Initially named First Girls' Affiliated Japanese School of the Governor-General of Taiwan, the school was first located in modern-day Shilin District, Taipei in 1897 as the first public school for Taiwanese female students. In 1911, the school was relocated to Manka and underwent several name changes. During this early period, main subjects in the curriculum included Japanese language and handicraft art. More subjects were provided after the 1900s such as etiquette, home economics, arithmetic, music, calligraphy, painting and PE lessons. In 1922, Japanese Government in Taiwan launched its second education reform that encouraged to provide Japanese and Taiwanese students equal opportunity for secondary education. The school was thus renamed as and started a more formal secondary education structure targeting female students from grade 10 to 12. More academic subjects were also added into the curriculum during this period. In 1937, the school was relocated to the current address. The first building of the new campus was built in 1936 and is still in use today.
In 1945, Taiwan was handed over from Japan to the Republic of China. Under the ruling of the new Republic of China government, the school was renamed as Taiwan Provincial Taipei Second Girls' High School on December 8, 1945. This date became the school's anniversary which is still celebrated today. Japanese and related lessons were deleted from the curriculum while subjects like civil rights, Chinese language and culture were added and emphasized. During this period the school's student union, Chinese drama club, Western drama club, and basketball team were famous national-wide. In 1968, the school was renamed after the revolutionary leader Sun Zhongshan as Taipei Municipal Zhongshan Girls High School, commonly known in English as Sun Yat-sen.
Curriculum
160 credits are required for graduation. A credit is given after 18 hours of learning, however the number of credits for subjects vary according to the learning hours.
Schedule
Class subject distribution differs with each grade level. For example, 11th graders have 16 subjects in one semester, about 36 hours a week.
Four to five hours a week: Chinese, English, math
Two hours a week: history, geography, citizen and society, earth science, chemistry, art, PE, home economics
One hour a week: weekly meeting, class weekly meeting, club time, music, military training
Students the Humanities and Social Sciences Class have to take some other courses, such as politics, economics, philosophy, social studies, etc.
Math and Science Class
Subjects offered through the Math and Science Class include advanced biology, advanced chemistry, advanced physics etc. The members of this class are part of a science competition team and compete against students from other schools.
