St. Andrew's Secondary School

Saint Andrew's Secondary School is a government-aided Anglican all-boys secondary school in Potong Pasir, Singapore. It was established in the 19th century and still operates along traditional British lines. There are about 1,500 students.

History

The school was founded in 1862 by the Reverend Edward Sherman Venn.

In 1872, the Colonial Chaplain Canon J.A. Beccles applied to the Government for financial aid, which was granted, so that in May 1872 St. Andrew's School became a grant-in-aid institution. The growing school moved from Upper Hokkien Street to Victoria Street and then in 1875 to a four-acre site on Stamford Road.

By the 1920s the school's enrolment had reached 800 boys. In the 1930s a system of prefects was instituted, and the school in this period became known for its boxing and Rugby.

A new, larger campus was opened in Woodsville in 1940. More buildings were added in the 1950s, housing both the Junior School and the Senior School.

In 1986 the secondary school moved from Woodsville to a site in Potong Pasir across the Kallang River after the Woodsville buildings were deemed inadequate for the running of both the junior and senior classes. In mid-2003, the school moved temporarily to the old Victoria School building at Kallang Bahru before returning to new buildings opposite SAJS (Junior School) in 2005 as part of the St Andrew's Village project, which brings together in one complex the Junior, Secondary and Junior College campuses.

Meanwhile the old school buildings have been conserved and strengthened for re-use as a church, winning an Honourable Mention in the UNESCO Heritage Awards in 2007.

Mrs Belinda Charles took over as Principal in 2001 at the request of the Board of Governors. Previously she was Principal of Saint Andrew's Junior College. She was also the President of the Academy of Principals, Singapore. Mrs Charles retired in December 2010 and was succeeded by Mrs Lucy Toh in 2011. Mrs Lucy Toh is the School's 15th Principal. She is the daughter of the late Senior Minister of State for Education, Dr Tay Eng Soon, and she was also a President's Scholar.

The St Andrew's Village has the first artificial rugby pitch in Singapore, shared between the secondary school and the Junior School. It opened in January 2008 at a cost of S$1 million and provides an all-weather surface.

Ethos, uniform and discipline

Students and former students are known as "Saints".

Although St Andrew's is an Anglican school, students do not have to be Christians.

The school crest includes the cross of St Andrew (the Scottish flag). The school motto is "Up And On", a phrase also incorporated in the School Song, the final words of which are "Up and On! Up Boys! truest fame/ Lies in high endeavour;/ Play the game! keep the flame /Burning brightly ever!"

There is a school newsletter, Saints Times. Every year the school also produces a school magazine which was called '"Up and On" in the earlier years, after the school motto.

The five Houses are named: Gomes, Hose, Loyfatt, Romanis and Venn.

All students wear white shirts bearing the school badge. Lower secondary boys (Secondary 1 and 2) must wear dark blue short trousers with white socks; Bermuda shorts are not permitted. Upper secondary boys (Secondary 3, 4 and 5) now wear long trousers, although Secondary 3 students have been allowed to do so only since the 1990s. The prefects in Secondary 3 and 4 wear white long trousers. The school tie is to be worn on Mondays and at special events.

The school regards its system of Prefects as an important element in maintaining an ethos of service and high standards of conduct.

The school's Pupil Welfare Department aims to create a sense of belonging and promote moral education and community service.

Saint Andrew's maintains strict rules for behaviour inside and outside school. There is a new system of demerit points, used in combination with the school's long-standing policy of corporal punishment in the form of strokes of the cane. For 3 or 4 demerit points the penalty is Corrective Work Action or caning on the palm of the hand. Five or more demerit points mean a caning across the seat of the trousers.

St Andrew's is unusual for a Singapore school in that canings may be applied on the palm of the hand as well as across the seat. Canings on the hand are less serious and are for relatively trivial offences. Posterial caning is the norm for offences of any significance. Sometimes both are combined, as when a student gets two strokes on the hand and two on the seat.

These corporal punishments are usually carried out by Mr Jimmy Koh (Discipline Master) or by Mr Jeffrey Au or Mr Fahmy.

Students who are late to school four times in a term receive a caning, and are caned again on each subsequent lateness for that term. Students caught smoking or in possession of tobacco products are referred to the Health Science Authority to be fined and counselled, as well as being caned across the buttocks. For very serious offences such as drug abuse, or a second or subsequent offence of fighting or gangsterism, the caning is delivered in front of the whole school ("public caning"); otherwise it may be carried out in class, such as for a first offence of fighting or bullying. Public caning on the buttocks is also administered whenever a case is referred to the police. For a repeat serious offence the student may be publicly caned and then either suspended or expelled.

After a series of bullying cases attracted attention in 2003, the school stated that the situation at St Andrew's was no worse than at any other school, adding that bullies receive a stern warning; repeat offenders or those who injure others are caned and, ultimately, expelled. Any SASS student bringing pornography to school is caned either in public or in class, depending on the seriousness of the case.

For cases where the offence has a victim or where there is conflict to be resolved, a system of Restorative Practices is in place. "In the process of resolving the conflict, the offenders are asked to suggest the appropriate consequences for their action, which may include any form of punishment. However, any students who fail to co-operate with the teacher will be dealt with differently."

Academics

In 2008, St Andrew's was one of eight schools in Singapore to offer three new subjects at GCE O Level: Creative 3D Animation, Fundamentals of Electronics, and Introduction to Enterprise Development.

In 2009, St Andrew's gained an Academic Value-Added Sustained Achievement Award from the Ministry of Education.

In 2010 the school was commended for including the St Andrew's River Programme in its Science curriculum. Students investigated the impact on the Kallang River eco-system and water quality of the building of the Marina Barrage and the enclosure of the Marina Basin.

From 2011, St Andrew's offers enhanced enrichment courses for upper secondary students taking GCE O level in art.

In 2011 the school won the Special Lee Hsien Loong Award for Innovations in Normal Course.

Sporting achievements

St Andrews is one of the "Big Three" rugby schools in Singapore, along with Raffles and Anglo-Chinese. The school has won the National Under-17 B-Division rugby championship (The Police Cup) 19 times since 1970, most recently in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2009. It also held the Kiwi Cup from 2007 to 2011 inclusive.

The school has been awarded Niche Status in rugby by the Ministry of Education.

It is also strong in hockey. It was the B Division boys' hockey champion in 2005 and 2008, and the C Division boys' hockey champion in 2010.

In cricket, St Andrew's were under-17 champions in 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2003.

External links

• Official website
• School National Cadet Corps

See also

List of schools in Singapore