, motto_translation = Strong and Faithful , streetaddress = Green Lane, , city = George Town , state =

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Ma ...

, postcode = 11600 , country =

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, coordinates = , type = National secondary school , religion =

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

, denomination =

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

, established = , founder = Rev. Robert Sparke Hutchings , district = Northeast Penang Island , educational_authority = PPD Timur Laut , session = Morning , school_code = PEB1094 , principal = Syed Sultan bin Syed Oothuman , teaching_staff = 85 , grades_label = Forms , grades = 1-6 , gender =

Male Male (Mars symbol, symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot sexual reproduction, repro ...

Co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

( Form 6) , colours =

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

and

Azure Azure may refer to: Colour * Azure (color), a hue of blue ** Azure (heraldry) ** Shades of azure, shades and variations Arts and media * ''Azure'' (Art Farmer and Fritz Pauer album), 1987 * Azure (Gary Peacock and Marilyn Crispell album), 2013 ...

, website = , logo_size = 200px , students = 914 , enrollment_as_of = 2022 , free_text = PFS , pushpin_map_caption = Location within George Town. The purple zone denotes the city's

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. Penang Free School (PFS), located at Green Lane in George Town,

, is the oldest English-medium school in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

. Founded in 1816, its academic achievements lead to its inclusion in the Malaysian Ministry of Education's Cluster School and High Performance School systems. This secondary school has been an

all-boys school Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in separate buildings or schools. The practice of ...

since its inception, although girls are now admitted for Form 6. In addition, the school has produced several notable

Malaysian Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regar ...

and Singaporean personalities, including

Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah ( ms, ‏تونكو عبد الرحمن ڤوترا الحاج ابن سلطان عبد الحميد حليم شاه, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 8 Febru ...

, P. Ramlee, Wu Lien-teh and Wee Chong Jin; its alumni are known as the 'Old Frees'. Penang Free School maintains its historical rivalry with St. Xavier's Institution, another school in George Town which also claims the honour of being Malaysia's oldest school.

History

The establishment of a free school''' that was open to all ethnicities was first mooted by a committee led by Rev. Robert Sparke Hutchings in 1816. It was initially proposed that a boarding school would be built to provide education and daily care for orphans and the poor, and that the boarding school would consist of two blocks, one for male students and another for girls. Local Asian children would be taught in their mother tongues, while English would only be taught for those who desired it. Penang Free School came into being on 21 October that year, with William Cox as its first principal, and was originally housed at Love Lane. This was a temporary arrangement, as the new school building at the adjoining

Farquhar Street Farquhar is a surname of Scottish origin, derived from the Scottish Gaelic ''fearchar'', from ''fear'' ("man") and ''car'' ("beloved"). Farquharson is a further derivation of the name, meaning "son of Farquhar". The name originated as a given name ...

was still under construction. The building, situated next to St. George's Church, was completed in 1821. Penang State Museum

By the 1890s, as the school building became overcrowded, a tender was called for the construction of a new wing. The new wing, funded mainly by Chinese philanthropists such as Chung Keng Quee, was completed in 1896. Another wing was also built in 1906. In addition, English was made the standard medium of instruction within the school. By the 1920s, the building was also reaching its maximum capacity. Therefore, plans were drawn up for the relocation of Penang Free School to a suburban site further inland, while the school premises at

was to be turned into a primary school. In 1928, Penang Free School was officially moved to a site at Green Lane, where it remains to this day. The old school building was turned into Hutchings School; today, this particular building houses the

Penang State Museum Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Ma ...

. In 1958, the then

Prime Minister of Malaya A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

and an alumnus of Penang Free School,

, opened the school's Form 6 block, making it the first school in northern

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

to offer secondary education up to Form 6. More school blocks were added over the years, enabling it to switch to a single-session school system by 1992.

List of principals

The following is a list of principals of Penang Free School.

Notable alumni

* Ahmad Ibrahim **Singapore's Minister for Health (1959–1961) ** Minister for Labour (1961–1962) * Cheah Cheng Hye **Co-founder, Chairman and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Hong Kong's Value Partners Group Limited * Danny Quah **Li Ka Shing Professor of Economics at the

Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKY School) is an autonomous postgraduate school of the National University of Singapore (NUS), named after the late former Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew. History The Lee Kuan Yew School of ...

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in th ...

