Full School History

Information has been distilled from different write-ups, yearbooks, websites and interviews.

Our school was initially formed as an all-girls school in 1924, named Geylang Methodist Girls School (GMGS). It became co-ed in 1984 and renamed as the Geylang Methodist School (Secondary) (GMSS) that we are familiar with today.

The genesis of the school is synchronically linked with Geylang Chinese Methodist Church (GCMC), a pioneering church that was initially established as a Gospel House in Geylang in 1905. After a short stint in a shophouse, GCMC managed to acquire land and move into its new Sanctuary and Parsonage at the junction of Aljunied and Geylang Road in 1914. Resources were scarce, and the Church relied on the goodwill of its members and the community for funding.

At the time, children in the impoverished Geylang area lacked access to education, and those children who could go to school had to travel a great distance to schools in the city. As such, GCMC established an ad-hoc English School for girls and boys, which utilised the Parsonage as a school on weekdays, when it was not used for service on weekends. However, in 1916, the boys were taken in by the newly built Geylang Boys School at Lorong 23. Concurrently the Methodist Mission had become more organised, and a drive to realise a Methodist school in Geylang arose then.

Hence, the goal to start a Methodist School was set in motion. The District Superintendent, Reverend Floyd Herman Sullivan enlisted the help of Miss Emma Eaton Walker and Mrs Chia Han Kiat, to take charge of the school’s operation at its infancy. Miss Walker was the Superintendent of the Sunday School at Geylang Methodist Church, and later became the First Principal of GMGS.

These driven and big-hearted women went door to door to entreat girls to enrol in the school. Thus, in 1924, the first official class of GMGS girls was humbly formed – composed of 27 girls who attended school in their own clothes. Mrs Chai was the only teacher then.

As the school had little funds and no land nor infrastructure, the missionaries and pastors of GCMC provided supervision and support. In fact, the Parsonage was used as the first classroom, so at its inception, GMGS kicked off its first school year right in the church.

1927

The British government bought GCMC premises to build a post office, and GCMC – and effectively the school – then moved to where the Aljunied MRT is currently located. It was then that 4 new classrooms were built behind the Parsonage building, and the school could stop operating from inside the Church. By then, enrolment had increased, with 135 pupils in 1927 and over 200 pupils by 1930.

1931 – 1938

Our Church was situated on an important site. In 1926, the Municipality of Singapore proposed to build a post office and widen the road at the spot where our Church stood. The officials offered thirty-three thousand dollars to the Official board of our Church to acquire the Church premises.

Our Church accepted the Government’s offer. The Official Board believed that by accepting it the people living in the area would benefit. On the other hand, the Church Official Board applied to the Municipality for another piece of land situated at the junction of Aljunied Road and Sims Avenue, i.e. our existing Church site. The land area was over forty thousand square feet. It was only about two hundred meters away from the old site. It cost thirteen thousand dollars. To mount such a huge project, a Church Building Committee was formed. The members of the Committee included Rev. Swee, Messrs. Ng Tian Poh, Koh Kim Hong, Seah Poh Tee, Song Chin Eng, Chan Hai Seng, Lim Soon Bee and Ho Koon Chor. The District Superintendent, Pastor, Officials of the Building Committee and all members of the Church worked with one accord to achieve the common target. The baby plant which was richly blessed by the grace of God grew into a big and strong tree. By 1927, on the new site, a church was built at a cost of $16,000, the Parsonage for $4,500 and the Girls’ School for $17,000. It is understood that the latter was built at the expense of the bell tower originally included in the Church plan. Thus, the entire project of construction of the Church was completed. Since then, the Church grew and the number of members gradually increased. By 1930, the Church was in a position to be financially independent and self-supporting. The Body of Jesus Christ grew in Geylang as the days passed by.

In Singapore and Malaysia, our Church could claim to be the first to conduct services in three different languages for three different groups of congregation within a church.

In 1934, the school built a sheltered playground and the school servant’s quarters with wire fencing all around the area. Due to the increase in students, the School was found to be short of classrooms. Mr. Peh Hua Kok and a few others raised some funds and eventually, three extra classrooms were added. The Chinese Primary School was started in the afternoon and Miss Ruth Lim Soh Lian was appointed the first Principal. Miss Lim dedicated her life to the Lord and devoted herself to the cause of education throughout the long period of over thirty years. The administration of both the School and the Sunday School improved. In 1939, she purchased a piece of land with a bungalow on it, adjoining the school and Lorong 25. By then a Chinese kindergarten was also set up.

