Victoria School

Victoria School began as an English class for 12 Malay boys established in 1876 at Kampong Glam Malay Branch School. The first headmaster was Y. A. Yzelman.[1]

In 1900, Kampong Glam Malay Branch School merged with Kampong Glam Malay School and moved to new premises at Syed Alwi Road, near the Victoria Bridge; it was therefore renamed Victoria Bridge School. It was a feeder school for secondary schools, including Raffles Institution, then the only government secondary school in Singapore, but in 1909 added Standard Five to alleviate enrolment pressure at Raffles Institution, and in 1931 became the second government secondary school.[1]

Many students left school at age 13; from 1930 to 1952 the school operated a separate Victoria Afternoon School for continuing education. School uniform was introduced by 1929 and a school library was opened in December 1929, made possible by a gift from businessman Syed Ahmed bin Mohamed Alsagoff. Also during this period, school games were formalised, with the first annual Sports Meet being held in 1915, the first annual Speech Day was held in 1916 with the first annual academic prizes being awarded, the House System was instituted in 1929 and House Prefects began in 1930.[1] The first Scouts troop was formed in 1919,[2]

At Syed Alwi, the school had a recommended maximum enrolment of 560, but there were 705 students by 1925.[1]

The Syed Alwi site is depicted on the back of Singapore's S$2 banknote in the current series.

In 1933, the school moved to Tyrwhitt Road and took the name Victoria School. In 1935, the primary classes were phased out and it became wholly a district secondary school. The school motto, Nil Sine Labore (Nothing Without Labour) was adopted before the Second World War.[1]

Singapore was occupied by the Japanese in 1942, and some members of staff were removed from the school and disappeared. The school was reopened at mid-year as a Japanese school, renamed Jalan Besar Boys' School for its street address.[1]

At war's end the school reopened with 16 pupils on 1 October 1945, one of the first schools in Singapore to resume classes. It was housed at the Kampong Glam Malay School site until May 1946 since the Tyrwhitt Road building was in use as a hospital.[1] Under R. F. Bomford, headmaster from 1948, a science block was constructed and Victoria School was said to have the best school laboratories in Singapore, attracting students from Raffles Girls' School and St. Andrew's School to science classes. It was also selected as the colony's pioneer school for audiovisual education.[1]

Post-School Certificate (present-day GCE 'A' Level) classes began in 1951, and included the first girls to attend the school. In 1955, the school achieved the best results in Singapore in the Cambridge Overseas School Certificate Examinations (present-day GCE 'O' Levels), with a 99.5% pass rate; in 1957, it had the best results in Singapore for the University Entrance Examinations. In 1969, Singapore introduced the Junior College system. Victoria School became a pre-university centre in 1979, offering three-year pre-university courses.[1]

The school building, designed by Frank Dorrington Ward, the Chief Architect of the Public Works Department who also designed the Supreme Court Building and other prominent landmarks in Singapore,[3] was upgraded in 1966.[1] It was gazetted for conservation by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in 2007. It is one of the few early city-centre schools still in existence and features two school buildings from the pre- and post-war period on a single site. The Hall-cum-Canteen Block is the only known school hall left of this style and configuration in Singapore. The site was awarded the URA's Heritage Award in 2009.[4][5] It is a marked-out historical landmark of the Jalan Besar Heritage Trail.[6] It became the headquarters of the People’s Association in 2010.[3][7]

In 1984 the school moved to 3 Geylang Bahru Lane, off Geylang Bahru. The move to the new site was marked with a 2.3 km march by 1500 present and former students, teachers and principals from Tyrwhitt Road, led by Member of Parliament and old boy Major Abbas Abu Amin.[8] Students preferred the junior colleges to the Pre-University programme, so Victoria Junior College was established that year and the school ended its Pre-University intake, with the last group of students sitting for 'A' Levels in November 1985.[1]

The school began offering the Art Elective Programme in 1985 and set up its first computer laboratory in 1986. The first Victoria Challenge was inaugurated in 1987 and the Victorian Profile began in 1991.[1]

In 1989, Victoria School was one of a small number of schools chosen to receive ASEAN scholars. After the introduction of national ranking by the Ministry of Education in 1992, the school placed in the top ten in four years of that decade. The school became the seventh Secondary Gifted Education Programme centre in 2001 and hosted the programme until 2005.[1]

Single-session schooling began in 1992 after extension of the school building the previous year. The school opted to remain a government school and not become independent; it was selected to become one of the first six Autonomous Schools in 1994.[1]

The campus at Siglap Link off Marine Parade Road, opened in 2003, incorporates a hostel and was designed on ecological principles[9] and to reflect the school's values, with roofs curved like an open book and the school centred on the library, at its opening the largest government secondary school library in Singapore.[1] The campus was selected to participate at the 9th International Architecture Exhibition at Venice, Italy.[10] The ceremonial procession to the new campus was attended by President S. R. Nathan, an old boy of VS.

