River Valley High School

River Valley High School (RVHS) is a secondary school in Singapore which has been consistently ranked among the top secondary schools in Singapore in terms of academic results.

River Valley High School has embarked on a new milestone starting from 2008 and officially became a 6-Year Integrated Programme Full School. RV students no longer take the GCE 'O' Level examinations, and would instead follow a six-year Integrated Programme which allows students to proceed directly for the GCE 'A' Level examinations at the end of the 6 years. The final batch of GCE 'O' Level students graduated from River Valley High School in Year 2007.

The school name in Chinese, 立化, is drawn from the school motto 立德立功，化愚化顽.

Beginnings
Founded in 1956, River Valley High School (RV) was the first Chinese secondary school set up by the government. Initially known as the Singapore Government Chinese Middle School when it occupied the premises of Seng Poh Primary School, it was later renamed Queenstown Government Chinese Middle School when it was moved to Strathmore Avenue.

Ascendance
River Valley High School admitted its first batch of English stream pupils when it was selected as one of the nine Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools in 1979. It shifted from River Valley to West Coast in December 1986. Due to the smaller school campus at the West Coast site, the school became a double-session school. It reverted to a single-session school in 1993 after adding new blocks to the West Coast site. It was among the first six schools in Singapore to assume the ascendance to autonomous status in 1994. For its achievements in its CCAs, it was also one of the first schools to receive all three available Sustained Achievement Awards when it was first offered by the Ministry of Education in 2001.

Twenty-first century
Starting from 2008, the school offers the River Valley Integrated Programme (RVIP), where pupils do not take the GCE 'O' Level Examinations and proceed to prepare for the GCE 'A' Levels Examinations.

Leadership
Since its establishment, River Valley High School has had nine principals, inclusive of the current one. They are:
 * Mr Sun Y-Chern 孙一尘 (1956–1960)
 * Mr Lim Hui Eng 林惠瀛 (1960–1962)
 * Mr Wong Cheong Chie 王昌稚 (1962–1964)
 * Mr Wong Bing Chie 王炳绩 (1964–1974)
 * Mdm Leong Fan Chin 梁环清 (1974–1993)
 * Mr Tham Tuck Meng 谭德明 (1993–2003)
 * Ms Ek Soo Ben 易素雯 (2003–2009)
 * Mr Koh Yong Chiah 许永正 (2009–2012)
 * Mrs Teo Khin Hiang 李惠棣 (2012–present)

The current Vice-Principals are: The current Vice-Principal (Admin) is: RV recognises strong leaders who have helped chart the direction of the school's future. Mdm Leong was the first of the leaders who put the school firmly on the track of excellence. The school has a special fund named after her in aid of needy pupils. Mr Tham Tuck Meng (Principal), Miss Ek Soo Ben (Principal and Vice Principal) and Mr Martin Koh (Vice Principal) have also made instrumental contributions in helping RV achieve excellence. All three principals were presented the RV Award of Excellence (Leadership), the highest award that the school presents in recognition of excellence in leadership.
 * Mr Loi Guang You
 * Mr Wong Woen Long
 * Mr Gay Choon Lin

Koh Yong Chiah was asked to leave in December 2012 to assist the Corrupt Practices Investigations Bureau.

School song
The River Valley High School school song is one of the few Chinese school songs still present in Singapore.

It represents the heritage of the school and the aspirations of the founders' hopes in educating the next generation. Student are reminded to bring glory to the school through excellence in both academics and behaviour.

The school song is written in literary Chinese, giving it a poetic touch. The lyrics are written in verses of four characters, a parallel to Chinese idioms. However, the last phrase of the song is not in tandem with the rest of the song as it is made up of 2 lines of 6 characters each, making it irregular in accordance to traditional Chinese literary rules.

The lyrics of the River Valley High School Song are:

海云缦缦 碧波荡荡

赤道绿洲 有我学堂

春风化雨 桃李成行

立德立功 化愚化顽

愿我学子 勿忘勿忘

他日我校 光芒万丈

愿我学子 勿忘勿忘

他日我校 光芒万丈

与日月争光兮 与天地共久长

Note that 荡 is read as shāng and not dàng in this song.

