Outram Secondary School

Outram Secondary School, abbreviated as OSS (, Pinyin: Oū Nán Zhōng Xué) is a government school in Singapore. Founded in 1906 as Outram Road School, then Outram School by gazette notification, Outram Secondary School is one of the oldest schools in Singapore. It is the only government school in Singapore with a swimming pool. The principal of Outram Secondary School is Mr Loh Cheung Ming.

Prior to 1874
Before 1874, in response to a need to provide the opportunity of learning English through the medium of the mother tongue of the various races, two schools were built in Singapore, one at Cross Street and other at Kampong Glam. As the numbers in the school at Cross Street grew, a new school, Outram Road School, was built at Outram Road, opened by the Governor of Singapore, Sir John Anderson on 26 February 1906. By Gazette notification in 1939 the word "Road" was deleted and the school was known as Outram School.

From 1906
Outram School functioned as a Primary School. Acting as a feeder school, Pearl's Hill Standard One proceeded to Standard Two at Outram. Likewise, Outram was the feeder school to Raffles Institution. The working arrangement between Pearl's Hill School and Outram School continued up to January 1953 whereas the working agreement between Outram and Raffles Institution ceased with the fall of Singapore in February 1942. After the war, Outram boys competed with other Government Primary School pupils in securing places in Government Secondary Schools.

Lost records (1906 to 1942)
Under the orders of the Education Department, Mr SG Mohamed Ghows, who was Outram's Principal in 1941, sent all Outram School's records to the Pasir Panjang English School for safe keeping. Subsequently, this school suffered a direct hit during the World War II and with it went all Outram's past records, from 1906 to 1942.

Conversion into a secondary school in 1954
On 1 January 1954, Outram ceased to be a purely Primary School and was converted to a four year Secondary Commercial School with a four year secondary school course leading to the School Certificate of Commercial Education of the London Chamber of Commerce. With the conversion, the school motto was changed from "On to Success" to "Labor Omnia Vincit" – Labour Conquers All. The school's crest was also changed.

1954 to the present

 * 1957 - the first group of candidates took the London Chamber of Commerce School Certificate of Commercial Education Examination which became the Secondary School Leaving Examination.
 * 1958 - girls were admitted to the school for the first time.
 * 1961 - Outram School was renamed as "Outram Secondary School".
 * 1964 - the first group of Secondary 4 students took the Examination for the Cambridge Overseas School Certificate and the school leavers no longer took the London Chamber of Commerce Examination.
 * 1965 - the Old Outramians' Association was formed.
 * 1968 - The Outram Secondary School Advisory Committee was formed in July. The school moved to its premises at York Hill, of Chin Swee Road because of urban renewal and development on 23 October.
 * 1969 - the school was converted to a multi-purpose Secondary School offering academic education with commercial bias at Upper Secondary level (in recent years, this emphasis has changed to the Sciences and the Humanities). The Higher School Certificate in Commercial Education was introduced for the first time in Singapore. Outram was the only school in Singapore with Commercial Education up to H.S.C. Level till 1973.
 * 1976 - the Foundation Stone of the Swimming Pool Complex was laid by the late Mr Hon Sui Sen, Minister for Finance and Member of Parliament for Havelock.
 * 1977 - the Swimming Pool Complex was completed and officially opened by Mr Hon Sui Sen on 15 October 1977.
 * 1979 - a three year Pre-University course was introduced. A School Advisory Committee consisting entirely of old boys and ex-teachers was formed.
 * 1983 - the Ministry of Education piloted the School Executive Committees in some schools, one of which was Outram.
 * 1988 - the pilot Outram School Executive Committee was taken off by the Ministry of Education.
 * 1994 - Outram moved to its site at 10, Winstedt Road in June to make way for the redevelopment of a new premises at York Hill.
 * 1996 - Outram celebrated its 90th anniversary.
 * 1998 - Outram moved back to the present site in June.
 * 1999 - Opening ceremony of the new premises at York Hill on 28 August.
 * 2006 - Outram Secondary School celebrates its 100th anniversary.

School song
The Outram School Song, Labour Conquers All, was composed in 1966 by members of the school staff. Lyrics of the school song were composed by Mr Vincent Khoo and music by his sister, Miss Teresa Khoo.

