Chung Cheng High School (Yishun)

Chung Cheng High School (Branch) (1947 - 2005)

With the start of enrollment of female students by Chung Cheng High School in 1947, student population increased significantly throughout the post war years, and the initial premise of the school at River Valley became increasingly overcrowded. In August 1947, Lin Shi Wan, Chairman of the Management Board, set up a new campus on a plot of land at Goodman Road, naming the campus Chung Cheng High School (Main) while the original school at Kim Yam road functioned as a branch school, renamed as Chung Cheng High School (Branch).^[3]

In May 1969, the School Management Committee of Chung Cheng High School and The Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan agreed on an exchange of campus land of Chung Cheng High School (Branch) with a newly built Kong Hwa Wing building adjacent to Kong Hwa School. Chung Cheng High (Branch) was relocated to 339 Guillemard Road, while the original primises at 60 Kim Yam Rd becoming part of the extension for the campus of Nan Chiau Girls' High School.^[4] In 1981, following unification of language streams by the Ministry of education, the school began to convert to English stream classes. In the late 1980s, there was an urgent need to upgrade the school facilities and to move to a spacious location. As rebuilding the school on the current 0.6 hectre land was not feasible, the school opted for relocation to a more spacious better-equipped facility.^[3][5]

Between January 2002 and 2005, the school operated at two campuses, the Guillemard site and the holding school at Sembawang Drive.^[6] Chung Cheng High School (Branch) was renamed as Chung Cheng High School (Yishun) with effect from January 2006.^[6]

Shared heritage

As a former branch school and a current affiliated school, Chung Cheng High School (Yishun) shared its heritage with Chung Cheng High School (Main). Chung Cheng High School was initially named after Chiang Kai-shek （蒋中正）,which is the longest-ruling non-royal leader of the Republic of China, as well as from the adoption of the name of the classical Chinese philosophy work “I Ching” or the “Book of Changes”.^[7] In 1940, nationalists against Mr Chuang Chulin succeeded in the accusation the latter for the disdain of the ideals of Chiang Kai-shek in the running of Chung Cheng High School, and ordered the closure of the school. Chuang, then founding princial of Chung Cheng High School, refuted the accusation in a mass school assembly, and emphasised the non-relation of the name "Chung Cheng" to the nationalist leader, reverting the initial rationales made in 1939. It was also declared in the statement that the association of the name "Chung Cheng" is out of pure coincidence.^[8]

Uniform and attire

Chung Cheng High (Yishun) adopts the same uniform with Chung Cheng High (Main), with minor differentiating features. The uniform consists of a white studded shirt with eight-pleated skirts for female students, shorts for male students in lower secondary levels, or long pants for boys in upper secondary levels. The studded shirt features two chest pockets and seven metal buttons in total, two the shoulders, two on each pocket and three down the front, a distinct feature of its heritage. The school badge and a red name tag is worn with the uniform, with the exception of councillors which features distinct badges. A blue school tie is worn during important school functions.^[9]