Gan Eng Seng School

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1885 Establishment of Anglo-Chinese Free School in the shophouses on Telok Ayer Street. 1888 Became an aided school. 1938 Became a government school. 1950 Formed the first Parent-Teacher Association in Singapore. 1986 Became a co-educational school. 2000 Relocation to 1 Henderson Road, marking the seventh move the school has undergone. 2014 Accorded Learning for Life Programme, GESS Life, and Applied Learning Programme, Probes*. 2015 Celebration of 130th anniversary. 2015 Creation of portraits articulating desired attributes for students, teaching and non-teaching staff.

First school site at 106 Telok Ayer Street (1863).

Newly posted government teachers as Gan Eng Seng School becomes a government school (1938).

125th anniversary dinner (2010).

School History

In 1885, Anglo-Chinese Free School was started in the shophouses of Telok Ayer Street by Mr Gan Eng Seng to offer free education to the children of poor parents in the vicinity. It became an aided school in 1888, and the school owed much to Mr Gan’s generous contribution to the new building at Telok Ayer Street in 1889. The building was opened on 4 April 1893, and the school was renamed after Mr Gan in 1923.

Initially, English and Chinese were used to teach at Gan Eng Seng School, but it became an English-medium school in 1899. It then became a government school in 1938 and was housed temporarily in Sepoy Lines Malay School on Park Road, where it took the morning session.

Gan Eng Seng School suspended operations during the Japanese occupation and reopened on 13 May 1946 after the war ended. The school operated from Waterloo Street from May 1947 and moved to Anson Road in 1951. In 1986, it relocated to a new site beside Keppel Railway Station and was officially opened on 12 July 1989. The school subsequently moved to its current site at 1 Henderson Road in 2000.

The school’s Applied Learning Programme known as Probes* develops work skills in students that would prepare them for future employment. Its Learning for Life Programme, GESS LIFE, develops students to be confident and effective community youth leaders who positively impact their community through the ‘3D’ approach: discovering oneself, developing good habits, and designing the world.

The school believes that teachers are the key catalysts for innovation and improvements in the delivery of student-centric, values-driven education. In 2017, the school embarked on a three-year journey to widen and deepen knowledge of, and conversations on, assessment principles and practices. In 2019, the school introduced alternative assessments at the lower secondary levels, as well as the inaugural Learning Fortnight, where Secondary 1 students sign up for modules that will instill the joy of learning beyond the syllabus.

The school continues to work closely with parents and the community to value-add to the students’ educational and socio-emotional development. These partnerships enhance the holistic development of the students and prepare them well for the 21st century.

Principals:
- Mr Robert Little (1895–1904)
- Mr Ernesr J. Gomes (1905–14)
- Mr Pagler (1914–15)
- Mr J.A. Roberts (1915–22)
- Mr H.A.L. Orchard (1923–38)
- Mr G.C.S. Koch (1938)
- Mr P.F. Aroozoo (1939–42)
- Mr P.F. Aroozoo (1946–55)
- Mr Soon Ban Hoe (1955)
- Mr Peter Lim (1955–56)
- Mr Wee Seong Kang (1957–60)
- Mr A.G. Meyer (1960–65)
- Mr Lee Chong Kee (1966–68)
- Mrs Peggy Phang (1968–73)
- Mr S. Thiagarajah (1974–76)
- Mr Ong Kim Siong (1977–78)
- Mr Teo Lye Huat (1979–80)
- Mr Tan Sui Sen Robert (1981–83)
- Mr Goh Yong Hung (1984–87)
- Mr Eric S. Retnam (1988–94)
- Ms Ho Peng (1995–97)
- Mr Goh Choon Leng (1998–2002)
- Mr Victor Giam Chong Guan (2003–08)
- Mrs Carolin Tan (2009–14)
- Mdm Jenny Tan (2015–2019)
- Ms Tan Hwee Pin (2020–present)

Key Milestones

School Motto

Onward

School Crest

The red dragon on the left stands for courage, endeavour and the everlasting fire of leadership. The Chinese junk on the right symbolises progress and the ongoing quest for peace and success. The school colours are red and green.

School Song

In eighteen-eighty five, our founder Gan Eng Seng
Conceived the noble aim for a new breed of men
He started a free school for boys who were poor
To give them a chance to be something more
To teach them to learn, play and live at the fore
To give of their best and say forever more

(Chorus)
Onward, Onward
Gan Eng Seng for Gessians
Onward, Onward
Gessians for Gan Eng Seng
The story of our school is a history of change
But truth, faith and vigour survived circumstances strange
And true to the meaning of the signs on our crest
A dragon for fire of leadership
And ship for seeking and making progress
In word and deed we vow forever more

(Chorus)
Onward, Onward
Gan Eng Seng for Gessians
Onward, Onward
Gessians for Gan Eng Seng