Seng Poh Primary School
The government set up its first Chinese school, Singapore Government Chinese Middle School (now known as River Valley High School), on the premises of Seng Poh Primary School.

Strathmore Avenue
At Strathmore Avenue, the school was renamed Queenstown Government Chinese Middle School (now known as River Valley High School).

Jalan Kuala
In 1958, it was relocated to Jalan Kuala and renamed River Valley Government Chinese Middle School.

West Coast Road
The school was housed at along 698 West Coast Road from 1986 to 2004 at the current site of Commonwealth Secondary School. The campus was taken over from a previous junior college, after an extension to the facilities by an auditorium, a special function rooms block and a new classroom block. The auditorium was able to house over 2000 students at any one time and was the centrepiece of events held within the school. A smaller multi-purpose hall on top of the canteen supplemented the multi-purpose hall as another gathering location for the students.

The school garden is in the heart of the school, and is an integral part of the aesthetics of the school.

The school directly faced the Pandan Reservoir, the running track around the perimeter of the reservoir offered an ideal location for the school to hold its runs and Physical Education sessions. It had 3 basketball courts and a football field complete with a gymnasium.

The School building was selected for upgrading under the Ministry of Education's PRIME program in 2004.

Commonwealth
When the campus at West Coast road was selected for PRIME in 2004, the school shifted its location to a temporary holding school in Commonwealth. It operated at the location from 2005 to the middle of 2006. In the middle of 2006, the school announced its RVIP programme and was allocated a brand new building in Boon Lay for that purpose. The school then shifted its location again to the former Saint Andrew's Junior College campus at Malan Road so that it is able to accommodate a larger student population, with its first batch of Year 5 students in 2009, until the new building in Boon Lay is completed.

Malan Road
The school was situated in a holding site at the former Saint Andrew's Junior College campus at Malan Road. It was situated there for a few years until the construction of their permanent compound in Boon Lay was completed.

Boon Lay
The school relocated to a new campus situated in Boon Lay in 2010. The construction of this new S$79m campus took approximately 4–5 years, and was ready in the year 2010. The Boon Lay compound is large enough to house six cohorts of students due to the RVIP Programme.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the new campus took place on 16 January 2008 and there was a RV big walk to celebrate the opening of the new campus on 2 January 2010..

It was officially opened on 15 January 2011, in conjunction with the School's 55th Anniversary Celebrations.

School crest
Red: symbolises radiance, progress and vitality Blue: symbolises steadfastness, graciousness and serenity White: symbolises purity and receptiveness to innovation

School Uniform
The school uniform is unique to River Valley High School, one of the most outstanding and identifiable uniform designs in Singapore. The uniform is all white, with a school logo at the front left chest that reads RV in red and blue - the school colours.

Girls' Uniform
Girls wear a pinafore and shorts. The pinafore is single piece, with short sleeves and a belt and shorts. This differs greatly from other schools which adopts pinafore as a uniform for girls, which have uniforms that are sleeveless with or without a shirt inside. The belt is affixed at the waist level. It used to be a separate piece from the uniform, but since 2003, it had been sewn on to the uniform at the back, due to concerns over school image when girls take off their belts out of school and allowing the uniform to look baggy.

The girls are also issued with a blue skirt, currently used as casual wear, with their own CCA T-shirt or the standard PE T-shirt. From Year 4 onwards, girls wear uniforms of a new design as required for the RVIP programmes. It consists of a white top with a blue skirt.

Boys' Uniform
Boys in River Valley High School wears a uniform that consists of a bush-jacket and a pair of shorts, for students up to Year 3. From Year 4 onwards, boys wear uniforms of a new design as required for the RVIP programme.

The uniform also contains 6 pockets; 3 on the bush-jacket, 2 on the front of the shorts and one at the left breast. The letters 'RV' are present on the left chest pocket.

In the 1970s and 1980s when River Valley High School conducted pre-university classes, the Pre-University boys wore long pants to differentiate them from secondary school boys. With the introduction of the RVIP programme, students from Years 4-6 are required to purchase uniforms of a new design, consisting of a white top with a white long pants. They are required to put on a collar pin to differentiate themselves from other schools.

