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Catholic High School, Singapore

Coordinates: 1°21′17″N 103°50′41″E / 1.35472°N 103.84472°E / 1.35472; 103.84472
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This is about Catholic High School (Singapore). For other schools, see Catholic High School (disambiguation).

Catholic High School (公教中学) is an all boys' school in Singapore offering primary and secondary education leading up to the GCE 'O' Levels. The school was founded in 1935 by Rev. Fr. Edward Becheras on the philosophy of producing bilingual scholars who are fluent in both English and Chinese.

Catholic High School is dedicated to the total development of bilingual individuals with integrity who are able to perform to their fullest potential through an all round education. To date, the school has produced 19 President's Scholars and numerous recipients of other scholarships. Many of its alumni are prominent members in the public and private sectors. The school is also consistently ranked in Bands 1 and 2 of the 'O' Level rankings in Singapore, which places it among the top schools in the country.

The current Principal of the school is Mr Lee Hak Boon, with three Vice Principals: Primary section - Mrs Chaillan Mui Tuan; Secondary section - Mrs Tay Chen Lai; and Administration - Mr Daniel Teo Guan Teck. The Supervisor is Father Henry Siew, parish priest of St Anne's Church.

Overview

Catholic High is a Government-Aided, Special Assistance Plan (SAP) and Autonomous school. This means that the school takes in the top 10% of each primary school leaving cohort, to develop them in both English and Chinese. Being an autonomous institution, the school has, to a certain extent, autonomy in planning courses and curriculum.

The school has changed its location several times since it was founded. It was located at Queen Street (in St. Peter and Paul Church), Gentle Road, Bishan Street 12 (co-locating with Guangyang Secondary) and Bright Hill Drive previously and is now at its permanent home in Bishan Street 22.

In 2005, Catholic High hosted the United Nations Peace Monument for Asia. In addition, the Tablet PC Programme was introduced for the Secondary Two cohort as Catholic High School became one of the first schools in Singapore to emulate e-learning pioneer, Crescent Girls' School, in adopting this programme.

School's History

The school was founded in 1935 by the late Reverend Father Edward Becheras, a French missionary. It is a Catholic institution but takes in both Catholic and non-Catholic students. The school had a humble beginning within the Church of St Peter and Paul at Queen Street . To cope with the enrollment demand, it was relocated to its present site in Bishan in 1992. Reverend Father Becheras envisioned the school as an institution of learning, and especially for acquiring bilingual competence. His enunciation - "The way of Catholic High School is a way made of two rails - Chinese and English, free from any entanglement, straight to its end. Happy are those who follow. They shall obtain the scope of a sound education" - remains firmly as a cornerstone of the school's philosophy.

Catholic High School was recognized as a Special Assistance Plan school in 1979. This enables students in the top 10% of the cohort to take both English and Chinese as their first language. The school was awarded Autonomous status in 1995.

The Primary section offers the Gifted Education Program (GEP).

School Supervisors

  • 1935 - 1957: Rev. Fr. Edward Becheras
  • 1957 - 1961: Rev. Fr. J B Itcaina
  • 1962 - 1964: Rt. Rev. Mgr. Noel Goh
  • 1965 - 1966: Rev. Fr. Matthias Tung
  • 1966 - 1967: Rt. Rev. Mgr. Noel Goh
  • 1967 - 1969: Rev. Fr. Matthias Tung
  • 1970 - 1983: Rt. Rev. Mgr. Noel Goh
  • 1984 - 2006: Rt. Rev. Mgr. Francis Lau
  • 2006 - Present: Rev. Fr. Henry Siew

School Principals

  • 1935 - 1950: Mr Yao Kwok Wah
  • 1950 - 1956: Bro. J. Philippe Wu
  • 1956 - 1958: Bro. Subran Sun
  • 1959 - 1960: Bro. Marcellin Sheng
  • 1960 - 1974: Bro. Joseph Dufresse Chang
  • 1975 - 1983: Mr Yap Koon Chan
  • 1984 - 1990: Mr Tan Kiok Ngiap
  • 1991 - 1993: Mr Liaw Beng Teck
  • 1993 - 1997: Mr Loke Kay Khee
  • 1997 - 2002: Mrs Goh Hwee Choo
  • 2002 - Present: Mr Lee Hak Boon

