| Tanjong Katong Girls' School (TKGS) 丹绒加东女校 |
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|---|---|
| Location | |
| Katong, | |
| Information | |
| Type | Autonomous Secondary |
| Motto | Moribus Modestus (Demure and Resolute in Latin) |
| Established | 1953 |
| Session | single session |
| School code | 3013 |
| Principal | Mrs Phyllis Lim |
| Enrolment | Approx. 1,500 |
| Colour(s) | Green |
| Website | Link |
Tanjong Katong Girls' School (TKGS) is an autonomous girls' secondary school in Singapore. TKGS is one of the few schools in Singapore that offer the Music Elective Programme (MEP) to students who wish to pursue Music as a subject in the Cambridge 'O' Level examinations. TKGS is also sometimes referred to as the "Premier School of the East".
TKGS was established on 12 January 1953 with seven classes, 250 pupils, and ten teaching staff. The school was the first post-war government English girls' school built in colonial Singapore.
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Established in 1953, Tanjong Katong Girls' School (TKGS) was the first English secondary school set up by the Singapore government after the Second World War. The first intake of 250 students into the school were from Chinese schools and therefore had little knowledge of the English language. The school building at that time housed a block of 22 classrooms and had 10 staff. The school's first Annual Speech Day was in 1957.
TKGS became a double-session school in 1960 to cater to the increased enrollment of 1,200. It was also the year Mrs Maude Scott, founding Principal of TKGS, was succeeded by Miss See Tin See. TKGS became an integrated school in 1962, with the Chinese and Malay language streams merging with the English stream. All the streams shared the school facilities, such as classrooms, Science laboratories, library and playing fields.
Since its establishment, TKGS has hosted trainees from the Teachers' Training Course (TTC), and has served as a workshop for Home Economics students. In the late 1970s, TKGS conducted "immersion programmes" for students from the Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools, where students who had a Chinese medium of language were exposed to English lessons in an English environment. TKGS served as a Music Elective Programme (MEP) centre for students who were taking music as an 'O' Level subject but whose schools did not have suitable facilities.
In January 1966, the school was expanded to include another 4-storey block which housed Science laboratories, classrooms and special rooms. A new cookery room was added to the domestic Science block and the canteen was extended to cater to the increased number of students. In 1967, the first Pre-University classes were started, boosting the student enrollment to 2,000. In 1972, TKGS won the champion title at the School Band Competition, and clinched the title at the Inter-School Debate Series in 1973. In 1975, TKGS produced the top girl in the Singapore GCE 'O' Level Examination.
In 1983, TKGS was selected by the Ministry of Education (MOE) for the Music Elective Programme (MEP), and was one of four schools in Singapore to offer music as an examinable 'O' Level subject. The Pre-University programme was stopped in 1993 in line with MOE policy. In 1995, the school moved to a new campus at Dunman Lane, though the official opening only took place in 1997. The landmark sculpture, the "Spirit of TKGS", was commissioned and unveiled by the then Minister of Education, Mr Teo Chee Hean, during the school's official opening. Other achievements include gaining autonomous status and the conversion to a single-session school.
TKGS curriculum includes all the pure Sciences, humanities and aesthetics. It is also one of the few schools in Singapore to offer Economics as an examinable 'O' Level subject, and at the first Cambridge GCE 'O' Level Economics Examination in 2008, TKGS produced the top Economics students in Singapore. Class periods were extended to 50 minutes in 2002, and in 2005, TKGS announced that it would be one of the first schools in Singapore to offer Drama as an examinable 'O' Level subject. The LEGACY (Leading, Empowering, Guiding, Affirming and Challenging Youths) Programme was introduced as part of the Integrated Character Development Programme as well, consisting of classroom and experiential learning of moral education during curriculum time. Another initiative was the Multi-Disciplinary Project Work for the secondary 2s, with Future Problem Solving as its framework. The Chinese Special Programme (CSP) and the Malay Special Programme (MSP) were introduced for students in Malay and Chinese respectively to learn the other language. In 2007, TKGS was appointed the East Zone Centre of Excellence (COE) for English Language, in recognition of its innovative approach towards the teaching and learning of English and the students' cosistently good performance in English at the GCE 'O' Level examinations.