Metal Button
River Valley High School uniforms takes on a unique feature of traditional Chinese schools. It uses metal buttons instead of normal plastic ones. The metal buttons consists of 2 parts, the button and the ring. The button is a mushroom-shaped piece that consists of a shield and a tail that has a ring at the bottom. There is an inscription of the words 立化 in calligraphic writing on the surface of the shield. The button is removable from the uniform.

River Valley High School is one of the few schools left with such a design of buttons. The buttons are removable. However, since 2004, the buttons have been changed to be sewn on the clothes itself. Nevertheless the inscriptions still remains on the buttons to retain the school identity which is much displayed by the school's one-of-a-kind uniform girls use 5 metal buttons for the uniforms (3 for the front and 2 for the shoulder flaps) and boys use 6 or 7 metal buttons (4 or 5 for the front and 2 for the shoulder flaps) as their uniform is not tucked and longer.

However in the uniforms from Year 4 onwards, the metal buttons has been replaced by ordinary white buttons.

Insignia and Student Leadership
River Valley High School also has another unique feature of traditional Chinese schools - the two shoulder flaps. Traditional Chinese schools award ranks to the students according to their achievement and seniority, and these shoulder flaps, like military uniforms, are used to hold apulets that denotes their ranks. Since the abolition of this system, the shoulder flaps serves no major purposes, but instead is reminiscent of its roots as a traditional Chinese school; an identity among the Chinese schools.

In 1987, the Student Council adopted insignia - rings made of cloth material with different colours - on the shoulder flaps to identify key appointment holders in the school. This helps appointment holders understand and identify themselves as leaders of the school. The following insignia were once given to various key appointment holders:


 * Red - Student Council Executive Councillor
 * Green - Student Councillor
 * Yellow - Class Chairperson
 * Blue - CCA President / CCA Vice-President

Cabinet Councillors are elected annually, with the candidates coming from the Year 4 level. These Councillors wear ties to distinguish themselves from the rest of the students. The House Captain of each of the six Houses (namely, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple) comes from the Cabinet Council while the other members of the House Council are elected through voting.

Collar Pins
Students of the school also wear collar pins on the left collar. The collar pin usually consists of 2 pins, one of which is the school pin and the other is their CCA pin. This helps the students identify themselves strongly as a member of the school and their CCA. One can easily identify which CCA a particular student belongs to by just looking at the collar pin. Performing arts groups, being the niche of the school, have another unique feature to the collar pin - a tail at the back of the pin. Some CCAs do not have a collar pin.

The school collar pin is worn above the CCA collar pin (with the exception of NCC and NPCC as their CCA pin contains the national crest and thus have to be placed above the school pin).

Student councillors, class leaders, and CCA leaders have the appropriate wording 'Student Council', 'Class Leader', or 'CCA Leader' inscribed on their school collar pin. Peer Support Leaders (PSL) wears a different collar pin, on top of their school collar pin, with the picture of a clownfish to represent the ideals of the PSL Group.

Since 2011, collar pins with the wordings 'Class Leader' or 'CCA Leader' are no longer given to class leaders and CCA leaders respectively. Instead, they are given the 'Student Council' collar pin.

Culture
River Valley High School has had a culture unique to itself for the past two decades. Graduates from River Valley High School are often viewed as having a special trait that identifies them as alumni of the school.

Chinese culture
River Valley High School, being a Special Assistance Plan school, has a very strong Chinese environment. Chinese language, culture and history are often emphasized in the School. It is compulsory for all Year 1 to 4 students to take up Higher Chinese as a subject, Chinese culture lessons are also mandatory in lower secondary and students can opt for Chinese Literature in upper secondary. All students and most of the staff of River Valley High School are competent in both English and Chinese. This special trait of River Valley High School is expressed in many ways. For example, the national pledge is recited in both English and Chinese and speeches during major events are given in English, and then repeated in Chinese.

