Anglo Chinese School (Independent)

Image Gallery

ACS opened in No. 70 Amoy Street on 1st March 1886.

Bishop William Oldham and his wife Marie Oldham were among the earliest staff in ACS. Marie was a strong pillar of support for Oldham.

Left-handed conductor, Mr Lim Peng Ann, led the combined Secondary School bands at the quadrangle at ACS on National Day in 1970.

Official opening of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) in Dover Road (1993).

School History

On 1 March 1886, Reverend William Fitzjames Oldham founded the Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) with the purpose of nurturing students to be of service “for God and Humanity”. The school started with 13 boys in a small shophouse at 70 Amoy Street. By 1896, ACS, now located in Coleman Street, had become the largest school in the Straits Settlements. With rising enrolment, a second campus was built at Cairnhill in 1928. The ACS anthem, crest, uniform, house system, publication of ACS Magazine and extra‐curricular activities were established under the tenure of Principal T.W. Hinch (1929–47).

During the Japanese Occupation (1942–45), school life was disrupted and ACS was relocated to Sophia Road and became known as Sophia Road Boys’ School. After World War II, the damage to the Cairnhill and Coleman Street campuses necessitated a new school building, which would be located on Barker Road. ACS gradually expanded into a family of schools during Singapore’s early years of nationhood. It established its first post-school certificate class in 1950 and implemented extra‐curricular activities in 1957. In 1977, the pre‐university classes moved to Anglo‐Chinese Junior College at Dover Close East, and Mr Earnest Lau became the Principal of Anglo‐Chinese Secondary School.

On 2 January 1988, ACS forged a new path in the educational landscape by becoming one of Singapore’s first independent schools. In line with Bishop Oldham’s vision of holistic development, the school piloted the Pastoral Care and Career Guidance programme. The school also enjoyed greater autonomy and flexibility to innovate curriculum and staffing. On 9 January 1992, ACS (Independent) made its historic move from Barker Road to a new campus on Dover Road. In 2004, ACS (Independent) became a dual-track school offering both the 'O' Level Track and the Integrated Programme. ACS (Independent) was officially accredited as an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School in April 2005, becoming the first national school in Singapore to offer the IB Diploma. In 2006, it became a six‐form school with female students.

Principals:

• Bishop William F. Oldham (1886–1890)
  

• Rev R.W. Munson (1890–1892)
  

• Rev C.E. Copeland (1892–1893)
  

• Rev C.C. Kelso (1893–1898)
  

• Mr John E. Banks (1898–1900)
  

• Rev E.S. Lyons (1900–1903)

• Mr C.S. Buchanan (1903–1905)
  

• Rev Kingsley E. Pease (1905–1909)
  

• Rev B.F. Van Dyke (1909–1911)
  

• Rev H.B. Mansell (1911–1913)
  

• Rev James Stewart Nagle (1914–1922)
  

• Rev P.L. Peach (1922–1924)
  

• Rev A. McNab (1925–1929)
  

• Mr T.W. Hinch (1929–1947)
  

• Dr Herbert H. Peterson (1948–1952)
  

• Mr Thio Chan Bee (1952–1960)
  

• Mr Lee Hah Ing (1961–1969)
  

• Mr Chee Keng Lim (1970–1976)
  

• Mr Earnest Lau (1977–1983)
  

• Mr William Thomas (1985–1987)
  

• Dr Lawrence Chia (1988–1993)
  

• Dr Ong Teck Chin (1994–2010)
  

• Mr Winston Hodge (2011–2018)
  

• Mr Arene Koh (2019–2025)
  

• Mr Pang Chin Keat, Kevin (2026 - present)

Key Milestones

School Motto

The Best is Yet to Be

School Crest

The upper section of the crest comprises a mythical creature with a lion’s head, an eagle’s wings and a dragon’s body with claws. They represent the founding of ACS in a British colony (lion) by the American Methodist Mission (eagle) during the time of the Manchu dynasty in China (dragon). The lower section comprises the letters ‘ACS’ in red – signifying life as it bridges heaven and earth, which are represented by the two halves of blue and gold. The shield shape represents the knightly virtues of chivalry, honour, loyalty, valour and manliness.

The crest was designed by Mr Yap Pheng Geck when he was a teacher in ACS, inspired by the words of the school anthem. 

The motto, ‘The Best is Yet to Be’, has been associated with ACS for generations since former principal T.W. Hinch first used it in the foreword of the 1935 issue of the school magazine. Since then, this opening line of Robert Browning’s, ‘Rabbi ben Ezra’, has been the rallying cry of ACSians, and was incorporated into the ACS crest in 1959.

School Song

♫ Listen ↗ (opens in new tab)

In days of yore from Western Shores
Oldham dauntless hero came
And planted a beacon of Truth and Light
In this Island of the Main
Here may it stand from year to year
Emblem of grand endeavour
The regions round echo the sound
Of ACS forever

Sing ACS forever more
Our ACS forever
God save our land and heaven bless
Our ACS forever

Our students hail from China’s Plains
And the Land of Rising Sun
We have many sons from India’s Strand
And the Islands of the Main
Our hearts our hopes our aims are one
No discord e’er will sever
We’ll stand together for the cause
Of ACS forever