Serangoon Junior College Explained

Serangoon Junior College
Native Name:实龙岗初级学院
Maktab Rendah Serangoon
Motto:Discere Servire
Motto Translation:To Learn, To Serve
Streetaddress:1033 Upper Serangoon Road
Postalcode:534768
Country:Singapore
Type:Government-aided
Co-educational
Status:Merged with Anderson Junior College in 2019
Session:Single-session
Principal:Mr. Manogaran Suppiah
City/Town:Hougang
School Code:1269

Serangoon Junior College (SRJC) was a junior college in Singapore, offering a 2-year course for pre-university students leading up to GCE 'A' Level examinations. Founded in March 1988, it was the fourteenth junior college to be established in Singapore.[1]

History

Serangoon Junior College was established in March 1988 as the fourteenth junior college in Singapore. The College initially operated from a temporary campus in Hougang, which is now the premises of Xinmin Secondary School, with a pioneering staff strength of 45 teachers. Lessons for the first batch of 673 students commenced in April of the same year. In December 1990, the College relocated to its present campus along Upper Serangoon Road, in Hougang New Town. It was officially declared open on 29 May 1992 by Mr. Lee Yock Suan, the then Minister for Education.

In recent years, the academic standards of Serangoon Junior College had been improving consistently, as it gained recognition as one of the leading government colleges in the district.[2] This was complemented with the rise in admission standards of the college, from a cut-off point of 20 in the 1989 intake to 11 in the 2016 intake at the annual Joint Admission Exercise (JAE).[1]

On 20 April 2017, it was announced that Serangoon Junior College would merge with Anderson Junior College (AJC), with the merged school located at the current site of Anderson Junior College, and operating under the name of Anderson Serangoon Junior College.[3] [4] This was in view of the declining enrollment into junior colleges since 2014, attributed to the fall in Singapore's birth rate.[5] As a result of the merger, Serangoon Junior College no longer admit students from 2018 to minimise the need for students to physically relocate to the new site. The merger process is to be completed by January 2019.

To mark the closure of the College, a decommissioning ceremony was conducted on 7 December 2018. The College flag was lowered by its first Student of the Year from the pioneer class of 1989 - Tan Aik Fong.[6]

Principal

Name Period Served[7]
Thomas Tan1988-1996
Jenny Yong1996-2002
Kok Chwee Kee2002-2006
Tan Teck Hock2006-2010
Wong-Cheang Mei Heng2010-2014
Manogaran Suppiah2014-2018

School Identity and Culture

Vision, mission, values

The vision, mission and values of SRJC was revised in 2016.

Vision – Leaders and Learners driven with values and imagination
Mission – Inspiring all students to have the passion to learn, the heart to serve and the courage to lead.
Values - Respect, Responsibility, Resilience, Integrity, Care, Humility

Houses in SRJC

For competitive intra-school events, the student body is divided into five houses. Each house is led by House Captain(s) nominated from the Student Council.

The five houses are:

Academic information

Serangoon Junior College offered a two-year pre-university course leading to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level examinations, up to the 2017 intake.

The course offered in SRJC consisted of H1 General Paper, H1 Mother Tongue, H1 Project Work, together with four content-based subjects (3H2+1H1 or four H2 subjects). Students with a flair in an area were offered subjects at H3 level after the end of JC1 promotional exams, even though students taking those subjects need to travel to other places (usually universities) to take those subjects.

In line with the new 'A' Level syllabus stipulated by MOE, students are also required to take a contrasting subject that is outside their area of studies. The contrasting subject may be offered at either the H1 and H2 levels.

Subjects that were offered by SRJC is listed below: Compulsory Subjects (H1):

Arts/ Humanities/ Languages (H1):

Sciences (H1):

Arts/Humanities/Languages (H2):

Sciences (H2):

SR Global Classroom Experience

SR Global Classroom Experience (SR-GCE) takes students’ learning beyond the shores of Singapore. With a service learning component designed into the programme, students are given opportunities to apply service learning within a larger community, while gaining cultural awareness and a global perspective. Destinations include Hong Kong, Java, Taiwan, Melbourne and Lijiang and vary depending on availability and safety.

Since 2007, SRJC has established a twinning programme with Sacred Heart Canossian College in Hong Kong.

Co-curricular activities

Serangoon Junior College encourages participation in co-curricular activities for the all-round development of the individual. Students can opt to enrol in CCAs from the different categories as listed below.Clubs and Societies

Performing Arts Groups

Sports

Community outreach

WILL Run

The WILL Run is an annual fundraising event founded in 2008 that is integral in SR's pursuit of perseverance and selflessness. The term WILL evokes the willingness of an individual to run at least 10 km to raise funds for the community and for the college building. The minimum annual total distance targeted for completion is set at 20,014 km – the distance from the North to South Pole.

Get REAL@SRJC

Get REAL@SRJC, the service learning framework in SRJC, stands for Reaching out to the Environment, the Aged, and the Less fortunate. The strong emphasis in service learning is aligned to the college motto “To Learn, To Serve”.

Annual Fundraising

The annual college fundraising event focuses on giving back to the community. Since 2008, the college has committed the first $50,000 of the donations collection to an identified beneficiary each year. The rest of the collection is channelled towards college improvements. The former annual event also incorporated the SR Friendship Games, which was an annual sports event participated actively by the staff and the student body.

Notable alumni

External links

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: History of the 4 junior colleges moving out of their current sites. hermesauto. 20 April 2017. The Straits Times. 29 November 2017. en.
  2. News: Four junior colleges will halt intake of students in 2018, a year ahead of mergers. hermesauto. 20 April 2017. The Straits Times. 29 November 2017. en.
  3. News: MOE announces names of merged junior colleges. Channel NewsAsia. 11 January 2018. en-US.
  4. News: Anderson, Serangoon JCs among 8 junior colleges to merge. Channel NewsAsia. 29 November 2017. en-US.
  5. News: Junior college, school mergers a painful but necessary decision: Ng Chee Meng. hermesauto. 27 April 2017. The Straits Times. 29 November 2017. en.
  6. Web site: Anderson Serangoon Junior College . Anderson Serangoon Junior College . Anderson Serangoon Junior College . 24 January 2023.
  7. Web site: Our Heritage. Serangoon Junior College Official Website.