This kind of environment inoculates the students in a literary environment, where Chinese is a common medium of communication between the students, and sometimes even between the students and the teachers (during off-lesson hours).

RV Cultural Night
Once an event to celebrate half-decade anniversaries, the flagship product of RV's performing arts niche achieved a higher level when it became a bi-annual event for the school to showcase the dazzle and standard of its performing arts groups.

The RV cultural night is usually a 2-day event spanning a weekend during the second term of the schooling year. It features performances put up by the various performing arts groups of the school.

The 2 days are usually differentiated by theme, often one being Asian and the other being international. This allows the performing arts groups to experiment with new styles of performances, and also enhances the flexibility of the performing arts groups to be able to adapt to a myriad of themes and styles. The dazzling performances of the groups often impress the public, both in a casual and a professional aspect.

Academics
River Valley High School have always been among the top performers in Singapore in the General Cambridge Examinations 'O' Levels. Its academic niche has always been the sciences and mathematics-related subjects.

Entry Requirements
Traditionally, River Valley High School benchmarks its entry cut-off point at an aggregate of 253 for the Primary School Leaving Examinations. As River Valley High School has no affiliation with primary schools (not even River Valley Primary School), its doors are open to all who meet the cut-off point requirement. Certain appeals may be accepted, but the entry aggregate is never below 250. For 2009, 2010 and 2011, it had an entry score of 251, 253 and 254 respectively.

On top of that, those who are interested in enrolling into River Valley High School must offer Higher Chinese at 'O' Levels. River Valley High School only offers the Special Stream, hence making Higher Chinese compulsory. This criterion makes RV almost an exclusively Chinese school, with only a few cases of students of other races offering Higher Chinese. '''

Examination Standards
Being a Special Assistance Plan and Autonomous school, the school is able to set its own standards in terms of teaching and testing. The school is adept and well known for teaching a certain topic to a greater depth than that required by the Ministry of Education (Singapore)|Ministry of Education. This allows the student to understand the topic more thoroughly and thus be able to apply their knowledge in more situations. The examinations in River Valley High School is pitched at a high standard, challenging the students to think and analyse the situation before being able to come to a conclusion. In RV, this is believed to allow the students to better apply their in-depth knowledge.

Promotion Criteria
There are promotional criteria in RV, combined with a very stringent subject combination selection process.
 * Promotion from Y1 to Y2: GPA of 2.0, Grade B4 in both English Language Arts and Higher Chinese Language, Conduct grade of Very Good
 * Promotion from Y2 to Y3: GPA of 2.0, Grade B4 in both English Language Arts and Higher Chinese Language, Conduct grade of Very Good(Note that NAPFA has been changed to CCAC Grade due to NAPFA being tested every two years)
 * Promotion from Y3 to Y4: GPA of 2.0, Grade B4 in both English Language Arts and Higher Chinese Language, Conduct grade of Very Good,(Note that NAPFA has been changed to CCAC Grade due to NAPFA being tested every two years)
 * Promotion from Y4 to Y5: GPA of 2.5, Grade B4 in both English Language Arts and Higher Chinese Language, Conduct grade of Very Good, (Note that NAPFA has been changed to CCAC Grade due to NAPFA being tested every two years)
 * Promotion from Y5 to Y6: University Admission Score of 40 points, 6 academic units pass including General Paper, Conduct grade of Very Good,(Note that NAPFA has been changed to CCAC Grade due to NAPFA being tested every two years)

Students who fail to meet any of the academic criteria may be given a Conditional Promotion. Those who fail to meet any holistic development criteria will only be advanced to the next level of study.

This ensures that the students are fully able to cope with whatever subjects they are offering, and that they will be able to do their best in the national examinations.

Year-End Examinations
All students are required to take examinations at the end of the year.
 * Y1, Y2, Y3 and Y4: End-of-Year Examinations
 * Y5: Promotional Examinations
 * Y6: Preliminary Examinations (before the GCE 'A' Level Examinations)

From 2010 to 2012, students who did well in Term 1 to 3 were exempted, either under the Partial Exemption Scheme (PES) or the Full Exemption Scheme (FES). Under the PES, students did not have to take the papers for subjects which they scored 80% in the Continual Assessments. Those emplaced under FES were exempted from the Exams. The exemption schemes were only applicable to Year 1 to 5 students. The exemption schemes are now defunct, with effect from 2013.