School Motto 亲爱忠诚 敬业乐群

Care, Honesty, Service

  • Care - Showing love for one's nearest next of kin, one's fellowmen and all living things. This is a manifestation of the spirit and essence of traditional Chinese culture.
  • Honesty - One who wishes to attain a whole personality ought to be honest, faithful, sincere and to be imbued with other fine virtues.
  • Service - The ability to serve springs from one's recognition of being part of a community and one's responsibility to his fellow human beings.

Meaning of School Crest

(adapted from the student handbook)

Blue Colour
The blue colour symbolises the infinite and boundless universe in which Man is free to think and choose how best to spend his time to develop his character as an individual who does not wall man off his community, and simultaneously does not suffocate his own individuality. His own entity in humanity is a lesson of good faith by trust in God.

The Cross
The Cross represents Jesus Christ who suffered and died for the salvation of all mankind. It is a reminder that we must shoulder our responsibilities to society and to ourselves patiently. To this end, shall we reap the fruits of the labour of love such as peace, joy, forbearance, temperance and brotherly kindness.

The Light
The light signifies that Jesus Christ is the light of the universe. The light of Jesus shines far and wide so that we may behold His manifestations. It also illuminates for us the correct and righteous path so that we may walk boldly and wisely if we but trust and love him.

Morning Assembly

School Anthem is in Chinese - English Translation below :

Catholic High School stands tall,
On this island of Singapore;
Serene and picturesque are its precincts,
And to Heaven does its spire soar.
Propagating cultural heritage: East, West and more.
Striving towards excellence is our very goal.
Promoting bilingualism benefits one and all.
Cultivating virtues as steadfast as mountains admidst turbulence.

Diligent are the boys in scholastic pursuits,
Joyfully they sing, play and grow,
Never slackening in life-long learning,
Never departing from social mores.

Through the clear sky the white clouds float,
Into the deep sea the green waters flow.
On this tropical island,
We build a nation, forever strong and free,
Reaching out together from here to eternity.

The Morning Assembly, held in the Open Plaza or the Hall, consists of the National Anthem, Pledge, Students' Vision; followed by the prayers, Morning Devotion and the announcements. The daily Morning Devotion is read out during the morning assembly at the start of each day.

After the prayer, a student comes up (rotated between classes) to give the 'Morning Devotion'. This is an inspirational speech aimed at educating the students to improve their lives. To expose the students to the Chinese language, the morning programme is conducted in Chinese on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in addition to English.

Occasionally, a teacher will replace the student to speak about current observations of the world and his or her views. These talks are meant to engage the students in analytical skills.

Relections about the talk are done in the Student's Handbook.

Every Wednesday, a class (rotated) will go on stage to present an item to the school. This item is up to the classes' creativity and has ranged from a rock band to a guzheng performance.

School Campus

Catholic High sits on a 6 hectare plot of elevated land at Bishan St 22. It's coordinates are 1°21'17"N, 103°50'41"E. The $32 million campus comprises of 3 sections. The Secondary Section, which comprises a 5 storey High School block which runs alongside the track and field; The Plaza section, which comprises 2 air - conditioned halls and a Plaza, and Canteens which are built beneath the Halls; and the Primary Section, which comprises the Primary block and Plaza.

Many facilities are available on campus. The 2 air conditioned halls, auditorium and lecture theatrette allows for performances, talks and lectures in a comfortable environment. When it comes to sports facilities, the school has an Olympic-standard 6 lane running track, a softball diamond and open field for softball matches and Physical Education lessons, 2 open air tennis courts, 2 basketball courts, a discus cage and 2 sports gyms. The 2 halls can be converted to volleyball or basketball courts when the need arises. The school is also a wireless hotspot. This allows students and teachers to access the internet wirelessly anywhere on campus.

