Singapore Chinese Girls' School (SCGS) is an independent girls' school in

Novena A novena (from , "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pentecost, when the ...

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 ...

, located next to Stevens MRT station. Founded in 1899, it is one of the oldest institutions in Singapore. It offers a six-year primary education in its primary school section, as well as a four-year secondary education in its secondary school section, which was among the first secondary schools in Singapore to be accorded independent school status in 1989. Since 2013, it has partnered with Eunoia Junior College for a six-year

Integrated Programme The Integrated Programme (IP) is a scheme that allows high-performing students in secondary schools in Singapore to skip the GCE Ordinary Level (O-Level) examination (typically taken by students at the end of their fourth or fifth year in secon ...

, which allows its secondary school students to proceed to Eunoia Junior College for Years 5 and 6 and take the

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

examinations at the end of Year 6.

History

In 1899,

Lim Boon Keng Lim Boon Keng (; 18 October 1869 – 1 January 1957) was a Peranakan physician who advocated social and educational reforms in Singapore in the early 20th-century. He also served as the president of Xiamen University in China between 1921 and ...

, Song Ong Siang, Khoo Seok Wan, along with others, actively promoted a school for Chinese girls and in April 1899, SCGS was established. Lew Luk Lin was elected president but offered to vacate his seat to Lim who declined. On 3 July 1899, SCGS opened at Hill Street with an enrolment of seven girls and Mary Geary as headmistress. Lim's wife, Margaret Wong, also gave lessons in Chinese. Due to general resistance of the local conservative population who was not in favour of girls having a formal education, transportation between the school and the students' homes has to be provided by SCGS. In December 1906, SCGS relocated to another site on Hill Street due to high rental costs of the original site. On 13 July 1908, SCGS relocated again further down to the junction of Hill Street and Coleman Street with land given by the government. In 1923, the school left its premises at Hill Street (the site later became the Central Fire Station) and moved to Emerald Hill. The premises at Emerald Hill cost S$60,000. The school building was a two-storey block with 12 classrooms, an assembly hall, a staff room, and a principal's office. From 1905 to 1936, the school admitted a handful of male students, but afterwards reverted to being an all-girls school. After 1946, newly created government laws forced the school to accept girls of all races. By 1950, SCGS had an enrolment of 700 girls, which rose to 900 in 1952.

Attainment of Independent Status

In 1989, SCGS celebrated its 90th birthday and became an independent school, with more latitude to expand the curriculum. On 4 July 1994, after 70 years at Emerald Hill, the school moved to a newly built campus at Dunearn Road. In 2011, SCGS was presented the School Excellence Award, part of 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 ...

's (MOE) Masterplan of Awards, which recognises schools for excellence in both education methods and results. In addition, SCGS received the Best Practice Award for all three categories (Student All-Round Development, Teaching and Learning, and Staff Well-being) and the Outstanding Development Award for National Education. These achievements affirm the school's holistic education for the pupils as well as the capacity and commitment of the staff.

Introduction of Joint Integrated Programme

In 2012, the

announced that SCGS and five other schools would offer the

(IP). However, SCGS would continue to offer 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 ...

Programme to existing and incoming students. In January 2013, SCGS accepted the first batch of IP students in the Secondary One intake alongside new students on the 'O' Level programme. After four years at SCGS, IP students will bypass the 'O' Level examination and move on to Eunoia Junior College. The junior college was newly created as part of a Joint Integrated Programme (JIP) to accept IP students from SCGS, CHIJ Saint Nicholas Girls' School and

Catholic High School Catholic schools are parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school system. In 201 ...

starting from 2017. Besides IP students, Eunoia Junior College will also accept students from other secondary schools with 'O' Level qualifications. All students enrolled in Eunoia Junior College will sit for the Singapore-Cambridge GCE 'A' Level examination after a two-year programme.

School identity and culture

Crest

The colours of the school crest are jade and gold. This reflects her time-honoured tradition, because jade and gold in

Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...

(''Kim Gek''), which is the colloquial name for SCGS girls and alumni, and in

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

(''JinYu'') connotes a young Peranakan girl brought up and educated in the best manner. The school motto is "Sincerity, Courage, Generosity and Service." The

Yin and yang Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary an ...

aspects of the traditional Chinese culture symbol of balance are in jade and gold respectively. This symbol, which represents the universe, light, darkness, life and death, lies at the heart of the many branches of classical Chinese sciences, philosophy and medicine.

Notable alumnae

* Jennie Chua, businesswoman *

Halimah Yacob Halimah binte Yacob (born 23 August 1954) is a Singaporean politician and lawyer who held the office of the eighth president of Singapore from 2017 to 2023, making her the first woman to serve in this role. A former member of Singapore's long ...

, eighth

President of Singapore The president of the Republic of Singapore, is the head of state of Singapore. The president represents the country in official diplomatic functions and possesses certain executive powers over the government of Singapore, including the contro ...

* Janice Koh, actress and former

Nominated Member of Parliament A Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) is a non-partisan member of the Parliament of Singapore who is appointed by the president to contribute independent and diverse perspectives to parliamentary debates. They are not affiliated to any pol ...

Susan Lim Susan Lim Mey Lee is a Singaporean surgeon who in 1990 performed the first successful liver transplant in Singapore. Early life Susan Lim was born in Singapore and was educated at Singapore Chinese Girls' School and the Raffles Institution. I ...

, general surgeon *

Rui En Rui En (born Loh Rui En on 29 January 1981) is a Singaporean actress, singer and host and was once managed by Hype Records. Early life Rui En was born on 29 January 1981. Her father worked as a property agent, and her mother is a housewife ...

, actress and singer * Thio Li-ann, law professor and former

References

External links

* {{Authority control Chinese-Singaporean culture Educational institutions established in 1899 Girls' schools in Singapore Independent schools in Singapore Novena, Singapore Primary schools in Singapore Schools offering Integrated Programme in Singapore Secondary schools in Singapore 1899 establishments in British Malaya Schools in Central Region, Singapore Chinese-language schools