Hwa Chong Institution
Hwa Chong Institution (华侨中学|t=華僑中學) (HCI) is an independent school in in Bukit Timah, Singapore. It covers both secondary and pre-university levels.
The school's address is 661 Bukit Timah Road. The nearest MRT station is Newton. The Principal is Dr Hon Chiew Weng, and the Vice-Principals are Chin Bee Kuan, Chan Kwok Leong, Chung Wen Chee, Tan Pheng Tiong, and Yeo Hwee Joo.
The mission statement is "With our blend of tradition and innovation, we nurture leaders in research, industry and government, who have the integrity, wisdom, passion and vision to succeed in the global environment and serve our nation."
HCI operates under the Special Assistance Plan (SAP) for bilingualism, and offers the Integrated Programme (IP) and also the School Based Gifted Education Programme (SBGEP). The main 72-acre campus is shared between Hwa Chong Institution, Hwa Chong International School, the institution's boarding school, and the Bukit Timah campus of SIM University. The campus is much bigger than most schools in Singapore and the region.
Previously two separate but affiliated schools, the Chinese High School and Hwa Chong Junior College, HCI was the result of a merger on 1 January 2005. The change was in line with the Ministry of Education's introduction of the IP, whereby students undertake a six-year "through-train" education and bypass the traditional GCE 'O' levels. In spite of the merger, the secondary school section remains boys-only, while the pre-university section is co-educational. There are about 4,000 students in total.
HCI has produced 50 President's Scholars. Some of its research and leadership development programmes have gained international accolades;[1] British educator Edward de Bono has referred to HCI as the "Eton of the East".[2] Virtually all the students go on to leading universities, with a strong entry each year to Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, MIT, Stanford, and Berkeley. The school's extra-curricular achievements include championship-winning sports teams in track-and-field, gymnastics, water polo and judo.[3]
Uniform and discipline
In the secondary school section, students in Secondary 1 to Secondary 3 inclusive must wear a white short-sleeved shirt with khaki short trousers and white socks, which must cover the ankle, and white shoes. Only Secondary 4 students are permitted to wear long trousers, with a beige shirt.[4]
Students earn demerit points for poor behaviour. Accumulated demerit points can affect final grades and eligibility for certain awards.[5] The student handbook states that, for serious offences, male students at Hwa Chong Institution may be punished with detention, suspension, caning or expulsion. Only the Principal or Discipline Master (previously Mr Jeffrey Lim) may administer corporal punishment, which consists of a maximum of five strokes of the cane.[6] Students found smoking are immediately caned or suspended or both.[4] Caning may also be given for integrity-related offences (e.g. cheating, stealing, lying, forgery), uncivilized behaviour (e.g. harrassment, defiance, vulgarities), and criminal offences (e.g. fighting, bullying, vandalism, pornography, extortion).[5]
The student to be caned assumes a bending-over position and the strokes are inflicted across the seat of the shorts or trousers. In many cases the punishment is carried out in front of the boy's classmates.
CCA achievements
In 2011 HCI won "Gold with Honours" in Chinese Drama and String Ensemble at the Singapore Youth Festival.
References
- ↑ "20 World Championship Titles (2006-2010)", Hwa Chong Institution.
- ↑ Edward de Bono's message, 9 November 1997.
- ↑ 2008 CCA Achievements, Hwa Chong Institution.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Rules & Regulations, Hwa Chong Institution. This policy is a partial carryover from the former Chinese High School, where shorts were compulsory also for Secondary 4 boys.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Demerit Points System, Hwa Chong Institution.
- ↑ Student Handbook 2010, pp. 13, 14, 18, Hwa Chong Institution.