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Anglo-Chinese School

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Anglo-Chinese School
Anglo-Chinese School crest, with motto The Best Is Yet To Be
Name

Anglo-Chinese School

Abbreviation

ACS

Country

Singapore, Indonesia

Founded

March 1, 1886

Community

Urban

Religion

Christian (Methodist)

Students

Boys - ACS (Junior), ACS (Primary), ACS (Barker Road) Mixed - ACS (Independent), ACS (International), ACJC, ACS (Jakarta)

Levels

Primary 1-6, Secondary 1-5, JC 1-2 IB 1-2 + Pre-IB 1-4

Colours

Red, Gold, Blue

Motto

The Best Is Yet To Be

Publications

ECHO Magazine


The Anglo-Chinese School (ACS; Chinese: 英华学校) is a family of six Methodist schools in Singapore, namely Anglo-Chinese School (Junior), Anglo-Chinese School (Primary), Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road), Anglo-Chinese School (International) and Anglo-Chinese Junior College and one in Indonesia, ACS (Jakarta).

The ACS family of schools have traditionally been single-gender schools that admit only male students. However, with the changing times, three schools - Anglo-Chinese Junior College, ACS (Independent) and ACS (International) - have also begun admitting female students. ACS (Jakarta) is also co-educational.

The school is also affiliated with other Methodist schools in Singapore, including Methodist Girls' School, Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' (all-girls institutions), Geylang Methodist and Fairfield Methodist (co-educational). The name is usually abbreviated as "ACS", with the junior college as "ACJC", and its students and alumni referred to as "ACSians" (pronounced ack-sians), or "ACS boys" (and girls, for ACJC, ACS (Independent) IB Programme and ACS (International)). In recent years, there have also been plans to expand to set up campuses overseas in countries such as China. Currently, there is an Anglo-Chinese School located at Jakarta.

School history

The ACS House along Amoy Street, the original premises of ACS.

ACS was founded on March 1, 1886 by Bishop William Fitzjames Oldham, as an extension of the Methodist Church. Its first location was a dilapidated shophouse at 70 Amoy Street with a total of 13 pupils. The name of the school came from the fact that it conducted lessons in English in the mornings and Chinese in the afternoons. By the following year, enrollment had increased to 104, and the school moved to Coleman Street. Within the next three years, its student population increased to 300.

Between 1914 and 1920, under the leadership of the Reverend J S Nagle, the school introduced regular religious (or "chapel") services and physical education classes. Afternoon classes were also established for academically-weaker pupils. In a bid to ensure continuity in school life and keep the school adequately staffed, Nagel encouraged ex-students, known as old boys, to return to the school as teachers. To this day, the Anglo-Chinese School Old Boys' Association is a link through which many old boys continue to keep close ties to the school. The Anglo-Chinese Continuation School was started by the new principal, the Reverend P L Peach, in 1925, for students who had to leave the school due to the newly imposed age limits on school-going boys by the government. Eventually, ACCS was renamed the Oldham Methodist School. A Secondary School was opened at Cairnhill.

Between 1942 and 1945, the Japanese occupied Singapore during World War II. During the Occupation, lessons were suspended, and the school only re-opened its doors in 1946, a year after the Japanese surrender and once the buildings at Cairnhill and Coleman Street were made safe from damage sustained during the war. The pre-war principal, T W Hinch, who had been interned by the Japanese during the Occupation and had been sent back to England to recover, returned to the school in June. Among his first priorities was to set up "X" and "Y" classes, each with different levels of difficulty, for students who had missed years of their education due to the Occupation. In September, 1950, the Secondary School relocated from Cairnhill to Barker Road.

Also in 1950, Post School Certificate Classes, later known as Pre-University Classes because they were supposed to prepare students for tertiary education, were set up, and the first batch of girl students were enrolled in ACS. However, students in the lower grades continued to be all male, a practice which persists to this day. Dr Thio Chan Bee, the first Asian principal of ACS, took the reins in 1952. During his tenure, both the Cairnhill and Barker Road premises saw expansion, the latter with the building of the Lee Hall, a three-storey building housing 12 classrooms and 4 laboratories.

