Raffles Girls' School (Secondary)
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| Motto | Filiae Melioris Aevi |
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| Established | 1879 |
| Type | Independent, Single |
| Principal | Deborah Tan |
| School code | 3008 |
| Colours | green, black, white |
| Locale | Anderson Road, Singapore |
| Enrollment | approx. 1800 |
| Website | Link |
 Republic of Singapore |
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Raffles Girls' School (Secondary) (RGS for short, or known among Rafflesians as RG), is an independent girls' secondary school in Singapore. RGS was further 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. [1]
RGS offers the first four years of the Integrated Programme in the Raffles Programme, together with Raffles Institution and Raffles Junior College, which allows students to proceed directly to Raffles Junior College without taking the GCE 'O' Levels. It was also one of the first few schools to offer the Gifted Education Programme.
Contrary to popular belief, it is not officially affiliated with Raffles Girls' Primary School, despite having a common history.
The school also has a history of excelling in academics, sports and the arts. RGS remains one of the top schools in Singapore, and has attained many sporting achievements.
RGS also offers a large and excellent range of 50 Co-Curricular Activities in total for the girls to choose from.
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[edit] Motto
"Filiae Melioris Aevi", a Latin phrase which means "Daughters of a better age".
[edit] Vision
"To aspire, strive and dare to be active creators of a better age for all."
[edit] History
Previously, before Raffles Girls' School became a school in its own right, it existed as a part of Raffles Institution. 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. A wall known as the 'Berlin Wall' separated the boys' and girls' buildings. 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 as well. RGS became a government school of considerable prestige in 1903. It was then located at Queen Street. In 1959, the primary and secondary sections of the school were separated and the secondary section moved to Anderson Road, while the primary section remains in Queen Street. The 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 reading, writing, needlework and cookery, as the main objective in those days was simply to shelter girls from the temptations they were exposed to. The provision of some form of education was considered secondary. At present, the curriculum has expanded to include all the sciences, humanities and aesthetics. Among other things, students today undergo lessons in Philosophy in order to develop creativity and critical thinking. The Lower Secondary students also enjoy lessons in Speech & Drama.
Today, Raffles Girls' School has a student population of about 1,800 students (Secondary One to Secondary Four) and 150 teachers.
[edit] School Song
Sisters in Learning and Sisters at Heart
From High Olympus flows to us the glory
On us the sacred fire descends.
Rise, sisters, rise, the world is all before ye
Fear not to grasp what fortune sends.
Chorus:
Sisters in learning and sisters at heart
Life lies before us,
Here's luck to the start.
A little while the sun shines high above us
And youth's elixir fills our veins.
The magic fire, that moves the gods to love us
The fire by which the will attains.
Chorus:
Sisters in learning and sisters at heart
Life lies before us,
Here's luck to the start.
From heart to heart we'll scale the heights of learning
No mean desires our days shall shame.
Whole-hearted, true, with pride and ardour burning
On sisters, on to life and fame.
Chorus:
Sisters in learning and sisters at heart
Life lies before us,
Here's luck to the start.
The school song was not composed specially for the school, but was chosen out of a songbook by the first principal, Miss Nelson. It was officially adopted as the school song in 1954. It was originally titled "From High Olympus".
Other songs sung at school events include "Inspiration", "Dedication", and "Pass it On". "At the Beginning" used to be sung as well.
[edit] Culture
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[edit] Uniform
The uniform of RGS consists of a navy blue pleated pinafore over a white collared blouse. Students customarily fold their sleeves, following a time-honoured school tradition. The school badge, with the school crest and its motto, is worn on the top left of the uniform together with a name tag. On Fridays, during Hall Assembly, students wear a black and white striped tie on a green base as part of the uniform.
Students wear white socks which cover the ankle bone, and white shoes. The shoes may be sports shoes, but these must be at least 80% white, and cannot be high cut. Prefects are required to wear school socks.
Prefects, who are from Secondary 3 and 4, wear a white blouse with a skirt of the same hue as the pinafore. They also wear the same school tie at all times when in uniform. Their prefect badge is pinned at the bottom of the tie and above their name tag.
Student Leaders, who are from Secondary 1 classes, and Prefects-in-Training, who are from Secondary 2 classes, wear a green-black-white striped tie underneath the pinafore, as well as a Student Leader badge or a Prefect-in-Training badge respectively.
