Nanyang Girls' High School


Nanyang Girls' High School is a premier all-girls secondary school in Singapore. Founded in 1917, it participates in the Integrated Programme with Hwa Chong Institution.

History

Founding

The Singapore Nanyang Girls’ School was founded in 1917 by Tan Chu Nan and Teo Eng Hock. The first principal was Mdm Yu Pei Gao, and its first premises was a shophouse at number 7 Dhoby Ghaut.
In 1921, Mdm Yu resigned as principal and six principals took occupancy of the post over a short period of time.
Chairman Lee Chin Tien, and the principal at the time, Mdm Liew Yuen Sien, developed the school further in 1927. The school was renamed as Nanyang Girls’ High School in 1930 and began operations at its new premises at King's Road the next year. The school system was altered to provide three-year Junior Middle and Senior Middle School courses.
On 8 December 1941, war in the Pacific began. The school premises were taken over by the British army and became a field office. The Japanese Army took control of the school premises during the invasion of Singapore in 1942, and caused great damage to its facilities.

Post-war development

After the 1945 Japanese surrender, the British reclaimed its rule in Singapore. The school's Board of Management, teachers, students and old girls worked together to rebuild the school and resume operations at the YMCA Building on Selegie Road.
In 1957, Nanyang Girls' High School was chosen for the NJH Face Aided School Scheme. Subsequently, Nanyang Kindergarten began operating independently in 1960 as the Government-Aided School Scheme excluded the school's Kindergarten section.
In 1978, the primary section of the school gained autonomy, and Nanyang Primary School was formed. It is still affiliated to Nanyang Girls' High School.

Attainment of SAP status

In 1979, Nanyang Girls' High School was designated as a Special Assistance Plan school, in which English and Chinese were offered as first language subjects. The school was the first to implement the Art Elective Programme for artistically proficient students in 1984. Nanyang Girls' High School became an Independent School in 1993, and became a Gifted Education Programme Centre in 1999. Nanyang Girls' High School moved to a new campus at Linden Drive on 6 June 1999. The school's late Chairperson, the then First Lady, Mrs Ong Teng Cheong officiated the ceremony. Nanyang Girls' Boarding School on Linden Drive began operating in December.

Launch of Integrated Programme

In 2004, the school began the Integrated Programme in partnership with Hwa Chong Institution, to enable academically able students to bypass their O-level exams and take a six-year course. This will comprise project work and a broad-based education, eventually leading to the GCE A-level exams.
In 2013, Nanyang Girls' High School became the first girls' school in Singapore to be conferred the Singapore Quality Award. It was also named an Apple Distinguished School in 2015.
Nanyang Girls' High School introduced the Humanities Programme in 2008, training students who are identified to be talented in the humanities. HP students are offered Philosophy, Advanced Literature, Advanced Geography and Advanced History as well as the opportunity to participate in national and international humanities-based competitions and projects. Such competitions include the Humanities and Social Science Research Programme, Moot Parliament Programme, Leadership Development Programme and various Model United Nations conferences.
The Science and Math Talent Program was introduced in 2009, for students who are gifted in Sciences and Mathematics. They are offered the Stanford EPGY Mathematics Course as part of the program.
In 2012, Nanyang Girls' High School initiated the formation of the Strategic Alliance of Global Educators with 9 other schools from Singapore, the United States, Australia, China and the United Kingdom, and organised the inaugural SAGE conference for educators from all parts of the world in August 2012. In 2014, it initiated the with 9 other founding schools from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Thailand and Brunei, and hosted the inaugural 3-day regional conference learning journey at Nanyang Girls' High School and Nanyang Girls' Boarding School. The Department of Southeast Asian Studies, NUS, was the conference partner of the event.