In 2008, Victoria School became the first school in Singapore to offer Physical Education as a GCE 'O' Level subject.[1][11] It also became one of the first four secondary schools to offer the Regional Studies Programme, and the only one offering Indonesian.[1][12]

The school began offering the Integrated Programme through the Victoria-Cedar Alliance, together with Cedar Girls' Secondary School and Victoria Junior College, in 2012.[1][13]

Victoria Hall is a hostel consisting of two 11-storey blocks (one male and one female) within the school compound. It is next to the sea and East Coast Park, giving boarders both a refreshing sea view and convenient access to the sporting facilities at the park. It houses about 500 boarders of several nationalities, including Vietnamese, Thai and Chinese, many of whom attend either Victoria School or Victoria Junior College. Sec/Year 3 students also stay at the hostel for 6 weeks. 3 classes attend this programme in Term 1, 4 in Term 2 and 3 again in Term 3.

A S$500,000 AstroTurf field replaced the conventional field in early 2007.

The Indoor Sports Hall (ISH)) was completed in June 2009. It consists of two storeys, but the height of the building is approximately seven storeys because of the high ceiling.

The school also has an air-rifle range, a tennis cum basketball court, a fitness corner and a gymnasium.

The school is mostly covered by a Wi-Fi network (SWN) provided by the Ministry of Education for the use of teachers and students.

The Victoria School uniform is worn at all times, apart from the maroon blazer which is worn only during formal events. It consists of a white short-sleeved shirt, with either khaki short trousers (for secondary 1 and 2 students) or white long trousers (for secondary 3 and 4 students). A 'Victoria' label is sewn on the back pockets of the trousers. Secondary 3 and 4 students wear a black school belt.[14]

The school socks are white with the initials 'VS' in red on both sides. Shoes have to be at least 80% white. In 2005, an official 'Victoria School' shoe with the letters 'VS' on each side was introduced.

Victorians wear a maroon striped tie every Monday and on formal occasions. The school badge is worn above the left chest pocket. Student bodies such as the Prefectorial Board, Peer Support Board and Monitors' Council have their own badges, but the school crest remains their main feature.

For physical activities and camps, students wear a bright yellow 'bumblebee' T-shirt with black trim, black shorts with a back pocket, and white socks (PE kit). 'VICTORIAN' is printed on the back of the T-shirt.

The students are grouped into five houses, namely Glam (red), Kallang (blue), Kapor (green), Rochore (yellow) and Whampoa (purple), which compete against each other in the school's annual Sports Day, Cross-Country Championships and during Inter-house games and since 2019, Project APEX. Each house has its own running vest (singlet) in the house colours.

The Victorian Spirit is a sense of pride and belonging to the school, a fighting spirit and striving to be their best.[15][16]

The Victoria-Cedar Alliance Integrated Programme (VCA IP) is a 6-year Integrated Programme which allows VS students to bypass 'O' Levels and proceed directly to GCE 'A' levels. Students complete their secondary education in VS before joining Victoria Junior College in Year 5. VS started offering the IP together with Cedar Girls' Secondary School and Victoria Junior College in 2012, building upon the success of the 4-year Victoria Integrated Programme (VIP) started by VJC in 2005.[17] The VIP saw its last batch of students in the 2012 intake.

In 2008, Victoria School became the first school in Singapore to offer Physical Education (PE) at GCE 'O' Level, after gaining the Ministry of Education's approval in 2006. The course involves both theoretical and practical aspects, including modules on weight training, football, hockey, and cross-country running, among others.

Students take the 'O' Level theory examination at the end of the course (i.e. November of the graduating year). This examination contributes 40% of their overall grade, the other 60% coming from the practical component, assessed over a period of time.

In order to better acquaint students with the style of GCE PE lessons, PE Theory lessons are also conducted in lower secondary classes, as an examinable subject. The selection process for 'O' Level PE candidates is carried out towards the end of secondary two, and students whose applications have been approved by the PE department are notified prior to the subject combination allocation process at the end of the school year.

