CHIJ Saint Nicholas Girls' School

CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls' School (SNGS)
圣尼各拉女校
德纯义坚
Simple in Virtue, Steadfast in Duty
Location
501 Ang Mo Kio St 13, Singapore
Information
Type Full school, autonomous school, SAP
Established 1933
Session Single session
School code 7118
Principal Mrs Tan Wai Lan
Enrolment Approx. 3,000
Colour(s) Blue, white
Affiliations Eunoia Junior College and Catholic Junior College
Website St. Nicholas Girls' School

CHIJ Saint Nicholas Girls' School (referred to as "SNGS", "SNG" or "St Nick's") is an all-girls Catholic primary and secondary school in Ang Mo Kio, Singapore. The school is one of 11 Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ) schools in Singapore. Its aim is the creation of a Christ-centred school community where all work together for the promotion of truth, justice, freedom, and love, with special reference to the needs of persons who are disadvantaged in any way. The school is a well-loved institution with a history of academic and sporting excellence. It was founded in 1933 originally as a Chinese school. Today, SNGS is among the top 10 secondary schools in Singapore. SNGS produced the top student for the GCE O' levels for 4 years in a row (2008-2011) before rankings by the Ministry of Education were disabled.

There is affiliation for the students of the primary division during their Primary School Leaving Examination. Students from the primary section who score less points may be accepted into the secondary sector of SNGS. The points vary every year.

History

The school's first location was in Hotel Van Dyke between 1933 to 1949. It was run by missionaries to provide education for daughters of Chinese-speaking families, including disadvantaged families and wealthy Chinese merchants alike.

In 1941, the school expanded into a full school. From only Primary classes to both Primary and Secondary classes.[1]

In 1946, the enrolment expanded and unable to accommodate all students, the school relocated to the school complex of the sister CHIJ school, Town Convent, at Victoria Street. The school remained there from 1949 to 1979.

Victoria Street and others 1972-83

In 1971, the school population had again increased to 1500. Mrs Hwang-Lee (the then-principal) appealed to the Ministry of Education for permission to relocate to larger premises. In 1979, eight years after she had first appealed, there was still no response forthcoming. She decided to call on Mr Goh Keng Swee, the then Minister for Education, to promote her cause, and permission was granted.

In 1979, the Ministry of Education had just introduced the Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools, and St Nicholas was one of the nine schools selected. The plan caters to academically-strong students with an aptitude for languages. Students in the plan are taught Mandarin, their mother tongue at a higher level than their peers.

Also in that year, a pre-primary section was opened. By 1980, the Victoria Street premises could no longer hold the whole school and some classes had to move out. They were temporarily held at the former Tao Nan School building at Armenian Street and the former Raffles Girls' Primary School at Queen Street.

Ang Mo Kio: 1985 to present

In 1982, the former Tao Nan School premises were no longer available to St Nicholas and they had to move out. The school's remaining two locations at the former Raffles Girls' Primary School and the original CHIJ building on Victoria Street did not have enough space for the entire school and a replacement had to be found urgently. Again, Mrs Hwang-Lee went to the Ministry; this time to Mr Ho Kah Leong, then Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Education.

With his help, St Nicholas was allocated to Toa Payoh. Later, a new school was built at Ang Mo Kio for St Nicholas. This school was designated Chong Boon Secondary School, but for now it would be part of St Nicholas Girls' School. Primary 6 to Secondary 4 classes were run at this location. Facilities, such as libraries, language rooms and science laboratories, had to be set up from scratch at all three locations, and staff had to shuttle between the three sites.

Finally, in 1983, the school was told to leave their premises at Victoria Street, and they were moved to a temporary building at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8; and finally, to its permanent home at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 2, Street 13. On 2 January 1985, St. Nicholas had a place to call its own again.

Temporary Relocation: 2010 to 2012

On the 14 February 2007, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced[2] that under the programme PRIME Phase 9, eight more schools will be upgraded from 2008 to 2010. St Nicholas is one of the selected for this upgrading.

In a latest circular issued [3] by SNGS dated 23 June 2008, MOE has decided to defer PRIME upgrading projects which tenders have yet to be called till after 2009. This is part of the government efforts to moderate public sector construction projects due to the high domestic construction demand in 2008 and 2009. In Mid 2012, the upgrading was completed and both primary and secondary side was reunited.

Notable alumni

Politics and Government

Entertainment

Sports

References

  1. ↑ "CatholicNews". catholicnews.sg. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  2. ↑ Eight More Schools to Benefit from Upgrading
  3. ↑ http://www.sngs.sch.edu.sg/SNGS/circulars/23JUN08%20Revised%20PRIME%20Upgrading%20Plan.pdf

External links

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