In January, 1961, the Oldham Methodist Secondary School merged with the Secondary School at Barker Road. The school completed the construction of the sports complex at Barker Road in 1970, with an Olympic-sized swimming pool (a first in a Singapore school) and a sports hall. In 1977, the Pre-University classes moved to the newly constructed Anglo-Chinese Junior College at 25 Dover Close East , off North Buona Vista Road, leaving the Barker Road site to the Secondary and Junior schools. The Junior School eventually relocated to new premises in its old neighborhood at Cairnhill, in 1985.

In 1986, ACS celebrated its centenary with the publication of a hardback history of the school detailing its rich student and teacher life over the years, titled, Hearts, Hopes and Aims.

1988 saw another reorganization of the school. The Ministry of Education started its Independent School program that year. Independent schools are allowed to be privately funded and subject to less government regulation in setting out their curriculum. The school was renamed ACS (Independent); in 1993 the Barker Road campus was vacated and the school moved to Dover Road. After strong lobbying by alumni, the Barker Road site was retained for a second secondary school. At the same time, Anglo-Chinese Primary School abandoned Coleman Street (the old building now housing the government National Archives) to share premises with the new Secondary School at Barker Road, now named ACS (Barker Road).

The Barker Road campus was completely rebuilt in the late 1990s, with ACS (Barker Road) temporarily relocating during the project and ultimately split into primary and secondary school sections, the latter retaining the Barker Road suffix and the former becoming ACS (Primary). On 4 December 2002, the two schools, ACS Oldham Hall, the Methodist Church in Singapore and the Barker Road Methodist Church moved back to the newly built campus at Barker Road with a state-of-the-art arts centre, a sports complex, church building with, Methodist centre building and ACS Oldham Hall building, all new. It was officially opened by Deputy Prime Minister Dr Tony Tan on July 15 2003.

In January 2005, ACS (International) was officially opened to the public. A completely private school, it recruits students both from Singapore and other countries. Its students will take the International General Certificate of Secondary Education in their fourth year, then go on to take a two-year International Baccalaureate diploma from 2007. Before 2007, they will take the International A-Levels. ACS(I) has been officially authorised by the International Baccalaureate Organisation to offer the IB Diploma Programme commencing in January 2006. and is recognised as an IB World School.

ACS (Jakarta) formally joined the ACS family in July 2006. It is a co-ed IB School for students from Grades 1 to 12. It offers the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) to Grades 1 to 6 and the Middle Years Programme (MYP) for students in Grades 7 to 9. It is the first school in Indonesia to be authorised for the PYP and the second for the MYP. At Grade 10, students sit for the IGCSE and students in Grade 12 either sit for the International A Level examinations or the IB Diploma.

In 2007, ACS (Junior) will move to a new school building located at Winstedt Road.

Today there are seven schools under the Anglo-Chinese School umbrella. ACS (Junior) and ACS (Primary) are the primary schools while ACS (Barker Road), ACS (Independent), ACS (International) and ACJC provide secondary and post-secondary education. ACS (Jakarta) is the first unit outside of Singapore offering classes to boys and girls from Grades 1 to 12. In addition, there is a hostel at the Barker Road Campus, known as ACS Oldham Hall, and boarding facilities are provided as part of the ACS (Independent) Boarding School.

Aims, characteristics, and reputation

The school's stated philosophy is "To create conditions for students to embody excellence, to establish an environment for spiritual, intellectual and physical growth, to prepare pupils to meet the challenge of rapid change in society". This is reflected in the school motto, "The Best Is Yet To Be." The phrase is taken from the first line of the Robert Browning poem, Rabbi ben Ezra (1864), "Grow old along with me! / The best is yet to be...".

ACS is considered one of the more prestigious schools in Singapore. This is because of its long history and also because many of its graduates have gone on to be successful in business as well as professional fields such as law and medicine. Although morally conservative due to its religious roots, the school has a reputation for producing students with strong background in English. The literary, debating and drama societies are particularly well-supported.