Legacy
For the class of 2004, River Valley High School achieved an average L1R5 score of 9.6, placing it at its height for the past ten years. It earned the school a ranking of 5th in Singapore, behind the Big Four Secondary Schools of Singapore (Raffles Institution, Raffles Girls' School, Hwa Chong Institution and Nanyang Girls' High School).

River Valley High School Integrated Programme (RVIP)
Starting from 2006, River Valley High School will start offering the 6-year Integrated Programme, allowing its students to take the GCE 'A' level examinations at the end their sixth year in the school. It is also set to offer the Bicultural Studies Programme (Chinese), joining Dunman High School, Hwa Chong Institution, Raffles Institution and Nanyang Girls' High School. This programme will groom students with a good foundation in Chinese language, history and culture, and an understanding of contemporary China.

Desired Outcomes

 * The RVIP graduate is an independent and passionate learner with a sense of tradition and integrity.


 * He possesses strong moral character and uses his talents to serve the community.


 * He is effectively bilingual in English and Chinese.


 * His global perspective and holistic development facilitate a disposition to embrace new challenges in a changing world.

Curriculum Framework
The unique features of the RVIP curriculum:


 * The RVIP seeks to develop each child holistically and equip him with the requisite ASK: Attitude, Skills and Knowledge. ASK permeates all programmes and is a school-wide effort to encourage the nurturance of good habits of mind, thinking skills and knowledge construction. ASK is not a programme. It is a learning culture, the invisible hand that guides the thinking, planning and implementation of the RVIP curriculum.


 * RVIP is delivered through a broad-based and rigorous curriculum, anchored in the design of a process-centred curriculum. This is a pedagogical shift from focusing on content in education to including both content and process. As the pupils learn, they focus their own learning and thinking on why they learn, what they learn and how they learn. At times, they may have to unlearn in order to relearn. Through an inquiry-led process, they seek to form meanings from the various learning opportunities provided in their curriculum.


 * As a Special Assistance Plan (SAP) school, we seek to develop all students to be effectively bilingual in English and Chinese as well as nurture a core group to be bicultural in orientation. The move towards a bicultural orientation will provide these students with a strong understanding of China's culture, history and recent developments so that they are in a better position to engage China and the West with confidence.

Programmes
The RVIP curriculum offers 5 different programmes:

The Construct, Integrate, Differentiate (CID) Programme
The Construct, Integrate, Differentiate (CID) Programme is an integrated curriculum that focuses on knowledge construction with differentiation features to cater to the diverse talents and interests of the students.

The CID Programme provides students with opportunities to construct their own learning by integrating knowledge from various disciplines, using modes of inquiry appropriate to the subject or project that they are working on. In the CID Programme, students spend their freed time constructively on inquiry-based and research-oriented project work. Teamwork is emphasised through collaborative and co-operative learning.

CID Extended Learning
After completing work in the Learning Clusters, they are ready to embark on new ventures. The CID Extended Learning is designed with the objectives of providing students with the opportunities to engage in individualised research in an area of strength.

All students must complete coursework in Research Methods and opt to undertake research in one of the following programmes: the Junior Scientists Programme, Innovators Programme, Mathematics Talent Programme and the Explorers Programme.

Students can also seek attachments at the local or overseas institutes for the CID Extended Learning.

The CID Extended Learning also provides students with the requisite ASK to undertake their Project Work in Year 5. They can also opt to study the new subject, "Knowledge and Inquiry" in Year 5 and 6.

