Tanjong Katong Secondary School

Tanjong Katong Secondary School, affectionately known as TK, is an autonomous co-educational school located in Katong. Before its autonomous status, the school was named by the Ministry of Education (MOE) as the 'Best Non-Independent and Non-Autonomous Secondary School' in Singapore. TK was presented the 'Ministry of Education's School Excellence Award in 2007 and 2011, which recognises "excellence in both education processes and outcomes".,^[2] and is regarded as one of the Top non-Integrated Programme (IP) secondary schools in Singapore. The school celebrated its Golden Jubilee - '50 years of establishment' in 2006, with Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong as the Guest-of-Honour.

History

TK students on a field trip

Assembly Plaza

The school was founded in 1956 as Tanjong Katong Technical School (TKT), the boys-only counterpart to Tanjong Katong Girls' School (TKGS), which was located next door. At first it occupied a plot of swampy marsh next to the river Tanjong Katong. The address of 369 Tanjong Katong Road was among a belt of upper-middle suburban housing and old Joo Chiat and Katong shophouses nearby. Its early years were rocky as there was a common misconception about technical schools that only less-academically inclined boys attended. Nevertheless, the school was considered the top technical school then. In 1969 TKT began to take in female students.

The added competition of neighbouring secondary schools in the Katong area also meant that TKT had to fare better academically as most families had originally automatically sent their children to the nearest school. The option of having Pre-U classes helped, and the school population soared to an all-time high of 5000 in 1979.

For some years the school was called Tanjong Katong Secondary Technical School. In 1993 the school was renamed Tanjong Katong Secondary School because TKT was losing its technical focus and was focusing on offering mainstream curriculum like Humanities and Science.

In 1996, the school took over the premises of the neighbouring TKGS and began operating single-session.

In 1998 the school moved to its new premises at 130 Haig Road. The following year, TK was one of the pioneering schools to be awarded the Sustained Achievement Award when the award was first introduced. The opening ceremony of the new campus was held in 2000. The school became one of the Top 20 Value-Added schools in 2001. In 2003, it was presented with the Sustained Achievement Award for Value-Added. In 2004, the school made headlines when its graduating cohort of students achieved a 98% distinction rate for Chemistry in the GCE 'O' Level examinations, the highest ever in Singapore. ^[3]

In 2004 the school was accorded Autonomous status. Following the new status came the School Distinction Award; the school was one of the pioneer 12 schools to be given the award. Another addition that year was the presentation of Singapore Quality Class status in recognition of the efficient organisation of the school. The academic curriculum in the school was recognised when it received the Best Practice Award for Teaching and Learning. Other areas were recognised with the achievements of Sustained Achievement Awards for Physical Fitness, Uniformed Groups and Value-Added.

In 2006 the school celebrated its Golden Jubilee. Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong joined in the celebration as the Guest-of-Honour. The school was presented the Sustained Achievement Award for Aesthetics and Best Practice Award for Student All-Round Development. The school band, Tanjong Katong Band, won the Best Display Band of The Year award for 10 years running, a feat no other secondary school in Singapore has achieved.

TK was presented the School Excellence Award in 2007 and 2011. This is the most prestigious and the highest status of awards given by MOE. The school made headlines again as it is the 8th secondary school to be presented the award, alongside many top schools in Singapore.

Culture

Crest

On the crest of the school is a picture of Leonardo Da Vinci, one of the most versatile geniuses of modern times. He was both a scientist and an artist. Leonardo represents a man with an 'all-round' education. The symbolism of 'flight' in the school's emblem, seen in the bird and flying machine, instills in the students the desire to beyond the realms of ordinary education and to achieve goals, which no one has dared to dream before.^[1]

Houses

The four houses, named after Albert Einstein, Leonardo Da Vinci, Rabindranath Tagore, and Ernest Rutherford, are represented by the colours red, purple, blue and yellow respectively.

Year 1 students are sorted into houses by class. The results from interhouse sports and academic competitions are summed up in a yearly points system. House allocations used to be student-based, instead of class-based.