The computer laboratories in the school can be accessed by students during recess and after school. The computers in the computer labs all run on Windows XP Professional operating system. In addition, the iMedia Club also has a recording studio, which houses 2 PowerMac G5s, recording equipment, and an iMac Lab which consists of iMac G4 computers. Students are allowed to have access to the iMac lab after seeking permission.

The school has a student lounge and pool room for pupils to relax. Apart from that, numerous sculptures dot the school complex, works of art often with deep symbolical meaning in them. The school also has a professional media recording and editing studio, which is run by the iMedia club. Students who participate in the Catholic High Music Awards get a chance to experience a professional recording session. Other than recordings, this is where most of the video productions that iMedia undertakes.

Upgrading of campus

The Catholic High campus will go through another round refurbishment and upgrading, in addition to the previous overhaul of the campus.

Works that will be done include: 1) A multi million dollar sports complex, which will consist of an indoor air conditioned basketball court with spectator stands, and shelters on a portion of track with spectator stands. 2) Multiple Local Area Network (LAN) centers to allow students to relax with games will be built around campus, after student suggestions. 3) Repainting of all student classrooms and changing of lockers to built in ones.

Emphasis on bilingualism

Being a SAP school, Catholic High puts a lot of emphasis on both Western and Eastern Culture.

Appreciation of Chinese Culture (ACC) lessons are held weekly to help students get in touch with their Chinese roots. These lessons are often meaningful with themes and morals inside them to help students improve their lives.

The annual Bicultural Fest consists of talks and courses conducted by teachers and external agencies about the different aspects of Western and Eastern culture, including tea/coffee appreciation classes, Western/Eastern architecture and dining etiquette. Film screenings of popular English and Chinese movies are carried out to complement the entire Bicultural Fest.

In July 2007, Catholic High introduced a new special academic award - the Catholic High Bilingual Scholar award. This award, which is funded by the CHSOBA, rewards students who perform well in both their English and Chinese examinations with a $50 000 grant to allow them to pursue attachments with educational and research institutes, including Stanford University and A*Star Research centre.

School Uniform

The uniform comprises the Standard Uniform and the PT Kit.

Standard uniform
A white shirt comprises the top. There are 2 chest pockets at the chest and epaulettes on the shoulders. The epaulettes, pockets and the front of the shirt are buttoned up using metallic buttons that has "公中" inscribed on them. For Secondary students, the metallic school crest is pinned on the left chest, above a colour coded name tag. (Green, Yellow, Red and Blue) symbolysing the different levels. For primary students, the uniform is roughly the same except that the name tag and the school crest are made of cloth and the name tag is on the right side. As the old manufacturer of the uniforms made it too thick, many students are now switching to other manufacturers.

Olive green Bermuda shorts comprise the bottom of the uniform.

In the Secondary section, students who are Class Chairmen wear a different crest which has the word "Class Chairman" on a yellow background, prefects wear the crest with "Prefect" against a black background, and Student Councillors, "Councillor" against a red background.

Olive green ties with the school crest emblazoned on are worn by all Student Leaders daily and students attending the Assembly programme on Wednesday afternoons.

In the Primary section, students have a sewn-on school crest, while Monitors have a metallic school crest with "Monitor" on a yellow background, and Prefects - "Prefect" against a red background.

Red ties are worn by all Prefects daily and olive green ties are worn by students on Mondays.

PT kit
The PT kit comprises a white top with yellow sleeves, and blue shorts (Secondary section) or green shorts (Primary section).

The top has the school crest emblazoned on the top left hand corner. The words 'Catholic High' in English and Chinese, written in green, is emblazoned on the back.

The blue or green shorts have a miniature school crest emblazoned on the bottom left hand corner.

House shirts
House shirts are worn during Inter-school activities such as the Sports Nite and Cross Country. This is to foster bonding and camarederie among the students. The house shirts are named after former principals of Catholic High, who have contributed significantly to its growth as a world class institution. The house shirts are similar to the PT shirt, the difference being the colour of the sleeves and the house name emblazoned on the back.

