| Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) | |
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The Best Is Yet To Be
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| Location | |
| 121 Dover Road Central Region 139650, Singapore |
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| Information | |
| Type | Independent, IB World School |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Christian |
| Denomination | Methodist |
| Established | 1 March 1886 |
| Founder | William Fitzjames Oldham |
| Superintendent | Stella Wee Bee Lian |
| Session | Single-session |
| School code | 7001 |
| Chairperson | Richard Seow |
| Principal | Winston James Hodge |
| Deputy Principals | Fanny Tan Chock Siew Hua Yvonne Lim Yong Lee Har Chia Bee Teck |
| Chaplain | Rev Aaron Tay |
| Staff | 327 |
| Gender | Boys (Years 1 - 4) Mixed (Years 5 - 6) |
| Age range | 12 - 18 |
| Enrolment | 2900 |
| Medium of language | English |
| Colour(s) | Blue, Gold, Red |
| Song | ACS Anthem |
| Vision | Every ACSian: A Scholar, an Officer and a Gentleman (Years 1 - 4) Every ACSian: A Scholar, a Leader and a Global Citizen (Years 5 - 6) |
| Newspaper | ACSPress |
| Website | http://www.acs.sch.edu.sg/acs_indep |
The Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) is a Methodist secondary school in Singapore. It is a descendant of a school established in 1886 by Rev William Fitzjames Oldham at 70 Amoy Street, Singapore, and one of a group of educational institutions collectively known as the Anglo-Chinese School. In recognition of its independent status, the school, previously Anglo-Chinese Secondary School (ACSS), was renamed ACS (Independent) in 1988. It moved to its current Dover Road campus in 1992. Further extension work began in 2005 and the school campus now consists of 11 hectares of land, classrooms and laboratories, a boarding school and sporting facilities. The school extension cost SGD 58 million, most of which was subsidised by the Ministry of Education. The remainder (roughly SGD 12 million) was financed through fundraisers.
ACS (Independent) was consistently ranked as one of the top 20 secondary schools in Singapore in the now-defunct official school rankings released by the Ministry of Education.[1] It was awarded the pinnacle award of MOE's Masterplan of Awards, the Singapore Quality Award (SQA), the School Excellence Award (SEA) together with the School Distinguished Award (SDA). In October 2009, it was announced that ACS (Independent) had been awarded the Singapore Quality Award (SQA).[2]
The school offers two main routes of education - the Express Stream and the Integrated Programme. The Express Stream is a four-year course leading to GCE 'Ordinary' Level Examinations, while the Integrated Programme is a six-year course culminating in the International Baccalaureate Diploma. It was recognised as an IB World School in 2005 and its first batch of students did well: nine students out of the 20 who obtained a perfect score of 45 points came from ACS(I). A similar feat was repeated in 2009, where 13 of the 27 students worldwide who obtained a perfect score came from ACS(I). It is currently the only national school in Singapore to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma.
In sports, ACS(I) has won The Straits Times' 'Top School in Sports (Boys)' award 14 times, starting with the first award in 1996 and winning thereafter every year till 2010, with the exception of 1999.
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ACSS was offered 'independent' status by Singapore's Ministry of Education in 1987. This was accepted by the ACS Board of Governors. Between 1987 and 1989, plans were drawn up for the establishment of a new campus for ACS at Dover Road. In January 1992, the move to the new campus was completed. The site was opened by Dr Richard Hu, Minister of Finance of Singapore, on 1 March 1993, the 107th anniversary of the school’s founding by Bishop Oldham.[3] In 2008 the school celebrated 20 years of independence by having a two-day-long celebration on 29 February 2008 and 1 March 2008. The event was attended by Dr Tony Tan, for the government. The school also released a set of limited edition stamps for local use and a 20th anniversary book.
In GCE 'Ordinary' level examinations, ACS(I) has been ranked amongst the top 15 institutions in Singapore for a number of years since 1995. In recognition of its academic excellence, the school was invited by the Ministry of Education to run an Integrated Programme, targeted at high-achieving students. As these students are expected to attend university, the Ministry of Education decided that it would benefit them to bypass GCE 'O' Level and sit directly for a pre-university examination. Accordingly, in 2004 ACS(I) began its Integrated Programme, with a view to preparing its students to sit for the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP). Intakes for the Integrated Programme are at Years 1, 3 and 5.
