Fairfield Methodist Schools

Last updated

Fairfield Methodist Schools
Fairfield Methodist Schools logo.png
Location
Fairfield Methodist Schools
100 & 102 Dover Road, Singapore 139648
Coordinates 1°18′0.511″N103°47′6.785″E / 1.30014194°N 103.78521806°E / 1.30014194; 103.78521806
Information
TypeGovernment-Aided (Both); Autonomous (Sec only)
MottoPure and Honest
Religious affiliation(s) Methodist
Established4 August 1888
SessionSingle (Day)
School code5020; 7309
PrincipalMrs Soh Mei Foong (Primary); Mr Wee Tat Chuen (Secondary)
Age range6 to 12; 12 to 16
EnrolmentApprox. 1,500 (Primary); Approx. 2,000 (Secondary)
Colour(s) Blue  Yellow 
Song School Song School Hymn
Affiliations Anglo-Chinese Junior College
Website fmsp.moe.edu.sg; http://www.fairfieldsec.org/
The old Fairfield Methodist Girls' School Building Fairfield Methodist Girls' School.jpg
The old Fairfield Methodist Girls' School Building

Fairfield Methodist School (Primary) and Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) are two schools located on Dover Road, Singapore. Founded in 1888 as the Telok Ayer Girls School, [1] [2] they are among the oldest primary and secondary schools in Singapore. Their current premises are at the neighbourhood of Dover in Queenstown, Central Singapore.

Contents

History

Background

In 1886, Reverend William F. Oldham, the first Methodist missionary in Singapore, appealed to the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States to set up a girls' school in Singapore. [3]

Sophia Blackmore, a 32-year-old Australian missionary from the Methodist Women's Foreign Missionary Society, [4] had just established her first school in Singapore. Meanwhile, several influential Chinese families were persuading her to teach their daughters. [5] [6] A widow later offered Blackmore her home along Cross Street for teaching. [1]

On August 1888, the Telok Ayer Girls School began with just eight Peranakan girls. [7]

Founding

Fairfield was established in August 1888 by Blackmore. Her mandate in 1888 was to start a girls' school in Singapore in an enclave called Telok Ayer. She finally managed to start a class for eight Nonya girls in a little room at Cross Street. During that time, education for girls was definitely not favoured by the early traditional Chinese immigrants, even among the liberal-thinking Baba merchants. [8] Blackmore then started going house to house, trying to persuade families to enroll their girls in her school. However, little by little, they suspected that she was a government spy sent to catch them secretly gambling at cards. They had started to pass the word that the young missionary lady was in fact a 'mati-mati' agent who was helping the British government enforce its new law against gambling.

Blackmore's habit of asking for the women's names and writing them down in her notebook seemed to have alarmed the women. This was actually done as a record of who she visited, but still, the parents were suspicious of her. In spite of the differences and even suspicion from parents, Blackmore persevered in her vision for a girls' school, and found that the parents were starting to welcome her more cordially, and would even invite her to sit down and chat over a cup of tea. They started to become more receptive to the idea that it would be good for their daughters to get a little education.

On 4 August 1888, Blackmore finally managed to get her first pupil. She recalled,

How pleased we were when one little girl, hearing of the school, clapped her hands and begged her mother to let her attend. She had been nicknamed 'Ganadolf', which means bald, because her head had been shaved during sickness. Not much knowledge entered that little bald head, but her own willingness to come to school helped others to decide.

After Ganadolf's mother agreed to send her daughter to school, a few other mothers followed her lead. Altogether, seven more pupils were signed on. Soon, she managed to rent out the front room of Nonya Boon, a rich widow's front room. The Telok Ayer Girls School was finally founded. [9] [10]

Early years

In 1893, the new principal, Emma Ferris, [11] found that the furniture had been removed because the landlady had decided to rent the room out to someone else to be used as a shop. She managed to find a new site for the school in a corner house along Telok Ayer Road. By then, the school had 30 students.

In 1910, principal Mary Olson, realised that she required more space in the building and tried to raise funds for a new building. The biggest donation (US$5,000) came from a James Fairfield from New England (patron of New England Branch of Women's Foreign Missionary Society or "WFMS"). [12] [13] This allowed the school to construct a new school building on a site provided by the government at Neil Road. The school moved from Telok Ayer into the new premises on Neil Road in 1912, [14] and was promoted to a 'first-rate school' by the British Government. The relocated school was renamed Fairfield Girls' School. [15] [16] By 1917, the growth of the school had forced a hundred Fairfield girls to study in a dark shophouse. In response to this, a new block extension was completed, consisting of six classrooms and a chapel hall in 1924. [17]

During the Japanese occupation of Singapore, the school was shut down. It only reopened in 1945. [18] Between 1942 and 1944, the school building was taken over by the Japan Military Force. [19] After Olson, Lim Bock Kee became the first Asian Principal to lead Fairfield Girls’ School in 1946.