The Research Methods Course is an extension of what the students have learnt in their Learning Clusters but in more depth and using the research method appropriate to the individualised research. Students will learn both quantitative and qualitative methods.
 * Research Methods Course

After completion of their work, student will have opportunities to present their research findings at the RVIP Symposium held at the beginning of Year 5. The Symposium will also bring together distinguished speakers who will share on their work and challenges of research with the students.
 * RVIP Symposium

The Junior Scientists Programme provides students with opportunities to engage in further scientific research in an area of their choice. Students will learn advanced scientific research methods, especially in the biomedical sciences.
 * Junior Scientist Programme

The Innovators Programme focuses on idea and product innovation. It seeks to further develop students' interest in the area of creativity in technopreneurship by honing their engineering and design skills in innovation related work.
 * Innovators Programme

Students who excel in Mathematics and are interested in pursuing more demanding coursework can join the Mathematics Talent Programme. Students will progress from Ancient Chinese, Greek, Russian and Egyptian mathematics to modern European and American works on Abstract Algebra, Calculus, Logic and Engineering & Financial Mathematics.
 * Mathematics Talent Programme

The Explorers Programme is a wide-ranging programme that covers exploration into a student's research interests in the humanities, arts and languages. This Programme extends students' research interest developed from the Learning Clusters for Aesthetics and Language Arts, Humanities and Chinese. Students can opt to work on long-term projects with our local museums, the National Archives, performing arts groups or with the local universities. Opportunities for further learning are provided through overseas exchange programmes in China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia.
 * Explorers Programme

Academic Programme
The Academic Programme allows students to explore both breadth and depth across a range of subjects. Students complete work in the Foundation and Exploration subjects before proceeding to the Consolidation subjects.

Subjects allow students to have a good understanding of the various disciplines: Mathematics, Science, Aesthetics and Language Arts and the Humanities. New subjects such as Aesthetics, Biomedical Science and Economics may be offered to students. The RVIP is a 6-year course leading to the G.C.E "A" Level Examination. Teacher-mentors will guide the students in their choice of subjects. The table shows the Foundation, Exploration and Consolidation subjects spanning a 6-year coursework. In Years 5 and 6, students will follow the revised G.C.E. "A" Level curriculum. Every student will be required to take at least 1 contrasting subject, that is, at least one Arts/Humanities or Mathematics/Science subject outside his main area of specialisation.

CHAMPS Programme
CHAMPS is an acronym for


 * Character Education
 * Health Education
 * Active Citizenry
 * Moral Philosophy
 * Physical Education
 * Student Leadership Development

CHAMPS is a unique and integrated Pupil Development Programme designed by RV. It focuses on the nurturance of values and character. It seeks to develop life skills, and the social, national, cultural and moral consciousness of the students. ASK will be infused in the teaching and learning of PDP. Besides the core modules in CHAMPS, students would complete at least 1 PDP elective module each year.

Co-Curricular Programme
The principal feature of the school's Co-Curricular Programme (CCP) is to support the holistic development of students and stretch them beyond the academic domain. The CCP is designed to uncover talents, develop potential, build character, stretch physical and mental capacities and cultivate a lifelong interest in healthy activities.

The CCP is delivered through a broad framework of Co-Curricular Activities (CCA) and Enrichment Programmes. These also allow the students to demonstrate initiative, self-directedness, independent learning and decision-making. Pupils are also encouraged to take up leadership positions to hone their leadership skills. All pupils must participate in one core co-curricular activity.

Co-curricular activities (CCAs)
River Valley High School excels in all aspects of its co-curricular activities. It has achieved the Sustained Achievement Award in three areas: Physical Fitness, Aesthetics and Uniformed Groups.

Performing Arts
Singapore Youth Festival Arts Presentation (Distinction) - 2013 Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging (Gold) - 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2009
 * River Valley Dance Society

Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging (Gold with Honours) - 2005, 2007, 2011 Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging (Gold) - 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2011
 * River Valley Concert Band

Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging (Gold with Honours) - 2005

Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging (Silver) - 2009

4th Asian Symphonic Band Competition, 2nd Prize - 2002 Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging (Gold) - 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009
 * River Valley Chinese Orchestra

Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging (Gold with Honours) - 2007, 2011 Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging (Gold) - 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2009, 2011
 * River Valley Chorale

Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging (Gold with Honours) - 2005, 2007, Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging (Bronze) - 2009 Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging (Silver) - 2011 Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging (Gold) - 2003, 2011 Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging (Gold with Honours) - 2009 Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging (Bronze) - 2005, 2007 Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging (Gold) - 2007 Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging (Silver) - 2009 Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging (Bronze) - 2011
 * River Valley String Ensemble
 * River Valley English Literary, Drama and Debate Society (ELDDS)
 * River Valley Chinese Literary, Drama and Debate Society (CLDDS)

RV's niche is in performing arts, and every student, teacher, parent and members of the top management involves and supports the performing arts programmes fully. The four performing arts groups in RV bring the school's performing arts achievements to their respective pinnacles in the 21st Century. RV's performing arts is well known in the local scene for producing performances of high standards. For the achievements that the performing arts groups have obtained, the school is awarded with the Sustained Achievement Award for Arts since 2001.

Uniformed Groups
have been consistently awarded the "Corps Achievement Award (Gold)" - 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
 * River Valley National Cadet Corps (NCC)
 * River Valley National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC)
 * River Valley St John Ambulance Brigade (SJAB)
 * River Valley Scouts
 * River Valley Girl Guides

The uniformed groups have also been an integral part of RV. The uniformed groups form parades in school for important events such as the annual speech day. They are also well-recognised as one of the premier uniformed groups in the West Zone Cluster. The uniformed groups have been contributing many awards and accolades to the school, often bringing along with them fame and honour.

The uniformed groups are an iconic feature in RV, making them stand out among other CCAs. The uniformed groups members are respected in the school for what they are doing, and what they have helped the school to become

For the achievements, the school has been awarded with the Sustained Achievement Award for Uniformed Groups since 2001.

Sports
RV also offers sports CCAs:


 * Athletics (Cross Country and Track And Field)
 * Badminton
 * Basketball
 * Floorball (Only offered to Year 5 and 6 students)
 * Netball
 * Shooting (Only offered to Year 5 and 6 students)
 * Soccer   (Only offered to Year 3, Year 4,Year 5 and 6 students)
 * Softball
 * Table Tennis
 * Volleyball
 * Wushu (Chinese Martial Arts)

National Schools Games Awards:'''
 * Girls' Basketball Team West Zone 1991 - 4th place
 * Girls' Basketball Team National 1991 - 3rd place
 * National Cross Country C Girls 2008 - 3rd, 2012- 1st
 * National Cross Country B Girls 2011-1st, 2012- 2nd
 * West Zone Netball C Girls 2008 - 4th. 2007 - 1st
 * West Zone Table Tennis B Boys 2008 - 3rd. 2007, 2006 - 4th
 * West Zone Table Tennis B Girls 2008, 2007, 2006 - 2nd
 * West Zone Table Tennis C Boys 2008 - 2nd. 2007, 2006 - 3rd
 * West Zone Table Tennis C Girls 2008, 2007, 2006 - 2nd
 * West Zone Basketball C Boys 2005 - 3rd
 * West Zone Basketball Division B Boys 2006 - 2nd
 * National Basketball Division A Boys 2011 - 3rd
 * National Softball Championships C Girls 2011-2nd 2012-3rd
 * 8th SSSC National Inter-School Wushu Championships 2012
 * C Boys Division - Third
 * C Girls Division - Fourth
 * C Boys Team Quanshu - Bronze
 * C Girls Team Quanshu - 4th
 * A Girls Team Quanshu - Bronze
 * C Boys Individual Events - 5 Golds, 2 Silvers, 2 Bronzes
 * C Girls Individual Events - 2 Golds, 2 Silvers, 2 Bronzes
 * B Boys Individual Events - 1 Bronze
 * A Girls Individual Events - 3 Bronzes

Clubs and Societies

 * River Valley Infocomm Club
 * National StrITwise Challenge 2007, 2008 - 1st in the RoboCode category
 * National Junior Robotics Competition 2008, 2010 - Championship Award (Secondary)
 * National Junior Robotics Competition 2010 - Championship Award (Tertiary)
 * FIRST Lego League World Festival 2008 - Champion's Award 1st Place
 * National StrITwise Challenge 2008 - Overall Runners-Up
 * FIRST Lego League Singapore 2009 - Champion's Award
 * National Olympiad in Informatics 2011 - 3 Silver Awards & 5 Bronze Awards