* Dennis Lee **Pianist * Eusoff Abdoolcadeer **Former

Malaysian Supreme Court The Federal Court of Malaysia ( ms, Mahkamah Persekutuan Malaysia) is the highest court and the final appellate court in Malaysia. It is housed in the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya. The court was established during Malaya's independence in 19 ...

judge *

G. Rama Iyer Malay styles and titles, Tan Sri G.K. Rama Iyer (Tamil language, Tamil: ஜி. ராமா ஐயர்) (13 March 1932 – 17 March 2020) was a Malaysian civil servant, who served as Secretary-General of the Primary Industries Ministry and ...

**Secretary-General of Malaysia's Primary Industries Ministry *

Ismail Merican Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...

**Former Director-General of Malaysia's

Ministry of Health Ministry of Health may refer to: Note: Italics indicate now-defunct ministries. * Ministry of Health (Argentina) * Ministry of Health (Armenia) * Australia: ** Ministry of Health (New South Wales) * Ministry of Health (The Bahamas) * Ministry of ...

* Jomo Kwame Sundaram **Assistant Secretary General for Economic Development in the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) *

Lim Chong Eu Tun Dr. Lim Chong Eu (; 28 May 1919 – 24 November 2010) was a Malaysian politician who served as the 2nd Chief Minister of Penang from May 1969 to October 1990. He was also the founding president of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (GERAKAN). ...

**Second

Chief Minister of Penang The Chief Minister of Penang is the head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous regio ...

Lim Chong Keat Lim Chong Keat (; born 1930) is a Malaysian architect and botanist. He trained at the University of Manchester and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He considers himself to be a comprehensivist and universalist, like his role model Buc ...

**Architect of Komtar, the tallest skyscraper in Penang * P. Ramlee **Film actor, director, singer, songwriter, composer and producer * King Sirajuddin **

Raja of Perlis ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

and former King of Malaysia (2001–2006) *

Subramaniam Sathasivam Tan Sri Dr. S. Subramaniam s/o. K. V. Sathasivam ( ta, சுப்ரமணியம், Cupramaṇiyam; born 1 April 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as Minister of Health from May 2013 to May 2018, Minister of Human Resources fr ...

**Minister of Health (Malaysia), Member of Parliament * Tan Boon Teik **Former Attorney-General of Singapore (1967–1992) and a founder of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra * Tan Hock Eng **President & CEO,

Broadcom Broadcom Inc. is an American designer, developer, manufacturer and global supplier of a wide range of semiconductor and infrastructure software products. Broadcom's product offerings serve the data center, networking, software, broadband, wirel ...

Ltd *

Tan Seang Beng Tan or TAN may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Black and Tans, a nickname for British special constables during the Irish War of Independence. By extension "Tans" can now also colloquially refer to English or British people in general, es ...

**Director of Spine Service, Singapore General Hospital * Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen Ismail **Former Foreign Minister and Defence Minister (Malaysia) *

**Founding father of

and the first

Prime Minister of Malaysia The prime minister of Malaysia ( ms, Perdana Menteri Malaysia; ms, ڤردان منتري مليسيا, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the fede ...

* Wee Chong Jin **First Chief Justice of Singapore * Wu Lien-teh **Medical doctor and nominee for the

Nobel Prize in Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine ( sv, Nobelpriset i fysiologi eller medicin) is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute, Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or ...

1935 *

Yeoh Ghim Seng Yeoh Ghim Seng ( zh, s=杨锦成, poj=Iôⁿ Gím-sêng, p=Yáng Jǐnchéng, first=s,poj,p) was a Singaporean politician who served as Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore between 1970 and 1989. He is one of the longest-serving speakers ...

**Longest-serving

Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore The speaker of the Parliament of Singapore is the presiding officer of the Parliament of Singapore. The speaker is nominated by the prime minister before being appointed by the Parliament. The speaker is also second in the presidential lin ...

(1970–1989)

Sport House

• P.Ramlee • Wu Lien Teh • Pinhorn • Hargreaves • Cheeseman • Sirajuddin • Tunku Putra • Hamilton

Gallery

cmglee_Penang_Free_School_foyer.jpg, Foyer with trophies cmglee_Penang_Free_School_fountain.jpg, Fountain sculpture cmglee_Penang_Free_School_form_6_block.jpg, Form 6 block cmglee_Penang_Free_School_volleyball_court.jpg, Volleyball court cmglee_Penang_Free_School_canteen.jpg, Canteen cmglee_Penang_Free_School_quadrangle.jpg, East quadrangle cmglee_Penang_Free_School_library.jpg, Library cmglee_Penang_Free_School_field.jpg, Playing field

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in George Town, Penang Educational institutions established in 1816 1816 establishments in British Malaya Secondary schools in Malaysia Publicly funded schools in Malaysia Boys' schools in Malaysia Schools in Penang 1810s establishments in Penang