Raffles Girls' School (Secondary)

Raffles Girls' School (Secondary)

Filiae Melioris Ævi
Daughters of a better age
Location
20 Anderson Road, Singapore 259978[1]
Information
Type Independent
Established 1879
Sister school Raffles Institution
Session Single
School code 3008
Principal Mrs Poh Mun See
Gender Girls
Enrolment Approx. 1800
Colour(s) Green, black, white
Website Link

Raffles Girls' School (Secondary) is an independent girls' secondary school in Singapore. RGS was recognised by the Ministry of Education in 2006 by being awarded the School Excellence Award (recognising schools with 'exemplary school processes and practices'), among other awards.[2] It has been consistently ranked as one of the top secondary schools in Singapore.

It was also one of the first few schools to offer the Gifted Education Programme.

It is not officially affiliated with Raffles Girls' Primary School, despite having a common history.

History

Before Raffles Girls' School became a school in its own right, it existed as a part of Raffles Institution (RI).

The department for girls was opened in the RI campus of Bras Basah Road on 4 March 1844 with 11 students, 5 day-scholars and six boarders, who were clothed, fed and instructed by the institution itself. The demand for education grew and in 1847, the school moved to RI's eastern wing, extending towards Bras Basah Road. In 1871, the school moved into a house, the George Family's Old Mansion at the corner of Bras Basah Road. In 1879, the school separated from RI and Miss Nelson was appointed the school's first headmistress. Together with three assistants, she ran the school which had an enrolment of 77. Since then, 1879 has been officially regarded as the year of the founding of RGS.

From 1882 onwards, English speaking boys were admitted to the lower, middle and primary classes. This was discontinued in 1927 due to the increasing demand for accommodation for girls. The Raffles Old Girls' association was formed on 7 July 1950. The school motto was introduced in 1953, with the school's first annual Speech Day held on the same year.

RGS became a government school in 1903. In 1928, the school moved to Queen Street but was forced to vacate the premises during the Japanese Occupation in World War II. The building was occupied by the Kempeitai as its headquarters during the war years. After the war ended in 1945, the school was re-opened and temporarily housed in St. Anthony's Convent. In 1946, it returned to its Queen Street building. In 1959, the primary and secondary sections of the school were separated and the secondary section moved to Anderson Road, while the primary section was renamed Raffles Girls' Primary School (RGPS) and remained in Queen Street till 1979 when it too moved to larger premises on Holland Grove Road. The secondary school stopped offering 'A' level courses in 1983, and the Gifted Education Programme started in 1984. The school later moved to a holding school located at Jalan Kuala in 1988 and moved back to a new building at Anderson Road on 1 November 1992, becoming independent on 1 January 1993. In 1994, the RGS chapter was formed, to replace the Women's Rafflesian Chapter.

The curriculum when the school first started was confined to basic skills like reading, writing, needlework and cookery, as the focus of the school in the past was to equip girls with the tools to become an educated wife. The curriculum now comprises the sciences, humanities and aesthetics. All students are also required to have lessons in Philosophy, one of the notable features of the Raffles Programme.

Raffles Girls' School currently has 1,800 students and staff. It will be moving to a new campus opposite Raffles Institution from 2018.[3]

Features

Uniform

The usual school uniform is a belted, deep blue sleeveless pinafore and a white collared blouse.[4] Students customarily fold their sleeves on most shirts (except Physical Education Shirt), which also requires a colour-coded nametag (colours Yellow, Black, Blue and Red, inherited by first year batch to graduating batch respectively), along with the school badge, on the top left of the uniform, right below the nametag. During semi-formal events and weekly assemblies students wear the semi-formal attire - the usual uniform with green ties striped with black and white tucked underneath their pinafores.

All prefects must wear school socks. Lower secondary prefects (Prefects-in-Training) wear the same pinafore with the addition of the leadership badge and the school tie. Upper secondary prefects wear the prefect uniform- white blouse (different from that of the normal school uniform), dark blue skirt, and school tie, along with the leadership badge.

Events such as Founder's Day and formal events out of school require participating students to wear the formal uniform, which consists of a black vest, dark blue skirt, a long-sleeved blouse, court shoes, and the school tie.

On House Days, students are encouraged to wear their house shirts (which come in red, green, blue, yellow, purple to symbolise the five houses, Tarbet, Buckle, Richardson, Waddle, and Hadley respectively) with culottes to ignite the house spirit throughout the whole school.

Houses

The House system in Raffles Girls' School was started by the late Miss M.M. Hadley, the post-war principal of the school. The principal after Miss Hadley, Miss Evelyn Norris, added the last house in honor of her contributions to the school. There are five houses, named after five past principals of the school:

Each house committee is led by two house captains, an EXCO, namely Creative Arts Director (CAD), Outreach, Training, Secretary and Human Resource. The house committee plays a pivotal role in the house system. House cheers were made to boost house spirit, and there is even a combined house cheer to boost team spirit and also to bond the different houses.