Secondary 1 students are grouped into their individual houses at the start of the year.

  • Joseph (Yellow sleeves)
  • Phillippe (Red sleeves)
  • Noel (Green sleeves)
  • Edward (Blue sleeves)

Albeit for extra curricular activities, all students are required to wear only white socks and shoes. Socks must be strictly at least ankle length.

Catholic High School is the only full school in Singapore that has students from Primary 1 to Secondary 4 wearing shorts as a preservation of the culture in previously Chinese-medium schools. It is also one of the few secondary schools in Singapore that require students to wear name tags, colour coded to indicate academic level. The colours are: green, yellow, red and blue. By way of tradition, the following Secondary 1 batch will don the colour of their graduating Secondary 4 seniors.

Student Leaders' Board

The Catholic High School Student Leaders' Board consists of the Students' Council, the Prefectorial Board and the Class Management Committee. The Students' Council (SC) is mainly in charge of the welfare of the student body, the Prefectorial Board (PB)in charge of mainly the discipline and running of the school, and the Class Management Committee (CMC) revolves round the class spirit and bonding. All three boards complement each other in the unified Student Leaders' Board (SLB).

Events organised

Events and activities organised by the SLB include Teachers' Day Celebrations, SLB Investiture and Secondary 4 Graduation Night. The SLB also co-ordinates in events such as the Open House, Parent-Teacher Meetings and Sports Night.

CCA Achievements

Sports

  • Basketball C Division -National 1st (2007)
  • Basketball B Division –National 1st and South Zone 1st
  • Basketball C Division –National 1st and South Zone 1st
  • Cross Country C Division – National 1st
  • Golf C Division – National 3rd
  • Softball B Division - National 3rd and South Zone 3rd
  • Softball C Division - National 1st and South Zone Champion
  • Table Tennis B Division - National Top 8 and South Zone 4th
  • Table Tennis C Division - National 4th and South Zone 3rd
  • Tennis B Division - National 3rd
  • Tennis C Division - National 4th
  • Track & Field C Division - National 5th and SPH Relays 2nd
  • Volleyball C Division - National 1st and South Zone 1st
  • Wushu B Division - National 3rd
  • Wushu C Division - National 1st(2006)

Uniformed Groups

  • Scouts - 12th consecutive Frank Cooper Sands Gold, Numerous Chief Commissioner Awardees, 49 President Scouts Awardees
  • NCC Air – Gold, 2 SAF-NCC Awards
  • NCC Land - Gold, 2 SAF-NCC Awards
  • NPCC – Gold, 5 SPF-NPCC Awards
  • St John Ambulance Brigade – Silver, 3 Chief Commissioner’s Awards

Aesthetics Groups

2005 Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) Central Judging

  • Edward Becheras Choir – Gold With Honours
  • Symphony Band – Gold With Honours
  • English Drama – Gold
  • Chinese Orchestra – Gold
  • Chinese Drama - Gold
  • Modern Dance – Silver

2007 Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) Central Judging

  • Edward Becheras Choir - Gold With Honours
  • Chinese Orchestra - Gold With Honours
  • English Drama - Gold
  • Modern Dance - Gold
  • Symphony Band - Silver
  • Chinese Drama - Silver


More about Achievements

In 2004, the Edward Becheras choir won the top prize (Laureate of the Festival) in the 14th International Festival of Advent and Christmas Music with Petr Eben Award in Prague, which led to an invitation to perform in Guangzhou, China the following year. The Catholic High School Symphony Band also did well enough to gain a silver at the World Music Festival in Netherlands in 2005. Catholic High also did exceptionally well in the 2005 Singapore Youth Festival, winning many gold-with-honors and gold medals, especially in the choir, band, Chinese orchestra and English drama categories.