The school's students have often been stereotyped as of being arrogant and snobbish, and ACS itself has often been charged as being a school only for children of the rich and well-off. In the 1970s, there was a minor flap in the local press about ACS students flaunting their wealth to other less privileged students and the world at large, and the term "snob" began being applied to them. As a result, the school initiated strict policies on how much money a student was allowed to bring to school, and even what kinds of watches or shoes would be permitted as part of the school attire, although such restrictions have been relaxed in recent times.

School Anthem and Crest

The school's anthem was written by teacher Henry Martyn Hoisington in 1926. It is adapted from the Canadian unofficial National Anthem, The Maple Leaf Forever and has served over the years as a means of bonding between students and alumni, evoking as it does memories of attending the institution.

These are the lyrics of the school anthem:

In days of yore from Western Shores
Oldham dauntless hero came
And planted a beacon of Truth and Light
In this Island of the Main
Here may it stand from year to year
Emblem of grand endeavour
The regions round echo the sound
Of ACS forever!

(chorus)
Sing ACS forever more,
Our ACS forever.
God save our land and heaven bless
Our ACS forever.

Our students hail from China's Plains
And the Land of Rising Sun
We have many sons from India's Strand
And the Islands of the Main

Our heart our hopes our aims are one
No discord e'er will sever.
We'll stand together for the cause
Of ACS forever!
(Repeat chorus)

Drawing inspiration from the anthem, Dr Yap Pheng Geck designed the coat-of-arms like school crest in 1930.

Placed in chief azure above the three letters of the school name is a golden creature with a lion's head, eagle's wings and a dragon's body with claws, representing that fact that the School was founded when Singapore was a British colony, by an American Methodist mission and during the Qing Dynasty in China. Technically, this creature is an heraldic wyvern.

The lower part of the crest consists of two panels, blue and gold, which represent heaven and earth. The colours also symbolize both spiritual and material accomplishment. The letters "ACS" in red symbolize life forming a bridge between both; they also symbolize the blood of Christ uniting heaven and earth. In addition to the school name, the letters ACS are also variously said to spell out Academic achievements, Christian Character, and Sportsmanship or Service beyond self. Finally, the overall shield shape represents the knightly virtues of chivalry, honour, loyalty, valour and manliness.

Achievements

In March, 2002, ACS became the first school in Singapore to have a flower named after it, the Ascocenda Anglo-Chinese School orchid, a hybrid created by the school to mark its 116th Founder's Day. [1]

One of the combined international achievements for ACS family of schools is the Odyssey of the Mind(OM) International Competition. In 2002, a team from ACS (Independent) emerged as Champions at the OM World Finals in the USA, beating over 700 other teams to bring the trophy back to Singapore for the very first time. In 2003, ACS (Junior) also won the Ranatra Fusca trophy, the top creativity award only given out to 5 teams at every competition. In 2004, ACS(I) achieved three National Champion titles. At the World Finals, they brought back one Silver Medal placing and two Bronze Medal placings. Again in 2005, the ACS(I) OM teams obtained a record Five Champion titles at the National Finals. At the World Finals held at Colorado, ACS(I) emerged as Under-15 World Champions and Under-20 Silver Winners, while ACJC brought back Singapore's first-ever Under-20 World Champion title. ACS (Junior) also won honourable mentions for their two fourth-place placings, while ACS (Barker Road) and ACS (Primary) also beat hundreds of other teams amongst which were regional, state and national champions.

In 2006, teams from ACS (Junior) won a record number of National Champion titles for their division. [citation needed] However, ACS still managed to produce its best-ever results, with the ACS(I)'s first ever Year 5 team winning Under-20 'World Champions, and the other two teams clinching the Under-20 Silver and Under-15 Bronze Medals.

