Raffles Girls' School (RGS) is an independent girls' secondary school located in Braddell,

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. Established in 1879, it is one of the oldest schools in Singapore. RGS, together with its affiliated school

Raffles Institution Raffles Institution (RI) is an independent educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1823, it is the oldest school in the country. It provides secondary education for boys only from Year 1 to Year 4, and pre-university education for both b ...

, offers a six-year Raffles Programme, which allows students to skip the

Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level The Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level (or Singapore-Cambridge GCE O-Level) is a GCE Ordinary Level examination held annually in Singapore and is jointly conducted by the Ministry of Education (MOE), Singapore Ex ...

examinations and proceed to take the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level examinations at the end of Year 6. The school was recognised by the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

in 2006 by being awarded the School Excellence Award (recognising schools with 'exemplary school processes and practices'), among other awards. It was a member of

Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia The Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (abbreviated as AGSA) is a non-profit organisation that promotes the education of girls in single-sex girls' schools, and promotes the image of, and support the development of, girls' schools in Australa ...

History

Before RGS became a school in its own right, it existed as a section of

(RI). The precursor to RGS opened in the RI campus of Bras Basah Road on 4 March 1844 with 11 students, five day-scholars and six boarders, who were clothed, fed and instructed by the RI management. The demand for education grew and in 1847, the school moved to RI's eastern wing, extending towards Bras Basah Road. Edmund Augustus Blundell, the Governor of the Straits Settlement, described the school as "a female school designed for the education and religious training of the children of poor

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

parents" in 1855. In 1871, the school moved into a house, the George Family's Old Mansion at the corner of Bras Basah Road. In 1879, the school separated from RI and M. Nelson was appointed the school's first headmistress. Together with three assistants, she ran the school which had an enrolment of 77. Since then, 1879 has been officially regarded as the year of the founding of RGS. On 21 October 2019, RGS moved from Anderson Road, where it had been located since 1959, to its new campus at Braddell Rise, located opposite RI.

School culture and identity

Uniform

The usual school uniform is a belted, deep blue pinafore and a white collared blouse.

Awards and accolades

A group of four students from RGS emerged Champion at the Kids' Lit Quiz 2018, and represented Singapore in New Zealand in July that year. Joseph Toh Kim Leng won the Teaching Award in 2016, which honours outstanding teachers of English language, English literature and General Paper in Singapore. Jodie Lai, a 2015 Optimist World Championships Under-15 champion, was conferred the title of Best Sportsgirl for sailing at the 46th Singapore Schools Sports Council (SSSC) Colours Awards in 2016. Students from the school have won the Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition.

Notable alumnae

* Ang Swee Chai, orthopaedic surgeon and co-founder of

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* Kit Chan, singer and actress * Beatrice Chia, actress and director * Annabel Chong, former pornographic actress * Chua Sock Koong, former

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group chief executive officer * Joanna Dong, singer, actress and television host * Faizah Jamal, legal academic and former nominated member of parliament * Intan Azura Mokhtar, former member of parliament for

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* Amy Khor, former member of parliament for Hong Kah North SMC * Stella Kon, playwright best known for her play " Emily of Emerald Hill" * Lee Choo Neo, first female medical practitioner in Singapore * Jane Lee, first woman from Southeast Asia to scale the

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* Lee Tzu Pheng, award-winning poet * Lim Hwee Hua, first female Cabinet minister in Singapore * Corrinne May, singer-songwriter *

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, member of parliament for Jalan Besar GRC * Judith Prakash, first female judge in the

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, national swimmer * Rahayu Mahzam, Member of Parliament for Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC * Sim Ann, member of parliament for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC * Siow Lee Chin, violinist *

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, singer-songwriter * Leaena Tambyah, founder of Singapore's first school for children with multiple disabilities * Carrie Tan, former member of parliament for Nee Soon GRC * Margaret Leng Tan, pianist * Tan Pin Pin, film-maker * Tang Pui Wah, Singapore's first female Olympian * Tay Kewei, singer-songwriter and founder of Sparkle Life Music * Jackie Yi-Ru Ying, nanotechnology scientist * Emma Yong, actress * Zhang Jingna, photographer and

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Asia honoree * Mariam Jaafar, member of parliament for

Sembawang GRC The Sembawang Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) located in the North Region, Singapore, northern area of Singapore. The GRC has five divisions: Sembawang Central, Naval Base, Woodlands, Ad ...

References

External links

Raffles Girls' School (Secondary) website

Raffles Institution website

Raffles Institution (Secondary)

Raffles Institution (Junior College)

Raffles Programme website
{{Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia schools, state=collapsed
Secondary schools in Singapore Independent schools in Singapore Schools offering Integrated Programme in Singapore Educational institutions established in 1879 Orchard, Singapore Girls' schools in Singapore Schools in Central Region, Singapore 1879 establishments in Singapore