Lyrics:

Verse 1

We will go marching on together True to our Alma Mater We will strive and march to victory Loyal Outramians are we.

CHORUS:

Onward, friends, be true, sincere Work and foes we must not fear Never falter, never fall Labour conquers all.

Verse 2

We will raise our standards high And with our voices cry Brave and true hearts we will always be Loyal Outramians are we.

Pre-war school song
In the days gone by We were at Pearl's Hill Where we worked and played With hearty goodwill Now that we have gone To greater heights That we are proud That Outram is our school Three cheers for Outram School.

School badge
The school badge was introduced in 1958. Initiated by C.A. Peterson, the design was registered with the College of Arms, UK. Shaped like a shield, it has a book and two clasps on the top, the coat of the arms of the city of Singapore on the left and three broad bands of red, blue and yellow, the colour of the school on the right. The original colours of the school were red and blue, but since the celebration of the Golden Anniversary, yellow has been incorporated.
 * The Book - academic learning, the principal aim of the school; to instruct, to impart knowledge, to teach and to learn.
 * The Lion - the school's association with Singapore, the Lion City
 * The Castle - a tower of learning; a place where unity, cooperation and teamwork produce a community (tower) of strength.

School Advisory Committee
The School Advisory Committee (SAC) promotes closer relationships between the community and the school, takes an interest in student and staff welfare and encourages students' extracurricular activities. Members of the committee have organised fund-raising events such as Swimathons and Funfairs to raise funds for school activities and improvement projects.

The committee is responsible for building the Swimming Pool and Squash Complex. The SAC encourages student participation in water sports, for example SAC sponsored the water-polo team on an overseas trip for being first in an inter-school competition. The committee gives the Outstanding Student Award to the best all-rounder on Annual Speech Day Celebrations to inspire students to strive towards excellence. It also sponsors annual staff dinners in which the Chairman presents souvenirs to long-serving teachers and non-teaching staff in appreciation of their service.

Parent-Teacher Association
The Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) promote co-operation and understanding between parents and the Principal and teachers for the welfare of the pupils. It provides opportunities for discussion and explanation of matters relating to the education of the pupils and encourages social interaction between parents and teachers. Annually, the PTA gives a scholarship award to the top 'O' level student and bursaries to needy pupils. It encourages pupils to read by presenting shields to champion reading classes. It donates a challenge trophy for the champion house for the annual cross country championship.

Every year, the PTA hosts the Secondary One Orientation to familiarise new pupils and parents with the school and its facilities. It organises gatherings for teachers and parents to discuss pupils' progress. It also organises talks for parents.

Old Outramian's Association
The Old Outramians' Association (OOA) serves as a link between past students and the school. It enables past students to gather and interact, preserving and renewing old friendships, and provides an opportunity for past students to give something back to the school which has nurtured them.

Like the SAC and PTA, the OAA encourages excellence in ECA and academic performance by giving awards to outstanding students on Speech Day Celebrations. It has helped to raise funds for the school by organising charity dinners, a golf championship and a film premiere. The OOA has also offered the use of the OOA Room, a facility fully funded by the OOA, to the school as a Pupil Activity Centre - a "home away from home" or after-care centre for the latchkey pupils.

Notable alumni

 * Wee Kim Wee: Fourth President, Singapore.
 * Wong Kan Seng: Former Deputy Prime Minister, Singapore.
 * Gurmit Singh: Comedian, television presenter and actor, best known for starring in Singapore sitcom, Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd as Phua Chu Kang
 * Irene Ang: Actress
 * Dawn Yip: Singer

The school has built three Mother Tongue Culture Rooms (Chinese, Malay, and Indian) on the sixth floor to let students develop an interest and appreciation of the traditional cultures.

From January 2008, the school partnered with Singapore Polytechnic's School of Business to offer a new applied subject called "Introduction to Enterprise Development". This enables students to pursue their interests in Enterprise Development.

Principals

 * 1) Chan Joon Gek
 * 2) Ratnavel Subramaniam
 * 3) Lim Han Soon
 * 4) Lim Chye Tin
 * 5) Susan Leong
 * 6) Chan Poh Meng
 * 7) Choy Wai Yin
 * 8) Loh Cheung Ming

Alumni

 * Lynette Tay