Class chairpersons, vice-chairpersons, members of the Student Leaders' Network and house captains also wear a badge above their name tag denoting their position. This badge is green for the chairpersons, and of corresponding colour to their houses for the captains. Peer Support Leaders also wear a pin that is positioned on their collars, while some CCAs also create their own school-approved badges to pin on their collars.
On Tuesdays, Saturdays and during certain school events, students are allowed to don culottes, pleated knee-length shorts which look like a skirt. A white RGS PE polo T-shirt usually accompanies the culottes. The culottes can also be worn with a House T-shirt, a CCA T-shirt, or a class T-shirt, the latter which can be designed by students themselves with approval from teachers and the school administration.
[edit] Houses
There are five houses: Hadley (Purple), Tarbet (Red), Richardson (Blue), Waddle (Yellow) and Buckle (Green). They are named after five past principals of RGS. Miss Hadley introduced the House System.
The five houses take part in friendly competitions throughout the school year, with two major events pivotal in deciding the overall champion house. These are the Swimming Carnival and the Sports Festival, held annually in the early part of the year. Throughout the rest of the year, various interhouse games such as netball, squash, photography and even sandwich-making allow members of every house to contribute to their house's tally of points while doing something they like. Richardson is well-known for dominating the Interhouse competitions and has won many awards throughout the years. In this year's Sports Festival, Buckle clinched the first place in the cheer and cheerleading competition, while Hadley was awarded champion house for both Swim Carn(ival) and Sports Fest 2006.this year, Hadley has won the sports festival again!
[edit] Disciplinary System
The RGS discipline system seeks to maintain the professional image which every pupil of the school should uphold. Enforcement of this system is carried out in the form of bookings. Three bookings in the same category of offences would land a student in Detention Class, which requires students to reflect on the consequences of their actions. Some students may consider the school's booking system relatively undemocratic due to the fact that committing three minor offences would constitute a Detention Class.
The disciplinary system is upheld by members of the staff and prefects, who sometimes conduct spotchecks and are also in charge of the maintenance of the booking system.
In cases concerning recalcitrants, parents may be brought in for discussions with the school Discipline Committee to work together to guide the student back onto the right path.
[edit] Student Leadership
[edit] Prefectorial Board
The Prefectorial Board is the premier student leadership body in RGS and consists of student leaders from Secondary Two to Four deployed in nine departments. The Secondary Twos are officially Prefects-in-Training, while Upper Secondary members of the Board carry the honour of being full-fledged Prefects, as symbolized by their distinctive and traditional uniform - the only alternate uniform permitted in RGS. Prefects are key enforcers of discipline in the school, and play a collaborative role in the organisation of schoolwide events together with the Peer Support Board.
The Prefectorial Board's room is where blazers for official school functions, along with pinafores and blouses, can be rented, where school badges and Rafflesian products can be bought, and where non-valuable lost-and-found items can be reported. Prefects also teach and lead in Raffles cheers which resound at school functions and inter-school competitions.
A group of Secondary Four Prefects make up the Executive Committee of the Prefectorial Board, led by the Head Prefect. The three Vice-Head Prefects assist the Head Prefect in fulfilling other duties associated with their role such as heading various Steering Committees for other student bodies (such as the Student Leaders' Network), bearing the flag at school occasions, and commanding school assemblies. The Head Prefect of 2007 is Quek Xin Er. The Vice-Head Prefects are Hannah Cheng, Ong Yan Han and Kristin Lim.
[edit] Peer Support Board
The Peer Support Board consists of Secondary 3 and 4 pupils, Peer Support Leaders and Senior Peer Support Leaders respectively. This board was set up with the main aim of helping the new Secondary 1 pupils adapt to the relatively foreign environment, to offer emotional help, and support to their fellow peers whenever they are in low spirits and to serve the school as student leaders. However, 2005/2006 saw the initiation of the Voices That Care program, which aims to encourage the spirit of peer support not only within the Secondary 1 level but to the rest of the student body. The logo of the Peer Support Board is the dolphin, as dolphins travel in batches and help each other in need, emphasizing the fact that Peer Support Leaders do not work alone.
The Peer Support Board was set up in 1995 and is about 80 members strong. Led by the 2006-2007 Chairperson Teo Weiling and Vice-Chairpersons Andrea Tan, Tan Yen Lin and Tammy Ying, the Board is actively engaged within the school community, co-organizing various school functions with the Prefectorial Board. Some examples of collaborative leadership between the two boards is the annual Student Leaders Investiture, Teachers Day Celebrations, Sec 1 Orientation and the Sec 4 Farewell Alma Mater amongst many other school events.