Principal

School culture and identity

The first school logo of Nanyang Girls' High School was a diamond-shaped motif with the school name in Chinese printed in white against a light blue background. It was designed by Madam Chen Jun Wen, a former art teacher of the school.
In 1968, the logo was changed. The diamond-shaped motif was superimposed on top of a yellow ring emblem with the words 'Nanyang Girls' High' printed on it. The ring emblem was positioned above a yellow banner printed with the school motto, in Chinese. The school motto, 勤·慎·端·朴, when translated into English, reads 'Diligence', 'Prudence', 'Respectability' and 'Simplicity'.

Affiliation

Nanyang Girls' High School is a partner school of Hwa Chong Institution, which comprises the former Hwa Chong Junior College and The Chinese High School, and the two schools frequently conduct joint programmes and activities, such as the annual Combined Sports Meet.
Additionally, it is affiliated with Nanyang Primary School and Nanyang Kindergarten and is part of the Nanyang Family of schools.

Campus

The campus at 2 Linden Drive has an area of 36,400 square metres and can accommodate about 1700 students. It is divided into nine blocks.
There are project rooms for all academic subjects. The rooms are equipped with a computer connected to the internet as well as a LCD projector. All CCA groups have a single room to themselves, except for a few performing arts CCAs like Choir and Theatre Club, which share rooms with Guzheng Ensemble and Strings Ensemble respectively, using the rooms on alternate days. The new campus is networked with broadband internet access.
There is a dance studio, a sculpture and ceramics studio, a drawing and painting studio, several art storerooms which house art supplies and digital peripherals, a kiln as well as a darkroom. The CCA Centre has a gymnasium, a gallery and a rock climbing wall. There are also tennis courts, netball courts and basketball courts, including an indoor one.
The campus has an auditorium, two lecture theatres, four computer laboratories, an iMac laboratory and a three-storey library. Each classroom is equipped with at least one networked computer, LCD projector and a visualizer. Newly added facilities include two life sciences labs, a music technology lab, and a music studio, in addition to the current lot. The library has undergone a revamp, with a new cataloguing system implemented.
In end-2016, the building extension project was completed. This new extension comprises the Performing Arts Centre Wing and the Indoor Sports Hall Wing. Designed to the concept of "Returning the Green", the extension preserves the iconic facade of the campus while providing the school with new modern facilities.

Student Activity Centre

The Student Activity Centre was the latest project undertaken by the Nanyang Student Council, together with Nanyang teachers in 2002 after the idea came from a senior student via the Pupil Suggestion Scheme. The Parent Support Group then entered the scene in 2003. The Student Activity Center, which had an official unveiling on August 16, 2004, is now a conducive place for students to hang out at after school.
After the idea was mooted by the Student Council, then-Principal Madam Mak brought up the idea to the Parent Support Group. Seeing the importance of such a project, parent volunteers in the Ad Hoc committee were given the responsibility to work with the teachers and student leaders to help the SAC become a reality.
In the SAC itself, there is a mass room which can be split into private areas by use of cushion partitions, music areas partitioned off into individual cubicles, and a video lounge for students to enjoy movies. CCAs are also able to make use of the outdoor activity area to hold small events. Young entrepreneurs are able to rent the spaces to set up their business ventures.

Makerspace

The Makerspace is a project undertaken by a group of teachers of Nanyang Girls' High School aiming to provide the students with a physical location where they can gather to share resources and knowledge, work on projects, network, and build. The idea was introduced by a teacher at a meeting after seeing many students having to work outside in the corridors with their item sprawled across the corridor floor because they didn't have a space to work in.
The Makerspace was finally carved out at the school’s car park at the start of 2016 and furnished with many modern technologies such as a 3D printer, an X-carve, a cameo, soldering machine, sewing machines and a shelf with spanners, saws and cutters of various shapes and sizes.
The space is currently used by students involved in various projects, such as the Odyssey of the Mind, Singapore Amazing Machine Challenge and Makers SIA students where students take on tasks to solve real-world problems. But everyone is welcomed to use it. They are also used to host workshops for educators such as "Teaching Prototyping via Experiential Learning" conducted by the Reactor Educator Network in February, 2017.
Teachers hope that the "Makerspace will hammer in values, such as perseverance and the spirit of improvising, in the students."

