School History

School History

Serangoon Secondary School started out as Serangoon English School in 1928, housed in a two-storey building on Simon Road. It was then the only government co-educational school in Singapore, and it also served as a feeder school to Raffles Institution.

In 1937, three more standards were added; with this, the school provided education up to Standard Eight (equivalent of present-day Secondary Three). The boys and girls who successfully completed Standard Eight went on to Raffles Institution and Raffles Girls’ School respectively, where they would sit for the School Certificate of Examinations (equivalent to the O-Level examinations today). Serangoon English School remained a feeder school until the eve of the Japanese Occupation of Singapore.

During the Japanese Occupation, the school was known as the Japanese Higher Normal School. It was used to train government officials under the Japanese education system.

In 1949, the school became a full school, with its first School Certificate class offering education from Primary One to Cambridge School Certificate (O-Level equivalent). In 1957, the school officially became a secondary school for the Upper Serangoon district, after ceasing primary school classes that year. In 1965, the first pre-university classes were started and girls were admitted to these classes.

In 1967, Serangoon English School relocated to Lowland Road and was renamed as Serangoon Secondary School. In that year, the school badge was modified and the old school motto, ‘Play the Game’, was replaced with ‘Knowledge is Power’. The present school song was also introduced. In 1976, pre-university classes were discontinued. In 1989, the school motto was changed again to ‘Seek, Strive, Serve’.

To mark the new millennium, in 2001, the school moved to its present premises at 11 Upper Serangoon View and continues to provide a student-centric, values-driven education. In 2018, Serangoon Secondary celebrated its 90th anniversary.

2024 and Beyond

Serangoon Secondary School’s key priorities are encapsulated in our school vision - For our students to grow into Resilient Individuals, Passionate Learners and Active Contributors. To accomplish this vision, the school has articulated a 5-4-3-2-1 – 5 domains of holistic development (Moral, Intellectual, Physical, Social and Aesthetic), 4 roles of every teacher (A caring Form Teacher, an engaging CCA Teacher, a reflective subject teacher, and an ethical CCE teacher), 3 key engines driving pedagogical approaches (Singapore Teaching Practice, Socio-emotional Learning via CCE 2021, and EdTech Masterplan 2030), 2 core teams (Education Officers, and School Admin Team), and 1 Serangoon Family.

a. Resilient Individuals – A Pervasive Culture of Care and Support

The school employs a range of processes to monitor and support student wellbeing and adopts a many-hands approach toward fostering a climate of care, trust and respect. Time is protected weekly to enable form teachers (FTs) to have quality one-to-one conversations with their students. Other structures utilised at the class level include social network analyses to gain insights into peer relationships in the class, CCE lessons on mental wellbeing, cyber-wellness, and peer support help to equip students with necessary skills and knowledge for themselves and for others.

To provide holistic support for higher need students, the Case Management Team (CMT) led by school leaders was formalised in end-2019 to bring together key personnel to develop collaborative plans for targeted and coordinated support for Tier 2 and Tier 3 students. Intervention plans are discussed and updated regularly by each students’ case managers.

The Ecological Framework and the Four-Step Problem Solving Process ensures a holistic approach and purposeful follow-up actions respectively. A variety of customised programmes are also offered to students who require additional support in specific areas, such as the Orion StaRs After School Engagement and Mentoring programmes planned and conducted in partnership with community partners (e.g. Bethesda Care, The Astronauts Collective).

Data management systems are utilised by the Year Head team and FTs to monitor student wellbeing, class behaviour and the effectiveness of programmes and processes to build teacher-student and peer relationships. These include termly check-ins surveys, biannual Student Well-Being and Development (SWBD) survey, as well as feedback from colleagues at level meetings and FT touch-base sessions.

School leaders conduct regular conversations with students and frequent informal conversations with students in small groups or during school walkabouts, which provide additional data and important opportunities for students to interact with and share their thoughts and concerns with the school management.

b. Passionate Learners - Connecting Learning to the Real World

Through intentional curriculum design and pedagogical approaches, the academic departments have tailored their learning programme for greater authenticity, as well as to equip Serangoon StaRs with skills and attributes to thrive in today’s world. These efforts are observed in lessons from the different disciplines. English Language and Literature and Mother Tongue Languages lessons incorporate interactive, creative and experiential learning activities such as learning journeys, discussions and debates to provide students with the opportunity to apply language and literary skills in authentic contexts. To foster critical thinking and nuture curiosity about the world, inquiry-based learning approaches are adopted in the Humanities, where students learn beyond the confines of their classroom through Historical and Geographical Investigations.

To develop the strengths and interests of students in Science, selected students are given the opportunity to participate in various academic competitioons (e.g. the annual ignITE Challenge, Olympiads, etc). The annual Math Learning Day provides Lower Secondary Students a platform to explore mathematical concepts in fun and meaningful ways to foster a positive learning attitude and increase their joy of learning in Math. The subjects under the Craft and Technology Department equip students with practical skills of visual literacy, food literacy and nutrition concepts, and the development of design solutions for real-world contexts. The ICT department also offers Computing and Mobile Robotics, which give students important real-world problem-solving skills and a good foundation to pursue further studies in Computing.

The focus on designing authentic, meaningful learning experiences is also reflected in the school’s Applied Learning Programme on the Future of Transportation. This STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) focused ALP provides opportunities for students to work together to connect learning in drone programming to real-world contexts and issues, and is a much beloved part of our students’ learning experiences.

c. Active Contributors – Developing Every Student as A Leader

The school’s Learning for Life Programme in Community Youth Leadership aims to inculcate leadership competencies in each student and provide opportunities for students to exercise their leadership through Values in Action (VIA) projects. The focus of student leadership development in Serangoon Secondary School is centred on the school’s desired SHINE values of Self-Directedness, Harmony, Integrity, ResilieNce and Excellence. Through their leadership journey, every student will grow in their capacity to take responsibility for their own learning, work effectively in teams, lead others with confidence and care and exert influence to bring about positive change to the school and society. In addition to a first tier of leadership training for all students, student leaders such as prefects, CCA leaders, class committee members and peer support leaders are provided further training specific to their roles. Through the LLP, students can look forward to opportunities to participate in, design and implement an array of meaningful and engaging community-based projects. Community partners and stakeholders are engaged to co-construct a supportive ecosystem for student leadership and volunteerism that hopes to extend beyond their school years.

d. Partnerships to Enrich Learning for Students

To achieve its objectives, the school values the continued close partnership and support of parents, school advisory committee, self-help groups (SHGs), institutes of higher learning, and various community partners to enrich the learning experience of our students and strengthen the school community. The school had recently initiated a working relationship with the SHGs, and has formed a panel of industrialists in STEM-related industries review enhance our Education and Career Guidance processes.

Click here ↗ (opens in new tab) to download our school's 70th anniversary magazine.

Click here ↗ (opens in new tab) to download our school's 80th anniversary magazine.