Zhonghua Secondary School

Zhonghua Secondary School
Sekolah Menengah Zhonghua
中华中学
Zhōnghuá Zhōngxué
Address
13 Serangoon Avenue 3
Singapore 556123
Serangoon
Singapore
Information
Type Autonomous
Co-educational
Motto 禮義廉恥
((Courteous, Righteous, Edified, Dignified))
Established 15 September 1911
Session Single-Session
School code 3240
Principal Mr Loh Leong Beng
Enrolment approx. 1500
Colour(s)          
Green, white
Website www.zhonghuasec.moe.edu.sg

Zhonghua Secondary School (ZHSS) is an autonomous secondary school in Serangoon, Singapore. Founded in 1911 as Chung Hwa Girls' High School, the school retained its Chinese heritage despite transformed into an English-medium government school in 1980.

History

Chung Hwa Girls’ High School (1911 - 1984)

Zhonghua Secondary School was established on 15 September 1911 as a Chinese-medium girls' school in response to Dr Sun Yat Sen's suggestion for schools to be established for girls. It was the first Chinese-medium girls' school in Singapore, founded by Mr Tay Peng Teng, Mr Puan Yeow Pong and the Chinese community. The school initially operated at the site at Mohamad Sultan Road.[1][2]

In 1925, it moved to Niven Road and was formally named Chung Hwa Girls’ School, providing both elementary and high school education.[3] Lessons were disrupted with the invasion of Singapore by the Japanese in 1941. In the initial years of resuming education, lessons for high school section were conducted at Nan Chiau Girls' High School in River Valley for between 1947 to early 1951 as a deliberate measure to ease overpopulation. [4][5] In 1951, the high school section was separated from the elementary school section to cope with increased enrollment, and was renamed as Chung Hwa Girls' High School.[3] A new campus along Bartley Road was officially launched in the same year.[3] The school became government-aided in 1957.[3][5]

In 1978, Chung Hwa Girls' High was initially included in the list of 12 newly accorded Special Assistance Plan schools. However, Chung Hwa Girls' High School was dropped from the list with the amendments made by the Ministry of Education over the surplus of school places, which left the scheme to proceed with only nine schools. [6]

Chung Hwa Girls' High School faced a massive decline in enrollment towards the end of the 1970s, as English-medium integrated schools gained prevalence. A deliberate decision was made to allow enrollment of male students from January 1984 and to incorporate into a government school, which transferred the supervision of all aspects of the institution to the state. Following the changes, the school was renamed as "Chung Hwa High School".

Transitioning into a Modern Institution

In 1987, the school moved to Serangoon New Town along Serangoon Avenue 4 and was formally renamed as Zhonghua Secondary School to reflect its status as a government school. [1] Zhonghua Secondary School was accorded autonomous status in 1996. [7] In December 1999, the school commenced operation at a new school complex along Serangoon Avenue 3 costing an estimated $23 million. [3] In August 2005, the Centre for Excellence (COE) for Visual Arts is opened in the school. A multi-purpose sports complex was added to the campus in 2008.[3]

Identity & culture

Crest

The crest of Zhonghua Secondary School underwent changes after the change from a girls' school to a co-educational school in 1984, and a subsequent rename in 1987. The full name of the school originally superimposed on the crest was dropped, using instead the shortened name of the school. The English name of the school was added to the crest since 1987. [5] The current crest features the name of the school written in Traditional Chinese characters over the grean, leaf shaped background. The shape of the leave resembles the geographical features of mainland China, which reflects the heritage of the school as an institution set up by Chinese nationalists during the revolution period. [5]

Uniform

The uniform of Zhonghua Secondary School was a modified and modernised variation of its original uniform. Formerly, female students wore white shirts with below-the-knee pleated skirts while male students wore a full white uniform, with the metal school badge pinned on at the left chest level. The uniform was redesigned in 2002 following strong advocations by the student body, with major changes to the female uniform.

Currently, female students wear white shirts with the school logo sewn at the left chest level, complemented by a green skirt. The full white uniform for male students was retained, featuring a white shirt with white shorts for lower secondary levels and white long pants for upper secondary levels. [8]

Notable alumni

References

  1. 1 2 "Chung Hwa Girls' High School at Bartley Road, 1973 - BookSG - National Library Board, Singapore". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  2. ↑ "Mount Sophia (includes Ellison Building and Rex Cinema)". ura.gov.sg. Urban Redevelopment Authority, Singapore. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "History". www.zhonghuasec.moe.edu.sg. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  4. ↑ 南侨女子中学创校卅周年纪念特刊 1947-1977. Singapore: 新加坡，南侨女子中学. 1977. pp. 18–19.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Chung Hwa Girls' High School (1972). 新加坡中华女子中学创校六十周年纪念特刊 : 一九一一-一九七一. Singapore: Xinjiapo : Xinjiapo zhong hua nü zi zhong xue, 1972. pp. 14–15, 135.
  6. ↑ Lee, Kuan Yew (2011). 李光耀 - 我一生的挑战 - 新加坡双语之路. Singapore Press Holdings. pp. 97–122. ISBN 978-981-4342-04-9.
  7. ↑ "NEW AUTONOMOUS SCHOOL - MOE Press Releases (2 August 2003)". www.moe.gov.sg. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  8. ↑ "Grooming and Attire". www.zhonghuasec.moe.edu.sg. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  9. ↑ Lee, Jocelyn (23 September 2015). "Bad boy Royston Tan poured acid on principal's car". The New Paper. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  10. ↑ Ho, Olivia (7 July 2015). "The changing faces of Amos Yee". The Straits Times. Retrieved 6 August 2016.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.