IP students take different subjects from the Express stream students, helping them to adjust to the rigours of the IBDP. Amongst the subjects specially covered for the Integrated Programme are Introduction to Human Societies (IHS): a multi-disciplinary humanities subject; Language Arts, an English Literature subject; and Philosophy of Disciplines (POD): a Philosophy subject. They also have to complete a total of 120 hours of Creativity, Action, Service, and Leadership (CASL) and submit an Individualised Study Option (ISO) which prepares them for the IBDP's Creativity, Action, Service (CAS) and Extended Essay (EE).
In 2008 it was reported that ACS(I) students taking the IB exams for the first time had produced results that were among the best in the world: nine students had obtained the perfect score of 45, making up almost half the 20 candidates worldwide to do so.[4] It was also reported that ACS(I)'s performance put it among the top three IB schools in the world.[4] In 2010, 27 students worldwide were reported to have achieved the perfect score, and 13 of them came from ACS(I) November 2009 examination cohort;[5] in 2011, it was announced that ACS(I) had produced 28 students from the November 2010 batch who earned the perfect score.
ACS(I)'s IB programme produced its first President's Scholar, Joshua René Jeyaraj, a graduate of the 2009 November examination batch, in 2010.[6]
The Principal of the school is also the school's Chief Executive Officer.[7] The first Principal of the independent school was Lawrence Chia, an associate professor of chemistry at the National University of Singapore and a Presbyterian elder. Professor Chia stepped down at the end of 1993 and one of his two vice-principals was selected to replace him. This was Dr Ong Teck Chin, who held the post from 1994 to October 2010.[8] From 5 October 2010, Mrs Fanny Tan was appointed acting principal in his stead,[9] until the appointment of Mr Winston James Hodge as new principal with effect from 21 June 2011.[10]
The house system is a way of grouping students into mutually competitive groups. It was introduced on 16 April 1929 during the tenure of Principal Thomas W Hinch. ACS Houses were named initially after churchmen Bishop James Thoburn, Bishop William F Oldham, and Rev Goh Hood Keng; and philanthropists Tan Kah Kee and Cheong Koon Seng.[11] In 2005, three other benefactors of the school were honoured by having houses named after them: these were Dr Lee Seng Gee, Dr Shaw Vee Meng and Tan Sri Dr Tan Chin Tuan.[12]
The houses in chronological order, and their house colours, are:
The ACS (Independent) Boarding School is at 119 Dover Road, Singapore 139650. It houses around 400 students, mostly overseas scholars from the People's Republic of China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and India.
The principal sometimes invites students who under-perform academically to stay in boarding school for a study camp during important years such as Year 4; this is sometimes aptly but tactlessly referred to as "Concentration Camp". Many of the teachers residing in the boarding school provide academic assistance to students staying there during a daily 2-hour prep time.
There are 8 halls in the Boarding School. They are named after famous figures that contributed to the school: Theodore R Doraisamy, Lee Kong Chian, Tay Eng Soon, Thio Chan Bee, Runme Shaw, Henry Martyn Hoisington, Thomas William Hinch, and William F Oldham; James Stuart Nagle being the extension of William F Oldham hall since 2011.
The library is named after its financial benefactor, Runme Shaw. It contains over 25,000 books, reference materials and IB syllabus-based course books. The library was extended in 2007, making it one of the largest school libraries in Singapore. Library facilities include the heritage walk, a permanent exhibition on the history of ACS.
ACS (Independent) has achieved good sporting results through the years, having produced national champions and national sportsmen. It has been strong in swimming, sailing, water-polo and rugby. It has been The Straits Times' Top School in Sports (Boys) in an almost unbroken streak since this title was first awarded, from 1996 to 2009.[2] The exception was 1999, in which The Chinese High School won the title. The record number of gold medals in a single season was achieved in 2002, where it won 13 gold medals and 11 silver medals. The school has held many winning streaks such as the "B" Division Rugby Title from 1997–2003 and the "C" Division Rugby Title from 1997–2009. In 2008, ACS (Independent) won a grand slam in Rugby, winning all three "A" Division, "B" Division and "C" Division titles.
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ACS (Independent) has been affiliated with the international Odyssey of the Mind competitions since 1998, when its teams represented Singapore at the World Finals in Disneyworld, Florida. In 1999, 2000 and 2001, ACS(I) sent teams to the Finals at the University of Tennessee and University of Maryland respectively. Dr Ong Teck Chin, the school's former principal, is also the tournament director for OM in Singapore.Odyssey of the Mind.
