School Anthem and Coat of Arms
The school's anthem was written by teacher Henry Martyn Hoisington in 1926. It is adapted from the Canadian unofficial National Anthem, The Maple Leaf Forever and has served over the years as a means of bonding between students and alumni, evoking as it does memories of attending the institution. Drawing inspiration from the anthem, Dr Yap Pheng Geck designed the school arms in 1930.
Placed in chief azure above the three letters of the school name is a golden creature with a lion's head, eagle's wings and a dragon's body with claws, representing that fact that the School was founded when Singapore was a British colony, by an American Methodist mission and during the Qing Dynasty in China. Technically, this creature is an heraldic wyvern.
The lower part of the field consists of two panels, blue and gold, which represent heaven and earth. The colours also symbolize both spiritual and material accomplishment. The letters "ACS" in red symbolize life forming a bridge between both; they also symbolize the blood of Christ uniting heaven and earth. In addition to the school name, the letters ACS are also variously said to spell out Academic achievements, Christian Character, and Sportsmanship or Service beyond self. Finally, the overall shield shape represents the knightly virtues of chivalry, honour, loyalty, valour and manliness.
Read more about this topic: Anglo-Chinese School
Famous quotes containing the words school, coat and/or arms:
“East, west, north, south, or like a school broke up,
Each hurries toward his home and sporting-place.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“Time is like a fashionable host,
That slightly shakes his parting guest by the hand,
And with his arms outstretched, as he would fly,
Grasps in the comer: the welcome ever smiles,
And farewell goes out sighing.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)