The five houses take part in competitions throughout the school year, with several major events pivotal in deciding the overall champion house. These include the Swim Carnival and the Sportsfest, held annually. Netball Carnival is also held for all levels, and is an interclass competition.

Throughout the rest of the year, Inter-House Games (IHGs) are organized by CCAs like netball and photography. These IHGs contribute to the Overall Champion House and Best Organised House.

The Raffles Girls' School House system is one of the oldest in Singapore, and has been ongoing for almost 64 years now.

The Raffles Institution Year 5-6 houses consists of the RGS houses combined with their RI (Year 1-4) counterparts, resulting in 5 houses, [BW] Bayley-Waddle (Yellow), [BB] Buckle-Buckley (Green), [HH] Hadley-Hullet (Purple and Black), [MT] Moor-Tarbet (Red), and [MR] Morrison-Richardson (Blue).

Cheering

The school adheres to a unique tradition of cheering in deep voices, unusual for female cheers, although this tradition has since become obsolete (the last batch taught to cheer in low voices graduates in 2015). However it is hoped that the tradition will continue in the later years.The student body is led by a congregation of the Prefectorial Board and the Peer Support Board, and occasionally includes the House Committees. Hand signals are used to indicate the cheer used. Cheering not only takes place as school support at inter-school competitions, but also, and more importantly, takes place as a traditional finale to all school events, coupled with the singing of the school anthem. Favourite cheers include "Unite" and "Say Ra". Cheering competitions are also held between houses during interhouse games. Each house has a library of house cheers, on top of the school cheers.

Other than cheering, singing has taken an equally important role in cohort bonding. Typical songs include "Dedication", "Pass It On" and "If We Hold On Together". However, singing as a cohort or school only regularly takes place during the annual Farewell Assembly for the graduating Secondary 4 cohort.

Facilities

RGS has

The sport facilities are

Student Leadership

RGS-International Convention for Youth Leaders

The RGS-International Convention for Youth Leaders (RGS-ICYL) is a prestigious biennial gathering of female student leaders from local and international institutions, first organised in 2006 intended as a platform for female youth leaders with diverse backgrounds to exchange ideas and experiences, and thus gain a better understanding of how they can contribute to society as a female leader. Prominent guest speakers from the corporate sector, politics and humanitarian groups are invited to provide a wide range of perspectives. In addition, RGS-ICYL offers opportunities for fellow youth leaders to be ambassadors of their respective countries in the context of an exchange of ideas across cultures.

Leadership roles

RGS has a total of 4 leadership boards: the Prefectorial Board (PB), the Peer Support Board (PSB), the Student Congress and the House Committee. PB is considered to be the pinnacle lead board of the school, taking charge of discipline, school spirit as well as the execution of many events (Open House, Speech Day, Founder's Day). Members of PSB help with the assimilation of the new Year 1s into the RGS culture, and promote kindness and care. They organize the annual Year 1 Orientation and hold fun sessions with the Year 1s throughout their first year to help ensure that they are coping and adjusting well to secondary school. RGS is one of the few schools in Singapore with a student congress. Student Congress aims to act as a voice for the general student population, putting in ideas and suggestions and advocating for change. The House Committee members help to foster a sense of house spirit in the girls, often leading in the combined house cheers and facilitating in the organization of IHGs.

All student leaders are recognized with badges. PSB members wear a unique collar pin, while Congress members pin on a badge above their name tags. Prefects are recognized in their different uniforms of the RJC blouse, skirt and prefect badge, together with the tiepin. CCA chairpersons or captains, as well as Class Chairpersons and Vice Chairpersons also wear a badge. House EXCO members wear a collar pin of the colour of their House, while the House Captains have to pin their house-coloured badge above their name tags.

Co-Curricular Activities

Raffles Girls School offers a variety of Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs), ranging from Performing Arts, Uniformed Groups, Sports, Clubs and Societies, and Service CCAs. With 52 Co-Curricular Activities, students are able to develop their talents outside of the academic domain, and through their participation in their Co-Curricular Activities, they foster a team and school spirit, becoming active creators of a better community. RGS offers 42 CCAs - Performing Arts, Sports, Clubs and Societies, Uniformed Groups, and Service CCAs.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Campus Address".
  2. ↑ http://www.moe.gov.sg/press/2004/pr2004sea_sda.htm
  3. ↑ http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/rgs-move-new-campus-opposite-ri-2018-20120825
  4. ↑ "A-Z guide to the top school". (20 August 1994). Straits Times.
  5. ↑ Amy Khor's profile on the Singapore Parliament website
  6. ↑ "SingTel Organisation Chart".
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