The various members of the ACS family of schools have also won the "B" Division (Under-17) Schools' Swimming Championships for 43 consecutive years since the start of the competition in 1960. Their long reign was ended in 2003 by Raffles Institution, their traditional academic and sports rivals, but the school won back the title in 2004. ACS has the tradition of producing numerous national-level competition swimmers like Ang Peng Siong, and more recently Mark Chay.

ACS (Independent) has also dominated school rugby in Singapore. From 1997 to 2003, they have won both the "B" and "C" Divisions of the National School Championships. Their reign was brought to a halt when the "B" Division lost to rivals St Andrew's Secondary School consecutively in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

They were also champions in the International Festival of Youth Rugby 2000 in Wales and the World Minis Under-13 and Under-14 Championships 2001 in South Africa. The "A" Division (Under-19) championship was held by ACJC from 2000 until they lost to archrivals Raffles Junior College in 2004 by a narrow margin. In addition to the feats by ACS (Independent) and ACJC, the ACS Family completed the Rugby Grand Slams in 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003.

Since 2000, the ACS(I) Sailing Team has won gold medals in the annual Sailing Inter Schools Championship, having won the B and C Division titles for a number of years. [citation needed] It has also produced many internationally recognized sailors. Although Anglo Chinese Junior College's (ACJC) sailing programme has been discontinued, ACS (Barker), ACS (Junior) and ACS (Primary) have always been one of the top few Secondary or Primary Schools in the field.

ACS (Independent)'s debating team won the inaugural Youth-14 Debate Championships in 2004, with ACS (Barker Road) winning the Julia Gabriels Secondary School Debating Championships' lower division title. ACJC has also won various debating titles, including the Junior College Nationals. The ACS(I) Chess team is also one of the top school teams in Asia, having won numerous national titles, including those in the open-age categories. and Gold awards at the 2004 South-East Asian (SEA) Games.

The ACJC Band has achieved Gold awards and was judged the top band for several Singapore Youth Festival Competitions. The ACS (Independent) Band finished in the top three in both 2003 and 2005 Singapore Youth Festivals, with the ACS(I) Band obtaining Gold with Honours. Both bands have also attained Gold in overseas competitions and play for both formal school events and external functions, combining once every year to provide an evening of music at the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay.

The ACS (Independent) Chamber Orchestra achieved Gold as well in the SYF competitions for 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2005. The Orchestra is currently being conducted by the music director of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Mr. Chan Tze Law. The ACJC String Ensemble also emerged with a gold award at the 2003 and 2005 Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging, and is currently being conducted by Singapore Symphony Orchestra violinist Mr. Tan Kang Ming.

The ACS (Independent) Choir is part of the Singapore Choral Excellence Scheme, and toured Perth in 2004. It has won many accolades for the school including a Gold Award at the Singapore Youth Festival in 2005. Its conductor is Mrs Elaine Wan Chan, whose many accomplishments include composing the NDP 2005 Theme Song.

Gaining international recognition is also the ACJC Choir. Since its inception into the Ministry of Education Choral Excellence Programme, the ACJC Choir has garnered both international and local accolades. The choir has participated in choral competitions in Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. emerging with top honours in these festivals. The choir is also the only Singapore choir that was invited by the International Federation of Choral Music to represent the country at the 4th World Symposium on Choral Music. At home, the ACJC Choir is the 5-time winner of the Singapore Youth Festival "Choir of the Year" competition (2001, 1997, 1995, 1993, 1989) and holder of the "Best Junior College Choir title (2003, 2001, 1997). Most recently in 2005, the choir was accorded the "Gold with Honours" award at the SYF Choral Competition. The choir has an excellent track record of critically acclaimed performances at various diplomatic and ministerial functions and gala events. The choir is conducted by Mrs Valarie Wilson.

ACS (Independent) has achieved the Singapore Quality Award, all four Best Practice Awards (BPA) awarded by the Ministry Of Education and also recently the School Distinction Award (SDA) and the School Excellence Award (SEA). In addition, ACS (Independent) has also won Sustained Achievement Awards.