Catholic High also can boast of a proud debating tradition, with five Singapore national team speakers hailing from the school, as recently as 2006. The most successful debating team in Singaporean history (circa 2003) had two speakers who hailed from the 2001 Catholic High School team. Following an illustrious run in the Nationals in 1999, 2001 and 2003 that ultimately came to naught, it won the National University of Singapore Vice Chancellor's Shield and the Victoria Junior College Debating Invitationals in 2003 and 2004 respectively. This was followed up with an unprecedented top 4 finishes in many competitions in 2005. In 2006, it broke first in the top-tiered Singapore Secondary School Debating Championships (A Division) beating a host of other top schools including the Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) and Methodist Girl's School, leaving it as a favorite for the national title before suffering a shock defeat to Nanyang Girls' High School on 24 March to put to an end, hopes of ending a three year title drought. Since then, it has gone on a turnaround, beating Raffles Junior College to advance to the semifinals of the British Council-Debating Association Zero Carbon City Debates where it was defeated by Victoria Junior College. On 22 July, the team reached their first final in 30 months when they lost narrowly to Raffles Institution in the finals of the Hwa Chong Junior College Debating Invitationals. On 9 December 2006, 34 months of going without a title came to an end when they picked up the Victoria Junior College Debating Invitationals Champions' League Shield, beating Singapore Chinese Girls' School 3-2 in the final. On March 30 2007, the team broke a four year duck of not breaking into the semi-finals of the Singapore Secondary School Debating Championships when it beat Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) to enter the semi-finals. 2 weeks after that, on 13 April, they beat Methodist Girls School, who were champions the previous year, by a 3-0 margin to advance into the Grand Final. On April 27, they lost to Singapore Chinese Girls' School 4-1 in the Grand Final of the 'A' Division.

Due to exceptional hard work and support, the softball team improved greatly within 2 years to become the National Champions (in 2004), but the team is often criticized for playing mechanically and without flair or style. There are many other promising faculties in the school, such as its basketball team which did exceptionally well in 2006. Catholic High won the 2005 B Division championship, however their C Division clinched fourth, falling to South-Zone powerhouses Gan Eng Seng Secondary and Raffles Institution several times during the tournament. The C Division team then went on to win the National Title, crushing Jurong Secondary School by 80-47.

Collaboration

Students from Catholic High School often have activities where the High School and Primary sections come together. These include those in the CCA aspect, where the Bands and Chinese Orchestras from both sections come together for practices, as well as the Softball and Track and Field teams from both sections that have combined training sessions. The Student Leaders' Board of the High School section also conducts training sessions for their Primary section counterparts.

Catholic High School Student Leaders' Board has also organised a number of Student Leaders' Conventions with schools like St. Joseph's Institution, CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls' School and CHIJ Secondary (Toa Payoh). These conventions allow Student Leaders (Prefects, Councillors and Class Monitors/Chairpersons) from schools all over Singapore to interact and learn from one another.

Catholic High Alumni

Alumni Website

The school prides itself on having a close relationship and strong areas of collaboration with her Old Boys Association. The CHA has been very active and supportive in the school's programmes, especially in funding many local/overseas enrichment programmes for students as well as staff development programmes for teachers. The CHA offers the OBA Founders' Scholarships for outstanding Catholic High students. Members of the CHA also volunteer as guest speakers at assembly talks, mentors for CHA scholars and advisors for special projects such as the OBA-CH Innovative Problem-Solving Competition using IT and the IT Challenge Programme, etc.

Notable alumni

  • Sculpture of Rev. Father Edward Becheras, with a high school and primary school student.
    Sculpture of Rev. Father Edward Becheras, with a high school and primary school student.
  • Back porch of Catholic High
    Back porch of Catholic High
  • Catholic High track, with basketball sculpture in foreground
    Catholic High track, with basketball sculpture in foreground
  • School Plaza and Halls
    School Plaza and Halls
  • Rock Wall
    Rock Wall
  • High school block
    High school block

Trivia

Catholic High School's current principal is the husband of the principal of Crescent Girls' School, Mrs Lee Bee Yann.

Catholic High School is also known as the 'brother' school of CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls' School.

Affiliation

Catholic High School (Primary and Secondary) is affiliated to:

1°21′17″N 103°50′41″E / 1.35472°N 103.84472°E / 1.35472; 103.84472

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