In 1930 the school enrolment increased to 300 girls. For many years it remained a primary school and pupils wanting an education beyond primary level had to go to Methodist Girls’ School at Mt. Sophia.

World War II

The school and Church ceased operations immediately as the Japanese commandeered the school and Church premises. The school was repurposed as military barracks for the soldiers, and the Church used as an ammunition depot.

One day, sometime in 1943, there was an explosion. The roof of the Church, the school and the parsonage were badly damaged. Subsequently, the Japanese soldiers abandoned the premises, and the grounds remained disused until the war ended.

1940 - 1950 HARD TIMES

1946 School Reopened by Mrs Thio

Upon emancipation, swift actions were made to expedite the school’s reopening. Rev. Fang Han Keng, the District Superintendent, and Rev. Wo Chao Chee actively applied to the War Compensation Council for funds to repair the exploded roof of the school and Church. The interruption by the war meant there was a backlog of students clamouring for education. As such, in January 1946, Mrs Thio Suan Cheok, Headmistress, re-opened the school as a two-stream school to accommodate the large influx of girls seeking education. As it served a populous area, the school was filled to capacity.

1949

In 1949, we became a Government-aided school.

Our enrolment increased, and the Standard V was introduced.

There were eight classes with a total enrolment of 320 pupils.

In 1949, the School became Grant-in-Aid, and Miss Mabel Mitchell became Principal. A Chinese School began in the Afternoon, with Miss. Ruth Lim as Principal.

In view of the growing need for accommodation and other administrative requirements, the school became grant-in-aid, in 1949, with Miss Mable Mitchell as principal. We owe our thanks to Mrs. E.S. Lau and Mrs. Thio Suan Cheok for achieving a sufficient standard to qualify for grant-in-aid.

A building campaign was initiated by Miss Mitchell with the object of having a Full School with classes from Primary 1 to Secondary 4.

The burden of building the new Extension and the drive for funds was no mean task but our ambitions were realised through the hard work of the staff and pupils and the generosity of the government and well-wishers [sic].

1950

GMGS continued to expand. It had secondary classes and became a full school.

In May, 1953, Bishop R. L. Archer dedicated the Extension which was officially opened by Mr. R. E. Ince, Director of Education.

In 1954, girls sat for the Cambridge examination for the first time, and out of twenty girls, seventeen passed.

In 1959, 36 girls sat for the Cambridge examination, and 33 passed. In 1960, the School’s enrolment was 420.

Another milestone in the history of the school was reached when re received good results in the Cambridge School Certificate Examinations of 1954. This was the first time that the school presented a class for this examination. The success has inspired us to look forward into the future with greater confidence.

1960

The school enrolment grew to 420 pupils. In 1960, the school welcomed Rev J V Ayaduray as the Chairman of her first Board of Management.

Since the last issue of this magazine, there have been many events which have marked the progress of our school, but probably the most gratifying feature was the graduation from the University of Malaya, of the first few of our former students who had passed from the Cambridge School Certificate Class instituted in 1955. Many of our former students have also gone abroad for higher studies and many have joined the teaching profession.

The School Curriculum has been enlarged in accordance with current educational requirements and provision has been made for the teaching of Mandarin and Malay, the National Language. In this issue, articles in Mandarin and Malay have been included. The standard of work may not be of the highest, but the teachers who are learning the National language and at the same time teaching this subject are to be congratulated for their efforts.

A Committee of Management was set up in 1960 under the Chairmanship of the District Superintendent, Rev. J. V. Avaduray, to help in the administration of the school. A school Chaplain, Rev. Chew Hock Hin was also appointed to help and advise on the spiritual needs of the school.

The moral and ethical aspects of things must not be overlooked in our educational system, as mere text book knowledge does not make good citizens of any country. It is important that the Christian Spirit must prevail throughout and by its evidence in our daily lives mark us as members of an institution dedicated to the highest ideals. Towards this end the school strives to give its pupils not only the fundamentals of learning but also the precepts of righteous living. Furthermore, a sense of dedication is especially important in newly independent countries and greater efforts will be called for from those able to contribute to the well-being of our state. I am confident that our girls will play their part in the right spirit.

In conclusion, I wish to congratulate the Editorial Board, the staff and the contributors who have worked hard to bring out this issue of the School Magazine.