Nanyang Girls' Boarding School

Nanyang Girls' Boarding School provides activities such as formal dinners, enrichment, performances and sports. They also benefit from cultural exchange with boarders from countries like Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
The first of its kind in Singapore, the school can accommodate 500 students and provides an opportunity for students, both from Nanyang and from other schools, to experience the life of a boarder.
The school is able to house a maximum of 500 boarders in 190 rooms comprising 2-4 bedded units, air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned. Services include 24-hour security, meals and laundry.
Facilities in the boarding school include four music rooms, garden, boarders' rooms, four sports courts, dining hall, function room, student lounge, pantry, computer room and four study halls.

Academic Information

Bi-cultural Studies Programme (BSP)

The Bicultural Studies Programme is taken by students under the Special Assistance Plan Scholarship, which is offered by the Ministry of Education to encourage outstanding students, who have the interest and capacity to engage both western and eastern culture and contemporary society.

Co-curricular activities

Nanyang Girls' High School has around for the students. The activities consist of sports, performing arts, clubs and societies and uniformed groups. Students undergo rigorous training and practices in preparation for any competitions or performances depending on the CCA.
The school has done very well in the past years, repeatedly clinching titles in sports championships in inter-school competitions. The school also excels in the performing arts. In the 2011 Singapore Youth Festival, Nanyang Girls' High School clinched eight Gold With Honours and one Silver for its nine performing arts CCA in total. Students of the school's Infocomm Club often take part in infocomm-related competitions, winning prizes in various competitions such as RoboFest, Robocup Singapore Open, Code Xtreme, National Software Competition and the School Digital Media Awards.
Nanyang Girls' High School's Uniformed Groups CCAs, namely Girl Guides, National Police Cadet Corps and St. John Ambulance Brigade also stand out. The Nanyang National Police Cadet Corps Unit is one of the most respected units in Singapore, upholding long-standing Unit traditions. The Unit has been around for 52 years and excels, most notably at Campcraft, Shooting and Quiz competitions. In 2012, the Nanyang NPCC Campcraft teams clinched 2nd and 4th out of more than a hundred teams in the 2012 NPCC-HQ organised Campcraft Competition. Most recently, the Nanyang NPCC Camcraft teams clinched 1st and 3rd in the 2014 NPCC-HQ organized Campcraft Competition.
The Nanyang Debate Club is also one of the best and most notable debate teams in Singapore, clinching runner-up at The Arena, a televised national debate competition as well as in 2008's Julia Gabriel's Debate Competition. Also, they have emerged as Champions in Hwa Chong Debate Invitationals and done reasonably well at the recent NUS Challenge Shield 2009. Three speakers from the team in the Victoria Junior College Invitationals have been ranked in the Top 5 Best Individual Speakers, with one clinching the Overall Individual Best Speaker award.
The Nanyang Chinese Debate Club has also done well since the club started operation in 2006. Nanyang is the two-time champion of the annual Chinese Debating Championships, first in 2007 and in 2012. It is also the only school in Singapore to have obtained the Chinese Debate Championship title twice.
Nanyang is also home to Nanyang Dragon and Lion Dance Troupe cum 24 Drums Ensemble, the only all-girls lion dance troupe in Singapore. The troupe started operation as a CCA when it left the National Police Cadet Corps in 2007. They hold annual caiqings during Chinese New Year where they go around Singapore performing, and also take part in lion dance competitions.

Awards and Accolades

A group of five 17-year-old students topped the secondary school category of the National Science Experiment Big Data Challenge 2017.
Miss Sandra Teng Chin Yang received a Teaching Award in 2016, which honours outstanding teachers of English language, English literature and General Paper in Singapore.
The school clinched the Singapore Quality Award for Business Excellence award in 2013.

Notable alumni

Politics and Civil Service