San Yu Adventist School (SYAS) is a private Christian school in Singapore which caters to students from ages 7 (Primary 1) to 16/17 (Secondary 4,

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). It follows the local education system and is fully owned and operated by the Singapore Adventist Conference. The current school was a result of the merger of two Adventist schools: the English-medium Seventh-day Adventist School previously located in Upper Serangoon Road and the Chinese-medium San Yu High School. It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist education system, the world's second largest Christian school system.

History

The present-day San Yu Adventist School in Singapore is the result of a merger between two schools: the Seventh-day Adventist School and San Yu High School. The histories of these two educational institutions are closely linked to the development of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Singapore. SYAS has a long history of welcoming students from other countries and continues to have a diverse student population. In the past students were mainly from

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countries. Since the merger, non-ASEAN countries represented over the years include

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and

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Seventh-day Adventist School

Seventh-day Adventist School (SDAS) traces its origins to the "Eastern Training School" founded in 1907 by the former Malaya Mission (which encompassed the former

British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. U ...

). It was originally located on Mount Pleasant Road near

Dhoby Ghaut Dhoby Ghaut () is a place in Singapore that often refers to the Dhoby Ghaut MRT station, a major interchange station on Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit network connecting the North-South Line, North East Line, and the Circle Line. As a place, D ...

. It moved to Serangoon and then renamed Singapore Training School not long after. In 1916, it moved to 273 Upper Serangoon Road not far from the current

Woodleigh MRT station Woodleigh MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the North East line (NEL), in Bidadari, Singapore. The station is underneath Upper Serangoon Road, near the junction with Upper Aljunied Road. Areas served include th ...

. During the Japanese Occupation the school was closed as were many other fellow Christian schools and institutions and reopened after the Japanese surrendered and left the island. After the war the primary and secondary section opened to its first students. In 1952 the school was renamed "Southeast Asia Union College" (SAUC). Due to government regulations, the primary and secondary section was split from the college and named "Seventh-day Adventist School" but remained on the same campus as the college. SDAS mainly catered to local students or children of college faculty and staff as it used the local curriculum (English medium) while expatriate missionary children attended Far Eastern Academy (FEA). The compound along Upper Serangoon was a hub for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Singapore as th
Southeast Asia Union Mission
headquarters and neighboring Youngberg Adventist Hospital were located there, in addition to SAUC and SDAS. FEA was founded in 1926 in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

before war and political instability forced it to relocate to various places, finally setting in Singapore when

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ended. Located at 800 Thomson Road, it used the North American curriculum and catered to the missionary community, most of whom were from North America, in Southeast Asia. It was closed in the 1980s and most of the land was sold to be developed into a condominium. The remaining land owned by the church was redesignated 798 Thomson Road and is home to the SAUM headquarters.

San Yu High School

San Yu High School (三育中学) was founded at the current Thomson Road premises by the West Malaysia-Singapore Mission in 1958. It was a Chinese medium school founded with 167 students and seven teachers. In 1962 th
Seventh-day Adventist Chinese Church
located next to the school took over operations. For a period it offered both "O" and "A" Levels. Pre-university courses (A Levels) were discontinued in 1995 in line with the government's policy of centralising A Level education at junior colleges.

Merger

In 1996, backed by the

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, the church voted for a merger of SDAS and San Yu High. The government had notified the church that the area along Upper Serangoon Road near Potong Pasir, which includes the church-owned compound and

Bidadari Cemetery Bidadari Cemetery (Malay: ''Perkuburan Bidadari'', Chinese: 比达达利坟场) is a defunct cemetery in Singapore. It used to serve the Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Sinhalese communities, and accepted burials between 1907 and 1972. The site of ...

across the road, was to be acquired for the building of the

North East MRT Line The North East MRT line (NEL) is a high-capacity Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line in Singapore. Operated by SBS Transit, it is the shortest MRT line at . The line runs from HarbourFront station in southern Singapore to Punggol station in the n ...

and for redevelopment. In 1997 the schools were merged and renamed "San Yu Adventist School" and the former San Yu High's existing campus at Thomson Road was renovated to prepare for the increase in students, a result of the merger. While the Thomson Road campus was being renovated, staff and students from the former San Yu High moved to Upper Serangoon Road. By 1999 compound at Upper Serangoon closed for good as SAUC graduated its last batch of students, SYAS moved to its newly renovated campus and the SAUM headquarters moved to 798 Thomson Road.History
/ref> The former site at Upper Serangoon Road is now occupied by condominiums and

Stamford American International School Stamford American International School (SAIS) is a co-educational international school in Singapore. The school is owned and operated by Cognita and enrolled its first students in August 2009. Stamford American offers multiple graduating pathway ...

while SAUC's assets were transferred to Mission College (now

Asia-Pacific International University Asia-Pacific International University is a private Christian university located in Saraburi, Thailand. Its main campus is in the rural town of Muak Lek, Saraburi Province and the nursing school is located on the grounds of Bangkok Adventist Hos ...

) in Thailand and other remaining property was moved to Thomson Road campus.

Academics

SYAS is opened to students from Primary 1 to Secondary 4 and follows the national curriculum. All Primary 6 students take the

PSLE The Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) (Malay: ''Peperiksaan Tamat Sekolah Rendah'', Simplified Chinese: 小学离校考试 x''iǎoxué lí xiào kǎoshì'') is a national examination in Singapore that is administered by the Ministry of Ed ...

near the end of the school year. Students entering secondary school who speak English but not fluent enough to enter the mainstream classes will join the Preparatory Secondary 1 Foundation class to assimilate them into the Singapore education system. Most students enter the regular four-year Express stream leading up the

O Levels The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...

. After completing their secondary education nearly all students go on to polytechnics or

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

. Students generally take a minimum of 5 O Level subjects. Bible Knowledge is required for all students.

Pastoral care

As a Christian school, students are required to attend chapel services. A full-time chaplain is available and attends to the spiritual aspects of school life. The school ceases all operations on Saturdays in conjunction with church practices.

References

External links

* *{{cite web, title=Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook: San Yu Adventist School, url=http://www.adventistyearbook.org/ViewEntity.aspx?EntityID=13093, publisher=

Pacific Press The Pacific Press Publishing Association, or Pacific Press for short, is one of two major Seventh-day Adventist publishing houses in North America. It was founded in 1874 by James White in Oakland, California, and is now located in Nampa, Id ...

, date=12 January 2017
Photo: Southeast Asia Union College, sign, 1995
— Picture SG archives (

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) Primary schools in Singapore Secondary schools in Singapore Secondary schools affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church