In 2006, ACS (Independent) sent three teams to compete in the World Finals in Iowa State University, USA. ACS(I) won its first under-20 World Champions title. It also won the Under-20 Silver Medal and Under-15 Bronze Medal. The World Champions team was composed of year 5 students, the first batch of ACS(I) students taking the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.
In 2007, ACS (Independent) sent four teams to the World Finals in Michigan State University, USA. For the first time, two teams were crowned World Champions in the Under-15 and Under-20 categories. The other two teams clinched 4th place in another Under-15 division and 5th place in another Under-20 division.
The school offers more than 10 clubs and societies, in diverse fields. The list of clubs and societies are as follows:
The Debate Team is among the best in the nation. With a very strong debate tradition, the school continually produces top-notch debaters who go on to represent Singapore at the World Schools Debating Championships. ACS(I) emerged National Champions in 1998 and 2005 and 1st Runner-Up in both 2004 and 2006 in the Singapore Secondary Schools Debating Championships. In 2010, ACS (Independent) emerged champions in the Ministry of Finance Budget Debate for the Secondary School division and 1st Runner-Up for the Pre-University division.[20]
The school offers the following Performing Arts CCAs:
ACS (Independent)'s Philharmonic Orchestra has obtained five consecutive Gold Awards in the Singapore Youth Festival competition, and is the only youth string ensemble to have done so. The Orchestra achieved two Gold with Honours awards at the recent 2007 SYF competition, for both its Secondary and College String groups. It has collaborated with the Singapore Armed Forces Central Band in March 2007, and also became the featured orchestra in the 2007 HSBC Young Talents' Concert.
The Symphonic Band won Gold with Honours awards in the 2005, 2007 and 2009 SYF competitions, being being the only school besides St Patricks' School to have achieved this. It was ranked as one of the top three bands in all three years. The band also received a Gold in the 2011 competition. [21] The Wind Ensemble received a Gold in its first year of participation in SYF in 2007, as well as a Bronze in 2009 and a Silver in 2011. [22] In 2006, the band took part in the 17th Australian International Music Festival in Sydney, Australia, attaining a Gold Award. In the Singapore International Band Festival 2008, the band achieved the only Gold Award in the Open Category, and achieved second place in the Finals. In the SIBF competition for 2010, the band achieved Silver in the Open Category. In 2011, both the Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble participated in the Senior Category at the Hong Kong Winter Band Festival, attaining Silver and Gold (2nd Placing) respectively.
The Choir, established in the 1980s, has taken part in many international and local choral competitions and workshops. The Choir has achieved a Gold award in the 2009 SYF Central Judging, as well as a Gold award in the recent 2011 SYF Central Judging.[23] The Choir also obtained a Gold award at the Genting International Choral Competition in 2007. The Choir is conducted by Phua Ee Kia. Two branches of the Choir, the IB Choir and the Alumni Choir were set up in 2006 and 2008 respectively. From 2011, the IB Choir is re-branding itself as the school's A Cappella Society. The A Cappella Society is conducted by Elaine Wan Chan.
The Guitar Orchestra, established in 2003, has won three consecutive Gold medals in the SYF competitions, with a Gold award for its Secondary Orchestra and a Gold with Honours award for its College Orchestra in the 2007 SYF competition. The Secondary Orchestra obtained a Gold with Honours award in the 2009 SYF competition. It also hosts a yearly concert event, F.R.E.T.S (Finally a Really Exciting Thing to See).
Dance Venia, established in 2005, won the Gold with Honours Award at the Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging 2009, on their first time participating in the event. With the instructions of main choreographer Jennifer Pau and other guest choreographers, the club continues to excel the art of dancing by putting up performances including Festival of Arts 2008, 2009, the upcoming 2010, alongside with competing in various competitions including DanceWorks 2010.
In 2001 then-Principal Ong told The Straits Times that "we have corporal punishment for some serious offences. But the rules are stated clearly in the school handbook and we have to be consistent in applying them."[24]
A publicity document for entry into the school's International Baccalaureate (IB) programme from age 16/17 to age 18/19 says that a punishment for violations of the school's academic honesty policy is "Caning (only for male students) which will be conducted in the Principal’s office, classroom or during school assembly." "All students who have been caned will be required to attend counselling sessions arranged by the school."[25]
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1. ^ http://www.moe.gov.sg/press/2004/pr2004sea_sda.htm", School Excellence Award (SEA), Ministry of Education, Singapore, 2006