History
The school started in January 1932 with two classes and 60 pupils.
After just a week at the new school, Mrs Downe and a teacher were transferred out due to the small enrolment. Miss Alvis, one of the two remaining teachers, was appointed headmistress. She and the other female Chinese teacher taught all 60 students. Soon, word spread about Bukit Panjang English School and by 1941, there were classes from standard one through six.
During World War II, when the Japanese were in Singapore, the school premises were believed to have been occupied by the Imperial Army. Throughout the whole war and the occupation of Singapore, the school was closed.
Three years later, on 12 September 1945, the Japanese surrendered but the school did not reopen until January 1948. Mr C.A. Peterson took principalship from the school's reopening till 1951, when he was transferred out. His successor, Mr Wee Loh Siew, took charge until 1959, when he was succeeded by Mr Felix Choo. By the time Mr Wee took office, enrolment had increased to 350. To cope with the demand for places in the school, Bukit Panjang Government Afternoon School was opened in July 1952 with an enrolment of 112. An annual magazine under the editorship of Miss Boswell published by the school during the '50s provided an invaluable record of the school.
Read more about this topic: Bukit Panjang Primary School
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Both place and time were changed, and I dwelt nearer to those parts of the universe and to those eras in history which had most attracted me.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Racism is an ism to which everyone in the world today is exposed; for or against, we must take sides. And the history of the future will differ according to the decision which we make.”
—Ruth Benedict (1887–1948)
“The basic idea which runs right through modern history and modern liberalism is that the public has got to be marginalized. The general public are viewed as no more than ignorant and meddlesome outsiders, a bewildered herd.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)