The Art Elective Programme leads to the 'O' Level Higher Art examination. The AEP is offered to academically good students with talent in art. For lower secondary classes, the AEP class is not entirely made up of AEP students. Usually, about a third of the class will take AEP lessons while the other two-thirds will have Home Economics or Design & Technology lessons. For upper secondary classes, AEP lessons are conducted after normal school hours.

Students in the Regional Studies Programme (RSP) learn about Southeast Asian culture and contemporary society. The curriculum includes overseas immersion programmes and structured enrichment modules spread throughout the course. Other schools in Singapore that have the Regional Studies Programme offer Malay as a third language, but since the Singapore Indonesian School is situated opposite the Victoria School Siglap campus, Victorians in the RSP programme take Indonesian as a third language.

VECTORS is a school-based talent programme aimed at nurturing students who demonstrate high abilities in mathematics and science. Students are given a wide range of opportunities to learn beyond the curriculum, including enrichment modules at junior colleges, polytechnics and universities, research mentorships and other institutions.

Thirteen sports are offered in Victoria School: badminton, cricket, cross-country, floorball, football, hockey, sailing, shooting, table-tennis, tennis, track & field, volleyball and wushu. The school also participates in the Inter-School Dragon Boat competition. Between 2009 and 2019, the school won 27 national team titles and 27 zonal team titles at the National Schools Games, and achieved a national top-four placing 170 times.[19][20][21][22][23][24] VS has won four Singapore National Olympic Council Sportsboy Team Awards, and 15 Singapore Schools Sports Council Best School Boy Awards for sports.

A number of Victorians have represented Singapore at the Olympics in hockey, track and field, and sailing.[25][26][27][28][29]

Victoria School has six uniformed groups, four national and two worldwide. They offer Secondary 2-3 students a combined UG cultural exchange trip overseas, to neighbouring countries such as Perth, Australia and Hong Kong, SAR. All have won best unit competitions in the 21st century.

• Boys' Brigade: J M Fraser Award for Excellence - 20th consecutive gold, 2017
• National Police Cadet Corps: NPCC Unit Overall Proficiency Award - 18th consecutive gold, 2017
• National Cadet Corps (Land): Best Unit Competition - silver, 2016
• Scouts - Arrow Scout Group: Frank Cooper Sands Award - 15th consecutive gold, 2019
• Red Cross: Red Cross Youth Excellent Unit Award - 9th consecutive gold, 2016
• National Cadet Corps (Sea): Best Unit Competition - gold, 2016

Former VS NCC cadets include the former Chief of Defence Force of the Singapore Armed Forces, LG Neo Kian Hong.

Passing Over Ceremony at Victoria School, circa 2005

Scouting was first started in Victoria Bridge School (present day Victoria School) when the 5th Singapore (HQ Malay) Troop was formed on 28 March 1919.[2] The 5th Troop was mentioned in the local newspaper in August 1950,[30] but appears to have been disbanded shortly after. The 6th Troop was founded in 1922,[31] when school-based Scouting was introduced in government schools. In 1932, the 6th Troop was renamed Arrow Scout Group after the Golden Arrow which BP had proclaimed in 1929's 3rd World Scout Jamboree as Scouting's symbol of peace and goodwill.

Victoria School has six performing arts groups.

Victoria School Chinese Orchestra is one of the top school Chinese orchestras in Singapore.[32] In the biennial Singapore Youth Festival (SYF), Victoria School Chinese Orchestra has always attained good results.

Victoria School Choir is one of the top school choirs in Singapore. In the Singapore Youth Festival Choral Judging Competition, the school has always attained a Gold with Honours award. It has also won gold medals in international choir competitions. In the 2012 National Day Parade, the 300-strong Combined School Choir was formed by students from Victoria School and Cedar Girls' Secondary School.[33]

• AV Club
• Photography Club
• Chess Club (consisting of International Chess Club and Chinese Chess Club)
• English Language Drama Club
• English Language Debate Society
• Infocomm Club

In The Straits Times National Youth Media Competition, VS holds the best record among all the schools in Singapore, clinching the championship twice and runner-up position three times since the competition was inaugurated in 2005.[34]

On Youth Day, Victoria School boys attempt to 'paint the town yellow' as they go round nearby housing blocks in the neighbourhood collecting old newspapers and items for disposal. The boys are clad in their yellow PT kit so that they are easily identified.

