Tiong Bahru Secondary School

Tiong Bahru Secondary School (立道中学), established in 1966, was one of the pioneer bilingual integrated (混合中学) secondary schools built after Singapore Independence (1965, August 9). It had both Chinese and English streams, attracting students from nearby primary schools in Tiong Bahru, Bukit Ho Swee and Delta Road areas. The first principal was Mr. Gwee (1966 - 1970), an ex-World War II veteran Lieutenant, who was succeeded by a former Raffles Instituition Head of Department (Chemistry) Mr. Chan (1971 - ?).

A bilingual school aimed to create an environment for different language streams of student to interact outside classrooms: in E.C.A. (Extra Curricular Activities), Sports, etc. Those students who were active 'beyond books' benefited most from the bilingual exposure at this golden age between 13 and 16 years old.

A young school with enthusiastic young teachers and talented kids from neighbourhood average families, in the first decade we saw the school excelled both academically and in sports.

The school had outstanding sports in Mountain Climbing (first Singapore school to climb Mount Kinabalu) and Basket Ball teams. The school's first Brass Band was formed in 1969, within 3 years it won the "Top 20" position (11th) in Singapore Youth Festival Brass Band Competition.

The 1971 graduated batch produced Top GCE O-level students in Singapore,^[1] 5 of them successfully promoted to the country's then only junior college, National Junior College (国家初级学院), thereafter one student winning the prestigious PSC (Public Service Commission) Overseas Merit Scholarship. The 1976 graduated batch produced the "Singapore Water Queen" Olivia Lum, Founder and CEO of Hyflux.

As population ageing in the old precinct, coupled with younger generation families moving out, its student enrollment dropped since late 1980s. The school merged with its neighbour Bukit Ho Swee Secondary School (立达中学) in 1991 to form Delta Secondary School, again in 2004 all grouped under Bukit Merah Secondary School.

The vacated campus was once used as the temporary administrative head office of Nanyang Polytechnic, now permanently occupied by SEAB (Singapore Examinations & Assessment Board - Tiong Bahru Examinations Centre). Today, the fond memory left of the school is the Angsana tree planted by the late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yee on 6/6/1976.

Souvenir : A Student Report Book used in 1968 -1971.

Notable alumni

Olivia Lum: Founder and CEO, Hyflux Lee Kar Heng, Ph.D: Chief of TBSS Group, Founding President of AOC Singapore Chapter, Chairman of IEEE Education Chapter, Singapore Section, Senior Advisor of Vietnamese Association in Singapore, Founding Member of Vietnamese Association in Singapore

References