2007:
 * River Valley Mindsports Club
 * Nanyang Polytechnic Chinese Chess Competition
 * 2nd Position
 * 4th Position
 * Zong Xiang Bei Chinese Chess
 * 5th Position
 * 12th Char Yong Cup Students Xiangqi Championships
 * 6th Position
 * 4th Lim Boon Heng Cup Secondary School Scrabble Championship 2007
 * 1st Position
 * 9th Position

2008:
 * 5th Lim Boon Heng Cup Scrabble Open Championship 2008
 * 4th Position
 * 7th Position
 * 11th Position
 * 13th Char Yong Cup Students Xiangqi Championships
 * "U18" Category 2nd Position
 * "Girls under 18" Category 4th Position
 * "U16" Category 5th Position
 * NYJC Cup Xiangqi Championships 2008
 * Individual Champion
 * Individual 2nd Position
 * Individual 3rd Position
 * Individual 5th Position
 * Individual 6th Position
 * Team Champion
 * Team 3rd Position
 * 2nd Ma Kuang Cup National Youth Weiqi Championships 2008
 * Team 4th Position
 * 24th Raffles Cup Inter School Chinese Chess Competition 2008
 * Team Champion
 * Battle of the Wits 08 (Chinese Chess Competition)
 * Team Champion
 * Individual 2nd Position
 * Singapore National Scrabble Championship
 * 4th Position
 * Toa Payoh East CC Chinese Chess Competition 2008
 * Champion
 * 2nd Position
 * 4th Position
 * 6th Position
 * 7th Position
 * 3rd Jurong Green CC Scrabble Championship 08
 * 2nd Position
 * 6th Position
 * 7th Position
 * 9th Position
 * 10th Position

2009:
 * 3rd Jurong Junior College Cup Xiangqi Competition
 * Team 2nd Position
 * Individual 6th Position
 * Individual 7th Position
 * National Youth Weiqi Championship 2009
 * Under 15 Group B Individual 8th
 * 14th Char Yong Cup Students Xiangqi Championships
 * "Girls under 18" Category Champion
 * "U16" Category Champion
 * 6th Lim Boon Heng Secondary School Scrabble Championship
 * 3rd Position
 * 4th Position
 * 9th Position

2011:
 * 2nd Pioneer Junior College Cup Chess Challenge
 * Secondary Team 5th Position
 * JC Team 3rd Position
 * 16th Char Yong Cup Students Xiangqi Championships
 * Preliminary Round U16 Category 6th
 * Preliminary Round U16 Category 12th (Enter Finals)
 * Preliminary Round U18 Category 8th
 * Preliminary Round U18 Category 15th (Enter Finals)
 * Final Round U16 Category 8th
 * Final Round U18 Category 10th - Top 10
 * 5th Jurong Junior College Cup Chess Competition 2011
 * 6th Position
 * NYJC Cup Xiangqi Championships 2011
 * Individual Champion
 * Team 2nd Position
 * 26th Raffles Inter-School Chinese Chess Competition (Raffles Cup)
 * Individual Blitz 6th
 * Individual Blitz 8th
 * 2nd RV Cup Chinese Chess Doubles Championship 2011
 * Tertiary Pair 3rd
 * Tertiary Pair 5th
 * Tertiary Best Performing Team (Consisting Pair 3rd, 5th and 7th)

Awards and Accolades
The Ministry of Education, Singapore gives out awards annually to recognise the efforts of the school in promoting various aspects of education. River Valley High School has always been a prominent recipient of these awards, being one of the first five schools to receive the Sustained Achievement Awards. In 2000, River Valley High School was also one of the first school to receive all three Sustained Achievement Awards available then.

In 2002, River Valley High School was independently audited and was awarded the Singapore Quality Class.

When the School Excellence Award and the School Distinction Award were established in 2004 to succeed the school ranking system that was becoming obsolete due to the introduction of the integrated programme, River Valley High School was one of the three schools to receive both special awards.