Mrs. S. A. Daniel

(Principal)

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Numbers increased so that the School expanded, in phases. And reached saturation pointed in 1973 when their latest classroom block was completed, bringing the enrolment to 580.

1974

The school expanded with an extension block housing eight new classrooms, the School Hall, Science Laboratory and Home Economics Room. This was made possible by the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, other Methodist missionaries and local benefactors, who gave donations amounting to $300,000. The extension block was officially opened by the director of Education, Mr Chan Kai Yau.

1975

A significant milestone was reached when Miss Mariam Jean Gruber, a composer from the World Division of the Board of Missions of the Methodist Church, together with Miss Susheela Daniel, the daughter of the school’s Principal, Mrs S A Daniel, composed the school song.

1979

Mrs Doreen Chan was appointed Principal when Mrs S A Daniel retired.

1981

‘In 1981 approaches were made to the Ministry of Education expressing our interest to relocate and upgrade. This gained momentum in 1982 with the Government’s announcement of raised subsidy from 50% to 80% to selected Government-Aided Schools with good examination records. It was timely then that the Government, through their wisdom and foresight, had already embarked on their multi-million dollar School Building Programme. We negotiated with the Ministry of Education and secured a 30-year lease on these two Schools at a cost of approximately S$4 million, payab.e in three years. The conditions we accepted were an exchange of land on a quid-pro-quo basis and going co-ed. The Secondary School was handed over to us on 20 November 1983 and the Primary School on 30 March 1984, between which time the Methodist Chinese School, which had been sharing the premises of Geylang Methodist Girls’ School for 48 years, merged with us adding 900 to the student population.

The future of the School is exciting and challenging. Almost “overnight” we multiplied from one School with 580 students and a staff of 32 to two Schools (the GMPS – single session pilot project; GMSS – 2 sessions) with a total student population of 2700 and staff of 126. We are indeed fortunate to have a dedicated team of Principals, administrators and teachers, but this sudden and enormous expansion must tax their resources to the limit. Over and above this, they are carrying more than their share of the burden in our fundraising drive. We must give them all the encouragement and support that they deserve.

We have been given three years to pay for the School. Our time is almost up and we have raised only 50% of the amount. We have asked the Ministry of Education to grant us an extension of time to raise the balance of S$2 million. We cannot afford to be default due to non-payment. May I call upon you to rally round and give us your support, as generously as you can.

We serve a student population who come from Geylang District – 54% of whom live in 1-3 room HDB flats and more than 48% of whom have parents who are semi-skilled and unskilled workers with very little or no education. What an opportunity and challenge these present to us as a Christian Mission School where our aim is not only to provide quality education to our youth but to mould Christian character and to help them “Grow in Friendship, Body and Mind”.’

1983 – 1984

The school could only take in a total enrolment of 530 pupils for both the primary and secondary levels. Although enrolment was increasing rapidly, there was no space for further expansion.

With the support and financial assistant from the Methodist churches, the school moved to our present site at 2, Geylang East Central.

With the relocation, the school split into 2 schools – the Primary School and the Secondary School. With the expansion came the boys and the school were subsequently renamed Geylang Methodist Secondary School.

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The old school site was so small that it had no playing field and there was just no space to expand. The maximum number of pupils it could take in was 530 which was the enrolment of both primary and secondary pupils in 1983. We had no choice but to move to the present site. With relocation, the school was split into two schools – one primary and the other secondary.

The school has had close church support right from the beginning including financial assistance towards the school building for its extension programme in the 1970’s. Since 1960 the school has had a Methodist pastor as its chaplain. The Board of Management comprises old girls of the school as well as church members.

1984

Excerpts from the address of our Principal, Mrs. D. Chan, on the occasion of our Thanksgiving/Graduation Service, 6 Aug. 1984:

‘For 5 years, the administrators prayed for a bigger school, with better facilities. Our hopes were realised with the new academic year 1984.

Now we have 2 new standard-type schools – a primary school with 30 classrooms, and a secondary school with 28. From this year, our pupils need not be transported to Chung Cheng High School for their weekly PE lessons, nor do they need to go to Woodsville Secondary School and Macpherson Secondary School for their technical lessons. We now have our own field and technical workshops.