In 1958 the school was renamed to Fairfield Methodist Girls' School to commemorate its founding by the Methodist Mission.

On to Dover

FMS(P) Students, 2008 Students of Fairfield Methodist School (Primary) - 20051028.jpg
FMS(P) Students, 2008

In 1983, the school moved to its current Dover campus to accommodate a larger population of students. [20] Concurrently, the school went co-educational, becoming the first Methodist School in Singapore to do so, [21] and became two separate schools, Fairfield Methodist Primary School and Fairfield Methodist Secondary School, each with its own administration, but still under the Fairfield Methodist School Board of Management. The schools also saw its first intake of boys as well. [22] Both schools remain housed in the same campus and share common facilities.

Fairfield (Primary)

To highlight the common history, heritage and close relationship of the Fairfield Methodist Schools, the name of the school was changed from Fairfield Methodist Primary School to Fairfield Methodist School (Primary), effective from January 2009.

Fairfield (Secondary)

Fairfield Methodist Secondary School was granted autonomous status in 1996, for its academic and co-curricular achievements. Like its Primary counterpart, the school was renamed Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) in January 2009.

Fairfield Methodist School (Primary) Fairfield Methodist Primary School.JPG
Fairfield Methodist School (Primary)

Achievements

Fairfield Secondary

In 1987, Fairfield Methodist Secondary set up its Pioneer batch of The Boys’ Choir, headed by Mrs Seet. There was no Girls’ Choir then.

87% of Sec 4 Express leavers were eligible for Junior College in 2007. The school achieved 76% distinctions in English Literature, compared with a national average of 37%, and 73% in Maths, compared with a national average of 55%. [23]

The number of pupils with 7 distinctions increased from 17 in 2010 to 27 in 2011. The number of pupils with 8 distinctions increased from 4 in 2010 to 11 in 2011. [24] There were 6 pupils with 6 distinctions in 2019. The school's Symphonic Band won a Gold award in the 2008 National Band Competition. Also in 2008, the school won Gold with Honours in the National Chinese Short Play competition, and 2nd prize in the Drama of History competition. The school's Boys’ Brigade won Gold in the JM Fraser Award for Excellence. [25] The school's choir won Gold in the SYF in 1997, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009.

Fairfield's English Drama won consecutive Gold with Honors in the years 2009 and 2011, for their performances of Hamlet and Over the Wall. [26]

In 2008 FMSS received a School Distinction Award from the Ministry of Education. [27] It has also been awarded the Best Practice Award (Teaching and Learning), the Outstanding Development Award (Character Development), and the Sustained Achievement Awards for Academic Value-Addedness, Uniformed Groups and Sports. [28]

Notable alumni

Fairfield Primary

Fairfield Secondary

See also

Related Research Articles

Simei is an estate located in Tampines Town in the Eastern Region of Singapore. The name Simei is pinyin for "Four Beauties" in Chinese. Formerly known as Tampines South, it was officially renamed to Simei in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nanyang Girls' High School</span> Independent school in Bukit Timah

Nanyang Girls' High School (NYGH) is an independent girls' secondary school in Bukit Timah, Singapore. Founded in 1917, it is one of the oldest schools in the country. NYGH offers a six-year Integrated Programme, which allows students to skip the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level examinations and proceed to take the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level examinations at the end of Year 6. Students would study in NYGH from Years 1 through 4, before proceeding to the College section of Hwa Chong Institution in Years 5 and 6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bukit Merah</span> Planning Area and HDB Town in Central Region ----, Singapore

Bukit Merah, also known as Redhill, is a planning area and new town situated in the southernmost part of the Central Region of Singapore. The planning area borders Tanglin to the north, Queenstown to the west and the Downtown Core, Outram and Singapore River planning areas of the Central Area to the east. It also shares a maritime boundary with the Southern Islands planning area to the south. Bukit Merah is linked to Sentosa Island via Sentosa Gateway, Sentosa Broadwalk, Sentosa Express and the Cable Car.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Singapore Chinese Girls' School</span> Independent school in Singapore

Singapore Chinese Girls' School (SCGS) is an independent girls' school in Bukit Timah, Singapore, located opposite Stevens MRT station. Founded in 1899, it is one of the oldest institutions in Singapore. It offers a six-year primary education in its primary school section, as well as a four-year secondary education in its secondary school section, which was among the first secondary schools in Singapore to be accorded independent school status in 1989. Since 2013, it has partnered with Eunoia Junior College for a six-year Integrated Programme, which allows its secondary school students to proceed to Eunoia Junior College for Years 5 and 6 and take the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level examinations at the end of Year 6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanjong Katong Secondary School</span> Singapore secondary school