Schools

Anglo-Chinese School (Junior)

Main article: Anglo-Chinese School (Junior)

Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) is one of the two ACS primary schools in Singapore. Established in 1951 at the old Coleman Street campus, it moved to its current premises at 25 Peck Hay Road in 1985. In 2007, it will be relocating to a new building at Winstedt Road.

Its students sit for the local PSLE in Primary 6 and have the option to move on to the ACS Secondary Schools with affiliation favours.

The current principal is Mr. Peter Tan Chong Tze.

Anglo-Chinese School (Primary)

Main article: Anglo-Chinese School (Primary)

Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) is the original primary school of the ACS family, located at the Barker Road campus adjacent to the ACS (Barker Road) block. It opened in 1887 with the secondary school at Coleman Street, moving to a newly upgraded Coleman Street campus in 1961, leaving the Barker Road campus to be used for secondary and pre-university classes. In 1985, the Junior School moved to 25 Peck Hay Road, while the Primary school continued lessons at Canning Rise until 1994. It merged with the Barker Road school in that year, but in December 1998 was relocated temporarily to 9 Ah Hood Road while wating for the completion of the Barker Road campus rebuilding project. It moved back to Barker Road on 4 December 2002.

Its students sit for the local PSLE in Primary 6 and have the option to move on to the ACS Secondary Schools with affiliation favours.

The current principal is Mr. Richard Lim Chew Hiong.

Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)

Main article: Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)

Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) was opened in 1886 and is one of the two ACS secondary schools.

After receiving its independent status in 1986, the Governors felt that the school had outgrown the Barker Road campus and plans were made to construct a new building. It finally relocated to 121 Dover Road in 1992 and has stood there ever since. The campus houses a sports complex, a boarding school. The campus is currently being expanded to accommodate the new influx of IB students.

ACS (Independent) offers the GCE 'O' Levels, Integrated Programme and the International Baccalaureate, after being appointed as an IB World School in 2005.

The current principal is Dr Ong Teck Chin.

Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road)

Main article: Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road)

Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) was opened in 1994 is located at the Barker Road campus. It moved to the former Swiss Cottage Primary School while waiting for the Barker Road rebuilding project to be completed. The school ultimately divided into primary and secondary school sections, the latter retaining the Barker Road suffix and the former becoming ACS (Primary).

The current principal is Mr. Ng Eng Chin.

Anglo-Chinese School (International)

ACS (International)
Main article: Anglo-Chinese School (International)

Anglo-Chinese School (International) Pte Ltd is a private school. Students take a 6-year course, with the IGCSE in the fourth year and the International Baccalaureate (commencing 2007) in the sixth year. Before 2007, students will take the International A-Levels. The school opened its doors on January 2005 with 150 students, located in Holland Village on the former premises of the now defunct Buona Vista Secondary School at 61 Jalan Hitam Manis. The current principal is The Rev Dr John Barrett, who used to be the principal at The Leys School, Cambridge and the current chairman of the World Methodist Council.

Anglo-Chinese Junior College

Main article: Anglo-Chinese Junior College

Anglo-Chinese Junior College opened in 1977 and offers the standard two-year pre-university program of other junior colleges, with students taking the GCE A-Levels in their second year. The school is located at 25 Dover Close East. In the late 1990s, the campus was upgraded and extended and a sports complex was built. Mrs Kelvyna Chan is the current principal.

Anglo-Chinese School (Jakarta)

Main article: ACS (Jakarta)

ACS (Jakarta) was started in July 1996 as Sekolah Tiara Bangsa and formally joined the ACS Family as STB-ACS (International) Jakarta in July 2006 after a few years of collaboration. Students in Grades 1 - 6 follow the Primary Years Programme (PYP) of the IB, while Grade 10 students will sit for the IGCSE beginning their preparation in Grade 9. The IB Diploma Programme will be offered to students in Grades 11 and 12. The current Executive Director is Mr. Daryl Forde who is also the chairperson of the Association of National Plus Schools (ANPS) in Indonesia.

Prominent Alumni of ACS

See also

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