In addition to school events, the Peer Support Board also spearheads its own outreach program, such as the annual Peer Support Convention (which has been co-organized with the Peer Support Board from St. Joseph's Institution and recently this year, Victoria School) to encourage the Peer Support spirit in other schools, as well as the Internal Outreach program to familiarise the Lower Secondary students with the board before they choose to apply.
Junior PSLs or JPSLS were introduced from 2007, with Secondary Two students being recruited and given the chance to apply their leadership skills as well.
[edit] Student Leaders' Network
The Student Leaders' Network (SLN) comprises student leaders from the various leadership boards and student organisations in school. These leaders are selected because they possess the fundamental qualities of a leader that the school upholds in addition to their commitment and desire to hone their leadership skills in the serve of those they lead. With a strong focus on personal mentoring and peer sharing among leaders, the vision of the SLN is "To continually aspire, strive and dare to be better leaders in the service to all". The SLN has a unique place in the student leadership body in RGS, as it acts as a think-tank where school-wide proposals and projects that enhance school life are conceptualised and executed.
[edit] Student Congress
The Student Congress is a formal structure to facilitate the student populace's experience of and participation in the process of active citizenship. There is a main speaker and 2 alternate speakers. Tying in closely with the strategic thrusts of student leadership, the 5 C's, it hopes to:
Create - provide a platform and create an open atmosphere for students to participate in a public forum on issues important to them and the school
Change - act as agents of change for the betterment of the school and its stakeholders
Civil Governance - represent their schoolmates in presenting the views of the student populace which are significant and with their interests at heart
Construct - consciously nurture a responsible and caring culture in the exchange of views and ideas with the focus on school improvement
Cultivate - cultivate an appreciation of, and involvement in, the process of participatory and open leadership
In essence, the significance of Congress lies in it being planned and run by students, for students.
[edit] RGS-International Convention for Youth Leaders
The RGS - International Convention for Youth Leaders (RGS-ICYL) was the first of its kind organised and hosted by the student leaders of RGS. A gathering of female student leaders from local and international institutions, the 1st RGS-ICYL was held from 20th - 24th November 2006, and serves as a global platform for female youth leaders with diverse cultural and leadership backgrounds to exchange their ideas and experiences, and thus gain a better understanding of how they can contribute to society as a female leader.
Through participating in the convention, participants had the opportunity to interact with and learn from experienced and world-renowned leaders. Prominent guest speakers from the Corporate sector, Political sector as well as the Humanitarian sector were invited to share their perspectives.
In addition, RGS-ICYL offered opportunities for fellow youth leaders to be ambassadors of their respective countries in the context of a formal exchange of ideas across cultures. This experience was also coupled with problem-solving from a global perspective.
There were also opportunities to learn about leadership in the corporate sector (e.g. Multi-National Corporations), the political sector (e.g. government agencies) and the humanitarian sector (e.g. Non-Governmental Organisations), amongst many others.
[edit] Notable Alumnae
- Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan, Mayor of South West Community Development Council
- Noreen Au, MOELC French HOD, Winner of MOE Long Service Award
- Ms Lim Hsiu Mei, first woman deputy secretary of the ministry of community development
- Ms Lim Soo Hoon, first woman permanent secretary of the ministry of community development
- Justice Judith Prakash, second woman judge
- Professor Jackie Ying, accomplished scientist; Director of A*star's Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN)
- Mrs. Leaena Tambyah, woman of the year 1994
- Ms. Claire Chiang, woman of the year 1998
- Beatrice Chia, actress and director
- Kit Chan, singer
- Stefanie Sun, singer
- Emma Yong, actress
- Siow Lee Chin, a world-class award winning violinist
- Corrinne May (Real name: Corrinne Foo), singer-songwriter
- Ms. Olivia Lum, founder of Hyflux
- Annabel Chong, born Grace Quek. Formerly a pornographic actress, now an artist and web designer.
- Denise Phua Lay Peng, People's Action Party candidate for member of parliament in the 2006 Singapore general elections
- Ng Hui, actress
- Miss Valerie Teo, Singapore National Bowler
- Mrs Jennifer Yeo, PAP MP