In reviewing the past 12 months, we wish to congratulate all Primary 6 and Secondary 4 girls who were successful in our last PSLE and GCE ‘O’ level examinations. 97.5% of our Primary 6 girls passed and 81% of our Secondary 4 pupils passed with 3 or more credits. Our thanks go to the teachers who have worked hard to help them. We hope that our present pupils will strive to produce even better results for 1984.

In the area of sports and games, our emphasis has always been on mass participation. We encourage our pupils to take up swimming. We were glas [sic]

In the area of sports and games, our emphasis has always been on mass participation. We encourage our pupils to take up swimming. We were glad to see that at the end of last year, 90% of our secondary girls could swim and enjoy it.

On 7 July this year, we organised a walkathon to raise funds for our new buildings. We were happy that our old girls came to our help. Together, we managed to raise more than $72,000/-.

We sincerely hope that past and present pupils will continue to do their best in whatever they undertake to uphold the good name of the school. We hope that they will remain loyal, and will come forward willingly to help us raise $4.5 million in the next 3 years to pay for our 2 new schools.’

1986

On 29 August, Bishop Ho Chee Sin of the Methodist Church officiated at the official opening of the Primary and Secondary Schools.

1988

To date we have 77 teachers, 17 supporting staff, 1932 pupils and 49 classes.

The emphasis in extra curricular activities is still mass participation. However, this year we participated in the following competitions at Zone level: Netball, Softball and Badminton. In Netball, the C division girls emerged Champion, while in Softball, the B division girls also emerged Champion. For Badminton, the B boys came in 3rd at Zonal level and 8th at National level.

1997

The school bade farewell to Mrs Doreen Chan who retired after serving 18 years as Principal.

We welcomed Mrs Marion Tan.

1999

In February, after upgrading works of the school were completed, the school went single-session with 38 classes, a pupil enrolment of 1,500 annual staff strength of 69. The Dedication of the new extension block was officiated by Bishop Wong Kiam Thau on 31 July. The school celebrated its 75th Anniversary with Mrs Thio Suan Cheok as the Guest of Honour.

The school achieved the Value-Added Award (Normal Course) for our good academic performance at the 2000 GCE ‘O’ Level Examinations.

2002

We bade farewell to Mrs Marion Tan.

GMSS welcomed its 11th and first male Principal, Mr Lim Yan Hock.

2004

We celebrated our 80th anniversary with a Thanksgiving service for the whole school at Kallang Theatre with Bishop Dr Robert Solomon as the Guest of Honour. As part of the commemoration of our 80 years of history, the school staged for the first time, our own original musical, “Rice Matters”. It traced the history of the school and together with it, the history of Singapore.

We obtained our very first Sustained Achievement Award for Uniformed Groups.

The tsunami tragedy on Boxing Day 2004 claimed more than 200,000 lives in our neighbouring countries. Our Girl Guides rallied the school in raising funds for the families of the victims in the tragedy.

At the Singapore Youth Festival competitions, the Chinese Dance group achieved a Gold award, the Band and Choir achieved Silver awards and the Drama group, a Bronze award. The Girls’ Brigade and Boys’ Brigade also continued to achieve the Gold Awards for their respective groups. Our Girls’ Brigade (2nd Singapore Company) received the Sustained Gold Company Award for attaining the Gold Company for 5 consecutive years. We were one of two companies in Singapore to receive this honour.

2005

The school underwent PRIME in June 2005 and functioned at 3, Geylang Bahru Lane from 15 June.

The ground-breaking ceremony for the upgrading works, held on 28 October, was officiated by Bishop Dr Robert Solomon.

2007

The school was renamed Geylang Methodist School (Secondary) with effect from 1 January to reflect the oneness of the Geylang Methodist family of schools. In keeping with the change in the school’s name, the school also re-designed a new school crest as part of school re-branding. The School Crest is the embodiment of our aims and aspirations for the Geylang Methodist Schools. The school moved back to 2, Geylang East Central in June.

The Dedication of the new campus and 83rd Thanksgiving Day was held on 25 August. This was officiated by Bishop Dr Robert Solomon.

2010

GCMC sponsored about $300 000 to install air conditioning for the school hall. In appreciation of this, the School honoured the Church to name the school hall as ‘Friendship Hall’.

2014

Celebrating our 90th Anniversary by completing 90 Blessing projects as a school ( staff, students and parents). Projects include bringing the elderly from our community to Gardens by the Bay; English Teachers reading to sick children at KKH etc…teaching English to children in Batam and Cambodia.