Thursday, January 22, 2009

this building used to house a school


the school that once occupied this building had its humble beginning at coleman street. it was established in 1917. from less than a hundred girls, the enrolment grew rapidly and soon they had to look for a bigger building to accommodate the expanding population.

the new school building at bencoolen street was ready in 1921. however, because of some financial problem, the school was forced to close temporarily. following a series of public appeals, funds poured in to enable the debt to be settled and the school to re-open.

in 1928, there was again a need to expand the school because of the growing student population. in 1941, the building - in the above photograph - was ready. the school functioned at two places. the one at bencoolen street became the branch school.

unfortunately, tragedy struck when the japanese invaded s'pore. the building was turned into the headquarters of the japanese imperial army. the school had to be closed one more time.

in oct 1945, the school reopened. the school's management committee raised funds to rebuild the school and to enrol students. with overwhelming financial support from many parents, the school went on to start secondary classes and the enrolment rose to 700.

the school's last and final move was made in 2003.

questions

1 what was the name of the school that occupied this building?

Nan Hwa Girls' School. Today, it is known as Nan Hua High School.

2 where is its present location?

41 Clementi Avenue 1.

3 is it still an all-girl school?

Boys were admitted to the school in 1984.

7 comments:

Victor said...

Hmm... (scratching my head), one letter of the school name changed from "w" to "u" in 1984?

yg said...

i almost forgot. your cheng yan's place was not far from this school.

PChew said...

I think it was Anglo Chinese School.

yg said...

mr chew, yes, acs was at coleman street for sometime but the one that occupied the building (shown in the picture) was a girls' school.

PChew said...

yg, I think this time I am correct. It was Nan Hwa Girls' School.

PChew said...

Nan Hwa Girls' School is now at Clementi and is a co-ed.

yg said...

yes, it is nan hwa girls' school. as victor pointed out, the name of the school has been changed to nan hua (high school). it became a co-ed school in 1984.