St. Margaret's Secondary School

For other schools of a similar name, see St Margaret's School (disambiguation).
St. Margaret's Secondary School
圣玛格烈中学

Charity, Patience, Devotion
Address
111 Farrer Road, Singapore, 259240
Singapore
Information
Type Government-Aided, Secondary
Religious affiliation(s) Anglican
Founded 1842
Founder Maria Dyer
Principal Mdm Lee Lin Yee
School colour(s) Green, white
Alumni http://www.smesa.org.sg/
Website http://www.stmargaretssec.moe.edu.sg/

St. Margaret’s Secondary School (SMSS) is an autonomous government-aided girls’ secondary school in Singapore. It is the first girls’ school in Singapore and is often regarded as the oldest existing girls’ school in the Far East. It is affiliated with St. Margaret's Primary School (SMPS) and Saint Andrew's Junior College (SAJC), and is under the purview of the Anglican Diocese of Singapore.

It was known first as the Chinese Girls’ School, then as the Church of England Zenanah Missionary (CEZMS) School in Singapore, before being renamed St. Margaret’s School. The secondary section split from the primary in 1960 when it moved to its present location at Farrer Road.

School Motto

Charity, Patience and Devotion

The school is named after Queen Margaret of Scotland who was known for many good qualities, among them, love (charity), patience and devotion.

School Crest

The green background represents creation, of which we are a part. It stands for life and activity, creativity and growth.

The white band running diagonally across from the upper left hand corner to the lower right hand corner stands for purity in thought, word and deed.

The white cross represents the Christian mission of the school. Like a directional compass, it shows the right way to take and it points us to God's love, truth and provision.

School History

St. Margaret’s School is the oldest girls’ school in Singapore and the Far East. It was founded in 1842 by Mrs Maria Dyer, a missionary of the London Missionary Society.

In 1841, Mrs Dyer stopped in Singapore en route to China. Walking along the streets, she was horrified to see a pitiful group of young girls auctioned as slaves for the homes of the rich. These girls were the "Mui Tsai" slaves. Moved by compassion for these poor girls, Mrs Dyer resolved to do something for them. In 1842, she obtained permission from the Government to start a home for homeless girls, regardless of race, in a tiny house on North Bridge Road. The girls were given an elementary education in English, instructed in the Christian religion and were taught how to be good homemakers with cooking and needlework lessons.

The first principal was Miss Arabella Grant. For many years, this was the only girls’ school in Singapore. When Miss Sophia Cooke took charge in 1853, there were only twenty students but the school was so highly reputed for its effective character-building that many young men wrote in to the school in search of suitable wives. Miss Cooke, who started the Y.W.C.A in Singapore, was a devoted and fervent Christian and did much to raise the level of education in the school. She is synonymous with St. Margaret’s and was succeeded by Miss Gage Brown as principal.

As the number of pupils increased, the school relocated several times before finally settling at 134 Sophia Road in 1861, with a boarding house built on its grounds. It was named the Chinese Girls' School.

In 1900, the Church of England Zenanah Missionary Society took over the management of the school. In 1928, more academic subjects were introduced and students were trained to serve the wider community as nurses, teachers and in other professions. The school also had its first Science laboratory, a luxury many take for granted today.

Miss Jessie Kilgour, was the principal from 1938 -1948. She was a much-loved and respected figure in the school. She laboured hard and successfully raised the standard of the school in both academic work, games and outdoor activities.

The school was renamed the CEZMS School, which in 1939, became a grant-in-aid-school. At that time, the public had little regard for education and did not see it as beneficial for their children. By providing education for girls, the school helped to change the attitude of Singapore parents.

World War II did much damage to the school building at 134 Sophia Road but it was a place of safety for evacuees from countries such as China and the Philippines. When regular teaching resumed, the Bishop Wilson, the then Bishop of Singapore renamed the school St. Margaret's School, after Queen Margaret of Scotland.

The school soon recovered from its wartime setbacks and set about consolidating its curriculum. Miss Nora Inge became principal in 1948 and many new changes were introduced. Domestic Science became part of the school curriculum, a netball team was formed and a Girl Guides Company was incorporated. It was Miss Inge who conceived the idea of a separate secondary school.

1957 saw Mrs Martha Holloway as the new principal and after much planning and hard work, the present site at Farrer Road was chosen for the building of the secondary school. The separation of the primary and secondary schools in 1960 brought about a new secondary building in the same year. The completion of the Science Block was also made possible by the generous donation of US$50,000 by the women of the Protestant Episcopal Church of America.

The school was officially opened by the Rt Rev RF Gibson Jr, Bishop of Virginia on 20 February 1963. In tune with the changes taking place in Singapore after we gained independence, the school endeavoured to provide students with a broad-based education in the academic, physical, social, moral and spiritual domains. Soon, the school had grown so much that space for further expansion was required.

When Mrs Holloway passed away in 1965, Mrs Kon Tong Thye, the Senior Assistant took over. In July 1967, Mrs Liza Matthew George, the Senior Science teacher of St. Andrew’s School was appointed principal. The school continued to excel academically and students who participated in sporting activities won many national tennis and badminton championships in the 1980s.

In 1990, when Mrs George retired, Mrs Tan Lee Lee took over the helm. To meet the changing needs of education in the 21st century, redevelopment of the secondary school commenced in 1998. The school then moved to its temporary premises at Commonwealth Avenue.

Mrs Caroline Lee became the new principal of the school in December 1998. In December 2000, the school celebrated its homecoming to its new campus with state-of-the-art facilities back at Farrer Road. The crowning touch to this momentous event was the presence of a special guest – Dr James Hudson Taylor III, the great grandson of Mrs Maria Dyer, the founder of St. Margaret's. On 26 July 2002, 160 years since the founding of the school, the school’s new campus at Farrer Road was officially declared open by Dr Tony Tan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence.

Mrs Marion Tan was appointed principal in November 2004 after Mrs Lee’s demise in in May 2004.

For value-adding to students who join our school, St. Margaret’s was awarded several Best Practice Awards and Sustained Achievement Awards. These achievements culminated in the School Distinction Award and the Singapore Quality Class in 2008 and Autonomous School Status in 2009.

The school carved itself a niche in the Visual and Performing Arts and part of several initiatives to save and conserve our environment.

In December 2014, Mdm Lee Lin Yee took over as principal of the school. The school continues to grow under her leadership with the aim of holistically developing our students to be critical thinkers with a heart to serve the community.

School Uniform

The school uniform is a one piece dress which features a dark green polka-dotted top, a dark green skirt up to knee length and a dark green school tie with the school logo pinned at the bottom. There are also separate PE shorts, a shirt with different colours depending on different houses and a CCA skirt. White school socks with or without the SMSS logo can be worn. A name tag is worn. The only jacket allowed is the black school jacket or any plain black jacket, and earrings are restricted to plain studs of green, white, black, gold or silver. Hair accessories can only be dark green, white and black.

Notable Alumni

Footnotes

    External links

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