Victoria School participates in the President's Challenge every year. In 2004, each class did a specific activity to raise funds for the charity. Activities included washing cars, going door-to-door to do household chores for a donation. In 2005, the school held a watch design competition and the best designs were made into real watches and put on sale. In 2006, booklets were sold containing art by past and present Victorians.

Started in July 1987, the Victoria Challenge, conducted every four years, allows classes to identify tasks that will contribute to the school. The "challenge" itself is for classes to plan their task carefully and pledge to complete it within 24 hours. Special T-shirts have been designed for every Victoria Challenge since its inception. Past challenges have included creating miniature clay figurines, folding 3D origami eagles to hang in the library, drawing floor murals, and creating an "Arts Nook" in a corner of the school, complete with books and a piano.[35] The latest Victoria Challenge was held on 28 June 2019 to 29 June 2019.[36]

During January, all secondary one Victorians attend a three-day, two-night camp, usually held at the school, where they take part in physical, interactive and character-building activities designed to help them make new friends as well as adapt to the new secondary school environment.[40] It is facilitated by some of the secondary three and secondary four seniors.

In 2001, Victoria School became the first school in Singapore to send its entire cohort of secondary three students on an overseas camp. The camp, which used to be held typically in March, is now held in January concurrently with the secondary one and two cohort camps on farmland in Malaysia. The aim is to bond the new secondary three students and help them settle into their new classes after being streamed according to their subject combinations, as well as to expose them to life outside the confines of urban Singapore. Also, following the "EDGE" model of the school, the camp aims to "Grow" (Third letter of the acronym) the students into effective leaders as they will take over various leadership roles from the secondary four students. Rigorous activities including rafting, trekking, river-crossing and mountain-climbing are held during the camp. From 2001 to 2010, the camp was held at Kahang Organic Rice Eco-Farm, Kahang town, located near Kluang, Johor. From 2011, the location of the annual camp was shifted to Tanjong Sutera Resort, Tanjung Sedili, near the town of Kota Tinggi, Johor.

The VELOCI-T is a grueling 5-day outdoor camp that begins locally and continues overseas. It is run by external camp instructors in collaboration with selected Secondary Three junior leaders for that year. It has garnered praise for being one of the most difficult and effective leadership camps among local institutions. 100 Secondary Two students, nominated through CCA teachers and who will undertake leadership positions the following year, undergo rugged adventure activities, are trained to run camps and conduct activities commonly carried out during outdoor camps, and learn the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership through hands-on activities. Trainees have made an expedition on inflatable rafts and kayaks and climbed Gunung Arong. After the camp is concluded, the participants' performances are reviewed and those who pass are promoted to the rank of Junior Leader (JL) or, upon further application and stringent selection, Senior Leader (SL).[41] The JLs and SLs are informally called Red Shirts and Black Shirts after the shirts awarded to them. They form the backbone of student leadership in VS and play an instrumental role in rallying and organising the student population.

• Yusof Ishak: First President of Singapore, 1959–1970
• C V Devan Nair: Third President of Singapore, 1981–1985
• S R Nathan: Sixth President of Singapore, 1999–2011

• Eu Chooi Yip: Leader, Communist Party of Malaya in Singapore
• Abdul Samad Ismail: Leading Malay politician in 1950s-1960s; Founding member, People's Action Party; Malaysia Journalism Laureate
• S Dhanabalan: Cabinet Minister, 1980–1993; Member of Parliament, 1978–1996; Chairman, Temasek Holdings, 1996-2013
• Sardon Haji Jubir: Cabinet Minister, Malaysia, 1955–1972; Governor, Penang, Malaysia, 1975–1981
• Abdul Aziz Ishak: Cabinet Minister, Malaysia, 1955–1963
• Teo Ser Luck: Minister of State, 2011-2017; Senior Parliamentary Secretary, 2008-2011; Parliamentary Secretary, 2006-2008; Member of Parliament, 2006-; Mayor, North East Community Development Council, 2009-2017
• Sha'ari Tadin: Senior Parliamentary Secretary, 1972-1976; Parliamentary Secretary, 1968-1976; Member of Parliament, 1968-1976
• Ong Chit Chung: Senior Parliamentary Secretary, 1991-1993; Member of Parliament, 1988-2008
• Lim Biow Chuan: Deputy Speaker, Parliament, 2016-; Member of Parliament, 2006-
• Dr Kanwaljit Soin (Ms): First female Nominated Member of Parliament, 1992–1996

