Nanyang Girls’ High School is established

The school was first established as Nanyang Girls’ School before it was renamed Singapore Nanyang Girls’ Secondary School in mid-1930, and then Nanyang Girls’ High School in 1931 to differentiate between the secondary and primary schools. The school’s origins can be traced to Chinese revolutionary leader Sun Yat Sen’s visit to Singapore in July 1910.^[1] During his visit, Sun urged the Singapore branch of the revolutionary group, the Chinese United League, to extol the benefits of education among the local Chinese women. He wanted to empower the women so that they could become active participants in the ongoing revolutionary movement in China.^[2] Following Sun’s suggestion, members of the Chinese United League began making plans to set up a girls’ school, leading to the eventual establishment of Nanyang Girls’ School on 15 August 1917.^[3] The founding members of the school were mostly local Chinese merchants and businessmen such as Teo Eng Hock, Chuang Hee Tsuan and Tan Chor Lam.^[4]

Nanyang Girls’ began lessons in a row of shophouses at Dhoby Ghaut, with Mdm Yu Pei Gao as principal and Tan Chor Lam as chairman.^[5] The school had an initial intake of about 100 students consisting of primary one students as well as students on a two-year teacher training course. The subjects taught included self-cultivation, Chinese, arithmetic, national education and sewing.^[6] Enrolment rose quickly thereafter, and in 1919 the school moved to a double-storey bungalow near Sophia Hill (known today as Mount Sophia) to accommodate the growing number of students.^[7] It moved again in 1931 to King’s Road where it remained until 1999.^[8] Nanyang Girls’ is currently located at Linden Drive.^[9]

Despite a promising start, Nanyang Girls’ struggled through its formative years. After Yu left in 1921, the school faced a leadership crisis. Not only did it have seven principals over a span of six years from 1921 to 1927, there were also many changes to the chairmanship.^[10] In addition, the school experienced financial difficulties, and there were frequent disputes between the principals and teachers over curriculum matters.^[11] It was only after Mdm Liew Yuen Sien was appointed principal in 1927 that the school began to flourish. One of the key reasons was due to Liew’s determination to uphold the main objective of the school – which was to provide education to women. The school also funded the studies of women in an effort to encourage parents to send their daughters to school even after they were married.^[12]

In 1930, Liew created the Primary School Examination Standard with the Chinese Industrial and Commercial Continuation School and the Fujian Clan Association in order to standardise the primary six examination in Nanyang Girls’ and other Chinese schools.^[13] By 1946, Nanyang Girls’ had become one of the largest Chinese schools in Singapore with about 1,400 students.^[14] Liew led the school for 40 years before retiring in 1966.^[15]

References
1. Lee, L. Y. (Ed.). (2012). Nanyang glory: 95 years of splendour 1917–2012 (pp. 14, 33). Singapore: Nanyang Schools Alumni Association. Call no.: RSING 370.95957 NAN.
2. Lee, 2012, pp. 14–15.
3. Lee, 2012, pp. 14–15.
4. Lee, 2012, p. 16.
5. Lee, 2012, pp. 16–17.
6. Lee, 2012, pp. 16–17.
7. Lee, 2012, pp. 18–19.
8. Lee, 2012, p. 32; Nanyang Girls’ High moves on. (1999, June 7). The Straits Times, p. 28. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
9. The Straits Times, 7 Jun 1999, p. 28.
10. Lee, 2012, p. 21.
11. Lee, 2012, pp. 21–22.
12. Lee, 2012, pp. 23–24.
13. Lee, 2012, pp. 27–28.
14. Nanyang Girls’ High School. (2014). School milestones. Retrieved from Nanyang Girls’ High School website: http://www.nanyanggirlshigh.moe.edu.sg/cos/o.x?c=/wbn/pagetree&func=view&rid=1095298
15. Ex-principal tribute is family affair. (2007, August 16). The Straits Times, p. 34. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.