture
- Ven Sik Kwang Sheng: Abbot, Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery - Singapore largest Buddhist Monastery/Temple; President, Singapore Buddhist Federation
- A Samad Said: Malaysia National Laureate
- Ravi Veloo: Managing Director, Media Campus; Fullbright Scholar and multi-award winning journalist
- Ong Teong Hean (T H Ong): Local writer and poet
- Colin Cheong: Local writer and former journalist
- Iskandar Jalil: Renowned potter; Cultural Medallion winner; Berita Harian Achiever of the Year, 2002
- T Sasitharan: Founder and Director, Theatre Training & Research Programme
- Chung Chee Kit: Director, Friends of Admiral Zheng He
- Deen Shahul: President, Association of Entertainment Organization; Former owner of Sparks, Fire and Canto discos
- Leslie Kee: Prominent international fashion and celebrity photographer