TKGS now has an enrollment of 1,388 students and around 120 staff, and offers all the Pure Sciences, Economics, Drama, and Music in addition to the normal curriculum.
It offers the Music Elective Programme and the Drama Elective Programme. Every pupil is required to participate in at least one core co-curricular activity. Girls who desire to serve the school may participate in the optional non-core CCAs.
TKGS is partnered with the Thai girls' school, Satri Si Suriyothai School in the Singapore–Thailand Enhanced Partnership (STEP) Programme. Students with good academic results from the People's Republic of China, Brunei and the ASEAN region are also invited to join the school.
The principal of TKGS is Mrs Phyllis Lim, who used to be the vice-principal of Gan Eng Seng Secondary School.
"Moribus Modestus", in translation from Latin, it means "Demure and Resolute".
The school crest consists of six symbols, conceptualised by Mrs Maude Scott, the founding Principal of TKGS. The Lion represents Singapore, and signifies courage and nobility. The Tower symbolises the school, a citadel of learning. The Turtle is the symbol of the Katong School, representing wisdom and the accumulation of knowledge, while providing an anchor by virtue of its steadfastness. The Wheel guides students in their endeavours, giving them purpose, direction, and determination to succeed. The Lamp symbolises TKGS' continuous quest for knowledge and learning, and the Winged Shoe symbolises the shoe of the Greek god Hermes, son of Zeus. It symbolises physical and mental agility, ingenuity and adaptability.
We cannot all be heroes and thrill a hemisphere,
With some great daring venture, some deed that mocks at fear.
But we can fill a lifetime with kindly acts and true,
There's always noble service for noble souls to do.
We're not all blessed with beauty nor everyone with brain,
But each from every other has something good to gain.
So let us make an effort to keep it as a rule,
That each one needs the other within the Katong school.
Then let us fill the hours with minutes truly spent,
In helping one another towards a true content.
So let us serve in honour and work for selfless fame,
For credit of our country and glory of her name.
The lyrics of the school song are most likely composed by TKGS' first Principal, Mrs Maude Scott. The music was taken from an old hymn, "The Church's One Foundation" composed by Samuel S. Wesley in 1864.
The uniform is a green-striped short-sleeved blouse and shorts with a dark green non-pleated pinafore (knee-length) with a belt fastened through loops at the side of the pinafore. The belt is permanently sewn at the back of the bodice at the waistline. A colour-coded name tag with the student's name is worn above the school badge, both of which are worn at the top left of the uniform. Physical Education uniforms consist of a white cotton shirt with a green border, with the school crest at the top left of the shirt. Green shorts are worn, with the school's initials printed in gold on the left pant leg. Sports shoes can be worn during Physical Education periods, but students change out of their sports shoes and their sports attire by recess.
Students wear ankle-length white socks with the school's initials printed on them. School shoes must be white, though a line of colour at the bottom of the shoes is allowed.
Prefects on Probation (POPs) wear the same uniform as mainstream students, with the POP badge worn on the left collar of the blouse. Prefects wear a green-striped blouse with a dark green pleated skirt (knee-length) and black shoes; on hall assembly days, prefects wear a red-gold-green striped tie. On special occasions, prefects wear a dark green blazer with gold buttons, emblazoned with the school crest, along with a white long-sleeved shirt, the prefect's tie, and the prefect's dark green pleated skirt.
Disciplinary actions are centred around the 'traffic-light' system, consisting of a restorative followed by a punitive approach, with three steps in each. The restorative section consists of student reflections, apology, and assurance respectively, and the punitive approach consists of scolding, detention and suspension respectively. In a much more simple manner, for the first offence, self-reflection would have to be taken, followed by form mistress guidance and school action detention classes respectively.
Th system is enforced by checks on all students during morning assembly and by spotchecks during curriculum time, where the discipline committee members would walk around the classes and look out for any errant behaviour amongst the students.
The prefectorial board, commonly called TKGPB, consists of the Prefectorial Board Executives (PB EXCOs), prefects and prefects on probation (POPs). Apart from managing discipline around the school, TKGPB also manages the selling of TKGian products such as sweaters and dolls. TKGPB also organises the annual Secondary 1 Orientation programme, and also plays a major role in the organisation of hall assemblies and anniversary dinners.
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