Uniform

TK uniform (2005)

Male students wear white short-sleeved shirts. The school badge is on the top right corner of the breast pocket. Lower Secondary boys wear white short trousers and do not need to wear belts. Upper Secondary boys wear white long pants with black buckled belts.

Female students wear a short-sleeved blouse with the school badge on the left at the front of the uniform. The sleeves of the blouse are folded to differentiate TK girls from other schools that have a similar uniform. The skirt is jade-green in colour with box pleats. The TK girl's uniform was designed by one of its first female students, Ms Lim Soo Lan.

The school tie (green with yellow stripes) is worn every Monday from morning assembly until the first recess.

Student Life

Talent Management

Principal's Honours List

The Principal's Honours List (PHL) was developed in tandem with TK's mission in nurturing students to their fullest potential. Students on the PHL are regarded as the top students of the skill that embody the values of the school and epitomises the TK Graduate. Students on the PHL strive to be role-models in both academic and non academic arenas.^[4]

Leadership Development Opportunities

PHL students will have a teacher-mentor monitoring their development throughout the year. Year 2 and 3 PHL students will undergo a mass training on Project Management. They will choose between being a National Education Ambassador or a Project Manager of the school's Campus ChangeMakers (CCM) Programme. A select 15 PHL students will form the panel of the CCM Grant, a programme by the National Youth Council . As the CCM Panelists, they will be assessing community service project grant applications supported by their peers. Year 4 PHL students will attend an annual mass training on Effective Communication and Presentation Skills.^[4]

Co-Curricular Activities (CCA)

Band practice

An inter-class sports event

Tanjong Katong Band

The school band, Tanjong Katong Band (TK Band), as representation, is the pride and joy of the school. The TK Band has its roots in the school bands of former Tanjong Katong Technical School (now Tanjong Katong Secondary School) and Tanjong Katong Girls' School. The bands started separately in 1965 with only 26 members. In 1967, the two bands came together for a combined performance that marked the beginning of their long and close relationship. The combined band known as The TK Brass Band achieved a critical mass in terms of membership, and was able to take on more challenging music and more ambitious outdoor displays. Under the leadership of their first Bandmistress, Miss Irene Joseph, the band grew by leaps and bounds. By 1972, it won its first Mace of Honour, an award given only to the top three school bands each year. The Band's versatility has been proven over the years as it has also done well on the concert stage and in many indoor competitions.

When the band split in 1989, with TKGS going its own way, Miss Irene Joseph continued to lead the TK Band until she retired in 1992. The band continued to achieve top honours under her tenure. However, the winning streak came only in 1998 and it was also the same year that TK Band changed its uniforms. TK Band made history by winning the same award in 2000, the first (and so far only) band to do so. Achieving the Display Band of the Year award in 1998 and 2000, the band created headlines again in 2002 when it became the first band to walk away with two top honours awards in outdoor band competitions with both the Display Band of the Year and Best Drum Major awards, the first band to do so. The band received the award for the fifth consecutive time in 2006 (the competition is held every alternate year), a feat no other secondary school bands have ever achieved in Singapore. The TK Band is now the only secondary school band taking part in the Outdoor and Indoor competitions and achieving the Gold Award for both. In December 2006, the TK Band alumni started the Irene Joseph Award in honour of their first Bandmistress, Miss Irene Joseph. In 2012, TK Band clinched the Gold with Honours award at the SYF Central Judging of Display Bands with their piece "Classical Journey", winning the "Display Band of the Year" award with a MOE cash incentive of S$30,000. In 2014, the band clinched the Distinction and "Display Band of the Year" award with their performance "Garden in the City" at the SYF Central Judging of Display Bands. In 2016, TK band won the Certificate of distinction ( as there is no "Display Band of the Year" award that year) with their performance TK diamond jubilee to celebrate Tanjong Katong Secondary School's 60th anniversary. The presence of the Tanjong Katong Band can also be felt outside the school band scene. Since established, it has represented the republic in several overseas events and International Bands' festivals. At home, the band has also been invited to several major events. In 1998, the band was invited to put up a solo performance in the National Day Parade (NDP), the first ever for any school band. It also appeared on National Day Parades 2002, 2004 (during the pre-parade segments in both years), NDP 2012, Chingay Parades, etc., in solo performances. In 2014, TK Band was invited to play at the Taoyuan Band Festival in Taiwan (Republic of China). TK Band was also invited to play at the Singapore Youth Festival Opening Ceremony 2014 held at Gardens by the Bay.

