Nan Chiau High School was founded as Nan Chiau Teachers’ Training School in 1941 by Chinese businessman, community leader and philanthropist Mr Tan Kah Kee.
for Dalforce, a Chinese volunteers’ army that was formed immediately before the overland attack of the Japanese army
In 1947 Nan Chiau Teachers’ Training School was converted by Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan into Nan Chiau Girls’ High School, with an ancillary primary school, with Mr Yang Zhen Li as the first Principal of the School. A female hostel was also built in the 1950s. In 1965, Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan spent $2 million rebuilding Nan Chiau Girls’ High School. During the construction, the high school section moved to temporary premises at Guillemard Road, while the primary school section remained at the original site. The new premises was declared open by Mr. Ong Pang Boon, Minister for Education, on 8 March 1969. In 1974, there were a total student enrolment of 2692, the most number of students in the school’s history, with 48 secondary classes and 24 primary classes. To cope with the increased school population, another $300 000 was spent to add on a 5th storey to the school building. However, the change in education policy in the 1970s called for the exclusion of pre-university classes from Nan Chiau Girls’ High School in 1974. The Nan Chiau family faced further disappointment in 1978, when Nan Chiau Girls’ High School was omitted from the list of schools to be placed under the Special Assistance Plan, although it was initially included. Furthermore, the residential area surrounding Kim Yam Road was becoming a mature estate and that contributed to a sharp decline in student enrolment. This forced the school to go fully co-educational in 1984 to overcome the challenges. Nan Chiau Girls’ High School was then renamed to be Nan Chiau High School. The student population continued to shrink in the 1990s as a result of the changing demographic in the River Valley area. In spite of the school’s rich history and the ample support from the alumni and the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan, the school was on the verge of permanent closure. As such, a decision had to be made either to repurpose the plot of land on Kim Yam Road and hence close the school, or to exchange the land for a new campus in Sengkang new town. On the one hand, saving the school was of utmost importance, but on the other, the land that had been passed down from one generation to the next for the sole purpose of education was too precious to give up. Though it was a challenge, the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan, the school and our alumni unanimously decided to give up the valuable plot of land at Kim Yam Road to secure a future for Nan Chiau High School. In January 2001, Nan Chiau High School started its new operations in Anchorvale Link, where the primary and secondary sections began to function as two separate schools. The relocation showed how Nan Chiau had exemplified the school motto, Sincerity and Perseverance. Sincerity was shown through the school’s commitment to the cause of education despite the vast challenges, and Perseverance through the school’s tenacity in the pursuit of growth and success. The school continued to develop a rigorous curriculum and offered a myriad of enrichment programmes. Staff and students devoted time and efforts to establish the school into a distinguished institution. The school also grew from strength to strength with the support of Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan and the Nan Chiau High School Alumni Association. For consecutive years, the school achieved remarkable academic results, attaining the Value-Added Awards and becoming a Band 1 school in 2010. In November 2010, Nan Chiau High School was designated by the Ministry Of Education to become the 11th Special Assistance Plan (SAP) secondary school from January 2012. The news was announced by then minister of education Dr Ng Eng Hen at the Hokkien Festival 2010. The news was welcomed by thousands of school alumni and educators, who felt pleased that the school can finally fulfill its mission of preserving the Chinese heritage and culture. The school continued to stay true to its roots in providing students with an education enriched with Chinese values and traditions. It also developed its own bicultural flagship programme in nurturing bicultural leaders, who are future-ready thinkers and caring citizens. In 2019, Nan Chiau High School joined the SAP schools’ fraternity in commemorating the 40th year of SAP schools establishment in Singapore, which reiterated the schools’ unique position to immerse students in an environment rich in Chinese language, culture and ethos, and also contributing towards a multi-cultural Singapore who plays a key role in the changing world and region.
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