Tanjong Katong Secondary School (TKSS) is a co-educational government autonomous school in Singapore. Before its autonomous status, the school was frequently named by the Ministry of Education (MOE) as the 'Best Non-Independent and Non-Autonomous Secondary School' in its annual ranking of secondary schools, which has since been abolished. TKSS was awarded the School Excellence Award in 2007, the highest tier in the masterplan of awards given by MOE to schools in Singapore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anderson Secondary School</span> Autonomous school

Anderson Secondary School (AndSS) is a co-educational government autonomous school in Ang Mo Kio, Singapore offering education for Secondary 1 to Secondary 5. It became an autonomous school in 1994 and was one of the pioneer autonomous schools in Singapore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Methodist Church in Singapore</span>

The Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS) is the church that Methodists in Singapore belong to. The Church has 46 churches island-wide with around 42,000 members, and is the largest mainline Protestant denomination in Singapore. Its current bishop and head of the Church is Bishop Dr Gordon Wong, who was elected at the 12th Session of the General Conference on 7 September 2020.

Lynnette Seah Mei Tsing is a Singaporean violinist serving as co-leader of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO). She received the Cultural Medallion for Music in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North-East Region, Singapore</span> Region in Singapore

The North-East Region of Singapore is one of the five regions in the country. The region is the most densely populated and has the highest population among the five, with Sengkang being its most populous town as of 2020 and Seletar as the regional centre. Comprising 13,810 hectares, it includes seven planning areas and is largely a residential region with 217,120 homes. Housing largely consists of high-density HDB public housing estates, however private housing is also present in the region. As its name implies, it is located in the north-eastern part of Singapore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sago Lane</span> Road in Chinatown, Singapore

Sago Lane is a one-way lane in Chinatown within the Outram Planning Area in Singapore. The street links Banda Street to Neil Road. In the past, the street was much longer and was home to funeral parlours or death houses. Part of the street was demolished in the late 1960s due to the construction of the new HDB development at Kreta Ayer, also known as Chinatown Complex. Currently the street, is mainly used during Chinese New Year as part of the festive bazaar in Chinatown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Road</span> Road in Chinatown, Singapore

Neil Road is a one-way road in Chinatown and Tanjong Pagar in the planning areas of Outram and Bukit Merah in Singapore. The road starts at the junction of South Bridge Road, Maxwell Road and Tanjong Pagar Road and ends at Kampong Bahru Road which then merges into Jalan Bukit Merah. At the end of the road, it is a conservation area of several shophouses and a three-story Victorian style school building, which was the former site of Fairfield Methodist Girls' School. In the Tanjong Pagar area of the road, it is home to rows of conserved shophouses for various purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gan Eng Seng School Founding Site</span>

The Gan Eng Seng School's Founding Site, marked by twin commemorative plaques at present, is located at the junction of Telok Ayer Street and Cecil Street in the southern part of Singapore, near the Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church. On 30 August 1997, the site was designated as a national historical site along with five other schools by the National Heritage Board (NHB), being one of the oldest educational establishments in Singapore. The others are Raffles Institution, Raffles Girls' School, St Margaret's Secondary School, Singapore Chinese Girls' School and Anglo-Chinese School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan</span>

Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan (SHHK), or the Singapore Hokkien Association in English, is a cultural and educational foundation. It was established in 1840 to promote education, social welfare and the preservation of the Chinese language and culture among Chinese Singaporean and other Overseas Chinese groups in Southeast Asia. As of 2014, the SHHK, which has 5000 members, is the largest clan association in Singapore.

Selena Tan is a Singaporean executive producer, director, writer, actress, businesswoman and former lawyer. She is best known as one of the cabaret trio, the Dim Sum Dollies. In 2000, Selena founded Dream Academy, which produced a variety of performance shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophia Blackmore</span> Australian missionary

Sophia Blackmore was an Australian Christian missionary. She founded the Fairfield Methodist Schools, and also Methodist Girls' School in Singapore. She was the first woman missionary sent by the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church to Singapore. She also set up a boarding home for girls, supported the early Methodist Straits Chinese Christian work, published a Christian periodical in Baba Malay, and is closely associated with the founding of Kampong Kapor Methodist Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Methodist Girls' School, Singapore</span> Independent school

