STORY: CHEW KAH WAI
PICTURES: ANGLO-CHINESE SCHOOL (I)

ANGLO-CHINESE SCHOOL (Independent) won two Best Practice Awards for Organisational Effectiveness and Student All-Round Development and three Sustained Achievement Awards for Sports (5th Award), Uniformed Groups (4th Award) and Physical Fitness this year.


These are in addition to the Best Practice Award for Teaching and Learning that it received in 2001.


Dr Ong Teck Chin, ACS (I) Principal, said: "This puts us as the only school in Singapore to attain three Best Practice Awards, which is the highest achievement by any school so far."

These awards are given by the Ministry of Education as part of the Masterplan of Awards to recognise schools' commitment towards providing a holistic and ability-driven education for students.

ACS (I) aims for academic excellence by creating a dynamic learning environment, and seeks excellence in all other areas - values and character-building and co-curricular activities. These accolades underscore the ethos of the school that seeks the spirit of excellence. God has led the school on its journey towards excellence and in Him the school trusts and ascribes all the Glory!

Among its many accolades the school is particularly proud of the Singapore Quality Class Award that it attained in 2001. Its other achievements include being the Top Boys' School in Sports and Games for the 7th consecutive year.


National Day 2003: Nurturing every ACSian to be a Scholar, an Officer
and a Gentleman.

It is also the only secondary school in Singapore to have won the PARTNERS Outstanding Award given biennially by COMPASS (Community and Parents in Support of Schools) to recognise the effort made by the school to promote and strengthen a collaborative partnership with its stakeholders such as the parents, the alumni, the School Advisory Committee/School Management Committee, community groups and business organisations.


ACS (I) is also the proud recipient of the CHERISH Award (Gold) for two consecutive years. CHERISH (Championing Efforts Resulting in Improved School Health) is given by the Health Promotion Board and the Ministry of Health in recognition of its efforts to promote good health among both the staff and students.
The Best Practice Award acknowledges outstanding achievements in the categories of Organisational Effectiveness, Student All-Round Development, Staff Well-Being, and Teaching and Learning. ACS (I) won two of these awards (Organisational Effectiveness and Student All-Round Development) this year. In 2001, it received the Teaching and Learning award.


Organisational Effectiveness
Good leadership and effective organisation and management are key factors for success. ACS (I) has a leadership that is visionary and highly responsive and adaptable to the changing environment. The mission of the school to become "a world-class institution in nurturing the holistic development of pupils" is firmly etched in the minds of all and the leadership of the school has succeeded in garnering the support of key personnel and all members of the school to achieve this.
The school has a well-organised and strong support system.

ACS (I) will be only
national school to offer
International Baccalaureate
Diploma in 2004

ACS (I) has always engaged in a culture of continuous learning, innovation and improvement.


In 2004, it will be the only national school in Singapore to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme.

Student All-Round Development
Every member of the staff plays an integral role in providing a holistic education to pupils to achieve the vision of nurturing every ACSian to be a Scholar, an Officer and a Gentleman.


Staff and pupils are guided by a value system based on Christian beliefs. They are encouraged to aim for Christ-likeness as manifested in the Fruit of the Spirit. The ACS spirit of excellence is evident in the school's pursuit of academic and co-curricular excellence, in the development of a character of integrity and a heart of service.


The school has a very vibrant and dynamic multi-cultural background. It has scholars from every Asean country and China. This cultural melting pot of young gentlemen from different backgrounds contributes to and enriches the lives of the other pupils.


In addition, it provides the Boarding School experience. The Boarding School, which is run by the Principal and school teachers, aims to be "a home away from home", and provides for pupils further enriching educational experiences and at the same time, a caring and nurturing environment.


These programmes, as well as the supporting facilities and practices, have led the school to attain many achievements in the different areas of pupil development. One of these is the Best Practice Award for Teaching and Learning in 2001.


Sustained Achievement Award
The Sustained Achievement Award is a prestigious symbol of recognition for schools that have demonstrated their sustained commitment to excellence in the areas of Arts, Sports, Uniformed Group, Academic Value-Addedness and Physical Education.


The school has won its 5th award for Sports and 4th award for Uniformed Groups. This year, it received the Physical Fitness award.
Physical Fitness


The Health, Physical Education and Recreation Department of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) is totally committed to improving the level of physical fitness of its students.


The regular Physical Education lessons are supplemented by lectures which teach the concepts of health and fitness. This is to inculcate in our pupils the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Specialists are also invited to give talks to pupils as a form of further enrichment.


ACS (I) is blessed with a wide range of state-of-the-art physical facilities for pupils to be engaged in sports and physical training. Such facilities include the track, field, swimming pools, squash, tennis and badminton courts and the weights room.

Chew Kah Wai is the Deputy Dean (English and Literature) at Anglo-Chinese School (Independent).

Students at the recent Life Sciences symposium.

The school's swimming meet: excellent facilities for pupils to be engaged in sports.