Tan Wah Thong retires as

ACS BOG Chairman

MR TAN WAH THONG, Chairman of the Anglo-Chinese Schools Board of Governors (ACS BOG), has decided to call it a day. He retired on March 17, 2008 after more than 13 years at the helm of the board.

Bishop Dr Robert Solomon has appointed Mr Richard Seow, a member of the ACS BOG, to succeed him. Mr Seow is Chairman of Parkway Holdings Ltd, a public listed company (see related story below).

Mr Tan, 69, had spent much of his life in public service prior to his appointment as Chairman of ACS BOG. At various times between 1985 and 1990, he had served on the boards of the National Crime Prevention Council, Skills Development Funds Advisory Committee, Vocational & Industrial Training Board, National Wages Council, Jurong Town Corporation, Central Provident Fund Board, and the Singapore National Employers’ Federation.

Although he officially retired from his business in 1993, he continued to put in long hours of work in the ACS Schools. As Chairman of the ACS BOG since 1995, he has played the role of servant leader, always facilitating the work of ACS leaders while looking towards the endeavours in which all the seven ACS Schools are joint participants.

He has expanded the ACS Family with the addition of ACS (International) Singapore and ACS (International) Jakarta. The symbiotic relationship between The Methodist Church in Singapore and the ACS Schools has been strengthened, and the ACS Family has benefited much from his leadership.

The period between 1995 and 2008 saw the rebuilding of two new schools, ACS (Barker Road) and ACS (Primary) and the major renovation and rebuilding of ACS (Junior).

Major additions, renovations and expansive upgrading of Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) were completed at a cost of nearly $21 million.

At ACS (Independent), great improvements and expansion of facilities and curriculum took place, and a “through-train” programme was begun. The total cost of the Integrated Campus Extension and Prime Projects was about $60 million and ACS (Independent) contributed about $20 million. The expansion was designed primarily with the International Baccalaureate Diploma programme in mind.

By the end of 2007, the total population of the seven ACS Schools had grown to more than 10,000 students with about 800 teachers. The academic standards of the schools improved with ACS (Primary) and ACS (Junior) consistently achieving 100-per-cent PSLE passes, while ACS (Barker Road), ACS (Independent) and ACJC achieved excellent absolute and value-added rankings.

ACS (International) also did well academically with its pioneer cohort achieving very high A*/A grades in the 2007 IGCSE exams and exceeded the results of other international schools in Singapore as well as the world average.

All the ACS Schools are currently among the top schools in their own category and have remained the most popular and sought-after schools in Singapore.

Mr Tan was awarded the Public Service Medal (PBM) in 2006.

Bishop Dr Solomon, in his ACS Founder’s Day message this year, thanked Mr Tan for his “sterling leadership and dedicated service”. “Mr Tan has requested to retire as Chairman of the Board, having served in that position since 1996. He has served the ACS family well and with great passion, and God has used him to initiate many new growing edges for ACS. We are grateful to God for him and wish him God’s richest blessings.”

MR TAN WAH THONG:

Headed the ACS BOG

for 13 years.