Methodist Girls' School (MGS) is an independent Methodist girls' school in Bukit Timah, Singapore, founded in 1887 by Australian missionary Sophia Blackmore. It offers a six-year primary education in its primary school section and a four-year secondary education in its secondary school section. Since 2012, it has partnered with its affiliated school Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) for a six-year Integrated Programme, which allows its secondary school students to proceed to ACS(I) for Years 5 and 6 to complete the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dover Court International School</span> School in Singapore

Dover Court International School is an international school in Singapore. Founded in 1972, the school delivers the English National Curriculum and International Baccalaureate Diploma Program to 1,850 students between the ages of 3 and 18. Over 60 nationalities are represented in the school, with the majority of teachers coming from the United Kingdom. In 2015, Dover Court International School registered with the Committee for Private Education of Singapore and since April 2014 has been part of the Nord Anglia Education group of schools. It is a member of the Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA), and accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alkaff Gardens</span>

Alkaff Gardens was a Japanese-style park once located east of the Bidadari Cemetery from 1930 to 1964, on the present site of Cedar Girls' Secondary School at Bidadari, Singapore. In the 1930s, the park was a popular leisure destination for dating couples and families. It featured as its centrepiece an artificial lake, which was drained in 1964.

Benedict Tan Chi Loong is a former Singaporean sailor and a doctor. He competed in the Laser event at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Tan was the former president of the Singapore Sailing Federation (SSF) from 2010 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tan Teck Neo</span> Peranakan philanthropist and socialite (1877–1978)

Tan Teck Neo, also known as Mrs. Lee Choon Guan, was a Peranakan philanthropist and socialite.

References

  1. 1 2 Singapore, National Library Board. "Sophia Blackmore | Infopedia". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  2. ↑ SWHF. "SINGAPORE WOMEN'S HALL OF FAME – Sophia Blackmore". swhf.sg. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  3. ↑ "Treats from the Fairfield story". 6 January 2009. Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  4. ↑ Singapore, National Library Board. "Sophia Blackmore | Infopedia". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  5. ↑ Tan, Ban Huat (3 January 1978). "Street talking: Tan Keong Saik". The Straits Times. Singapore. p. 6.
  6. ↑ "The Late Mr. Tan Keong Saik". The Straits Times. Singapore. 6 October 1909. p. 7.
  7. ↑ "Portrait of Miss Sophia Blackmore, founder of Methodist Mission Girls' School – BookSG – National Library Board, Singapore". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  8. ↑ "Philanthropy in Transition: An Exploratory Study of Asian Women and Philanthropy in Singapore, 1900–1945" (PDF).
  9. ↑ Frost, Mark Ravinder; Balasingamchow, Yu-Mei. Singapore: A Biography.
  10. ↑ "Book preview: The education of Singapore girls". singaporebiography.com. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  11. ↑ From Mission to Church: The Evolution of the Methodist Church in Singapore and Malaysia, 1885–1976.
  12. ↑ "Fairfield Methodist Girls' School | The Long and Winding Road". thelongnwindingroad.wordpress.com. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  13. ↑ Earnest., Lau (2008). From mission to church : the evolution of the Methodist Church in Singapore and Malaysia, 1885–1976. Singapore: Genesis Books. pp. 98–99. ISBN   9789814222426. OCLC   228041073.
  14. ↑ "Neil Road | Infopedia". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  15. ↑ "Former Fairfield Girls' School". roots.sg. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  16. ↑ "Methodist School Brochure (October 2012)" (PDF).
  17. ↑ "CONSERVATION ABOUT BLAIR PLAIN (INCLUDES FORMER FAIRFIELD METHODIST GIRLS' SCHOOL)".
  18. ↑ "Our Story – Fairfield Methodist Church 卫理公会花菲教堂". fairfieldmc.org. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  19. ↑ "Skylinep4b". ura.gov.sg. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  20. ↑ The Straits Times (1 November 2013). "101-year-old Fairfield Girls' building gets total makeover". The Straits Times. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  21. ↑ "Fairfield Methodist Secondary School". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  22. ↑ "SPEECH BY MR HO KAH LEONG, PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY (EDUCATION), AT FAIRFIELD METHODIST SECONDARY SCHOOL'S 95TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER AT THE SHANGRI-LA ISLAND BALLROOM ON THURSDAY, 4 AUGUST 1983 AT 8.00 pm" (PDF).
  23. ↑ "'O' Level Report Card 2007". Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  24. ↑ "Results of the 2011 GCE O- Level Examinations". Archived from the original on 9 April 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  25. ↑ "FMSS achievements page". Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  26. ↑ "English Drama". Archived from the original on 25 December 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  27. ↑ Ministry of Education, School Information Service.
  28. ↑ Speech by Ms Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State Archived 22 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine , at the FMSS 120th Founder's Day Service, 1 August 2008.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.