Tanjong Katong Choir

The Tanjong Katong Choir (TK Choir) is another jewel of the school. It is currently one of the few secondary school Choral-Excellence Choirs in Singapore. Formed in 1992 and within a short timespan of just 7 years, it was crowned Top Secondary School Choir in the 1999 SYF Competition. The TK Choir has also represented Singapore in various International Choral Competitions, bringing home Gold Awards to its name. The Choir has constantly been selected as the recording choir for major events and parades in Singapore. It won a Gold with Honours award in the 2005 SYF and proved itself again at the 2007 SYF by clinching the title yet again.

In July 2007, the TK Choir went to The Voyage of Songs in Pattaya, Thailand, participating in the Open Mix and the Children's Choir categories. In the Open Mix, TK Choir got 4th place, beating arch rivals Catholic High, and in the Children's Choir, TK Choir was crowned champions. TK choir ended up being the 2nd Best Singaporean Choir next to Victoria Junior College Choir, even beating other Junior College Choirs.

The recent competition that they participated was the Grand Prix held in Saint-Petersburg, Russia from 17 June to 23 June 2008, participating in the Under 19 Choirs and Folklore categories. TK Choir managed to clinch high golds for the two categories that they took part in. One category, namely Under 19 Choirs, even attained full marks with the conductor, Mr Nelson Kwei, and was 2nd only to the National University of Singapore.

In 2011, as part of the annual Jubilate Festival of Choirs, TK Choir participated in a choral exam by the London Music of College and attained a Distinction of 88 out of 100 for a Level Three exam.

In 2014, TK Choir took part in Asia Cantate in Hong Kong, got gold 3, and emerged as the category champions. They also went for yet, another London Music of College Choral Examination in 2015 and score a high distinction of 93 points, becoming the first Secondary School Choir to get a high distinction in a Level 5 Examination(The highest grade).

Both the TK Band and TK Choir are presently the Gold with Honours awardees.

Tanjong Katong Computer Club

The TK Computer Club is regarded as one of the premier Infocomm clubs in Singapore, and is one of the only schools with a top technology club not under the Infocomm Clubs policy under the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA). The club achieved the 3rd position at the 2011 National Infocomm Competition, beating rivals Raffles Institution. The club was the champion of the Singapore Games Creation Competition (SGCC) hosted by Nanyang Polytechnic in 2011 and 2012, 2nd place in the 2012 National Software Competition and has claimed numerous awards from Singapore's Mobile Animation Challenge. For their efforts, the club was invited to the opening of the Sony Games Solution Centre for game creation research.

Tanjong Katong Floorball

Tanjong Katong Floorball Girls have been bringing back glory to the school even though the CCA is new. There are no boys floorball team in Tanjong Katong. Tanjong Katong Girls Floorball Team have been gaining Top 4 Positions in the past years.

Notable alumni

Politics

• Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Cabinet Minister, 2004-present; Member of Parliament, 1997-present
• Lawrence Wong: Cabinet Minister, 2014-present; Member of Parliament, 2011-present
• David Ong: Member of Parliament
• Nicole Seah: Prominent opposition politician, Singapore general election, 2011

Education

• Professor Kishore Mahbubani: Dean, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore

Entertainment and The Arts

• Bryan Wong: Television presenter and actor, Mediacorp
• Haresh Sharma: Playwright, The Necessary Stage
• Jack Neo: Director, compere and comedian
• Kym Ng: Television presenter and actress, Mediacorp
• Race Wong and Rosanne Wong: Pop singers, 2R

Sports

• Lim Tong Hai: Former captain, Singapore national football team

External links

• School website
• TK Band Website

References