• Dr Phay Seng Whatt: Chairman, Public Service Commission, 1962–1975

• Ng Yat Chung: Chief of Defence Force, Singapore Armed Forces, 2003–2007
• Neo Kian Hong: Chief of Defence Force, Singapore Armed Forces, 2010-2013; Permanent Secretary, 2013-2018, CEO SMRT, 2018-
• Ng Chee Khern: Chief of Air Force, Singapore Armed Forces, 2006–2009; Permanent Secretary, 2014-
• Syed Mohamed Syed Ahmad Alsagoff: Commander, Singapore armed forces when Singapore was part of Malaysia, 1963–1965
• Sulaiman Sujak: Malaysia first non-British Chief of Air Force, Royal Malaysian Air Force, 1967–1976
• Tee Tua Ba: Commissioner of Police, Singapore Police Force, 1992–1997

• Dr A Vijiaratnam: First Pro-Chancellor, Nanyang Technological University, 1992–2005; Olympian (Hockey), 1956; Only person to have represented Singapore in four sports - hockey, football, cricket and rugby
• Edwin Thumboo: First Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore, 1980–1991; First Cultural Medallion (Literature) winner, 1979
• Law Song Seng: Director and CEO, Institute of Technical Education, 1982-2007

• Ahmad Mohamed Ibrahim: Singapore first non-British Attorney-General, 1965–1967
• Koh Eng Tian: Solicitor-General, 1981–1991; One of the first eight Senior Counsels appointed in Singapore, 1997

• Dr Chew Chin Hin: First and only Singaporean who had been conferred the prestigious Mastership in the American College of Physicians (MACP) for contribution to medicine in Singapore

• G Ramachandran: Prominent Indian business leader; President, Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce, 1966–1968, 1973–1974, 1982–1986
• Quek Leng Chan: Founder and Executive Chairman, Hong Leong Group Malaysia; Ranked 2nd richest in Malaysia, Forbes, 2017
• Mohamed Salleh Marican: Founder, Chairman and CEO, 2nd Chance Properties; First Malay Businessman of the Year, 1988

• Haji Sanusi Mahmood: First Mufti of Singapore, 1969–1972
• Sik Kwang Sheng: President, Singapore Buddhist Federation, 2006-; Abbot, Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery, 2004-; Founder, Buddhist College of Singapore, 2005

• Anthony Yeo: Singapore's "father of counselling"
• Ngiam Tee Liang: One of the pioneers of social work in Singapore; Nominated Member of Parliament, 2002-2005

• A. Samad Said: Malaysia Literature Laureate
• David Lim Kim San: Music educator; First Cultural Medallion (Music) winner, 1979
• Iskandar Jalil: Ceramist; Cultural Medallion (Art) winner, 1988; Berita Harian Achiever of the Year, 2002
• T. Sasitharan: Theatre practitioner/educator; Cultural Medallion (Theatre) winner, 2012
• Boey Kim Cheng: Writer/poet whose poems are on the A-level English Literature syllabus in Singapore and the O-level English Literature syllabus internationally
• Daniel Yun: Film producer; Co-produced, co-wrote and co-directed "1965", a thriller/historical film released in 2015 to commemorate Singapore's fifty years of independence
• Kelvin Tong: First Singaporean film-maker to direct a Hollywood film, The Faith of Anna Waters, 2016
• Sonny Liew: Comic artist/illustrator; First Singaporean to win the Eisner Award, 2017
• J C Sum: One of the top illusionists in Asia
• Willin Low: Restaurateur/chef who has been named as one of the world's top 100 emerging culinary stars
• Charlie Lim: Producer and singer, 2018 Singapore National Day theme song

• Lau Teng Chuan: Secretary-General, Singapore National Olympic Council, 1995-2002
• N Ganesan: Chairman, Football Association of Singapore, 1976-1982
• Abbas Abu Amin: Chairman, Football Association of Singapore, 1989-1991; Member of Parliament, 1980-1991
• Choo Seng Quee: Former national football coach; Coach of the Year, 1977; Only person to have coached national teams of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia
• Kesavan Soon: Olympian (Athletics), 1956; Only schoolboy to represent Singapore in 1956 Melbourne Olympics
• Tan Wearn Haw: Olympian (Sailing), 2000; Youngest person to helm a national sports association, 2011
• Calvin Kang Li Loong: Olympian (Athletics), 2008
• Gary Yeo Foo Ee: Olympian (Athletics), 2012