Presbyterian High School (Simplified Chinese: 长老会中学) is a government-aided co-ed missionary secondary school

Secondary school

Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

 in Ang Mo Kio

Ang Mo Kio

Ang Mo Kio（宏茂桥） is a heartland new town located in north central Singapore, and is generally within the North-East Region. It contains many of the common features of the island nation's neighbourhoods, e.g. hawker centres, wet markets and HDB housing blocks. Singapore's Prime Minister, Lee Hsien...

, Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

. It has affiliations with Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School

Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School

Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary is a co-educational, SAP and government-aided primary school located at Pei Wah Avenue in Bukit Timah, Singapore....

, Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary School

Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary School

Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary School is a government-aided co-educational primary school in Bishan, Singapore. Students here are known as 'KCPians'...

, Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Secondary School

Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Secondary School

Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Secondary School is a co-educational government-aided secondary school located in Bishan St 13, Singapore.-Brief history:* 1924 - Two Christian Ministers founded Katong Girls' School...

, Saint Andrew's Junior College

Saint Andrew's Junior College

Saint Andrew's Junior College is a junior college in Singapore, offering a two-year course for pre-university students leading up to GCE 'A' Level examinations....

, Ang Mo Kio Presbyterian Church and Bethel Presbyterian Church.

The school has been awarded the Ministry of Education

Ministry of Education (Singapore)

The Ministry Of Education is a ministry of the Government of Singapore that directs the formulation and implementation of policies related to education in Singapore.-Statutory boards:...

 Top Value-added Award 7 times in the last 9 years for the Normal Stream and is the first school to be identified by the Ministry of Education as a double Niche School for Uniformed Groups and Volleyball (Girls).

The school was accorded the People Developer Standard since December 2001 and ISO 9001 :2000 certification since May 2002 and BE Niche Standard (People) certification in October 2008. In 2006, it received the double award of the Development Award for Character Development and National Education.

History

In 1960, under the vision and conviction of founding father, Rev Alan S Moore Anderson, the Presbyterian Synod passed the resolution to start a God-centred institution of learning and Li Sun High (former name of Presbyterian High School) was thus founded in 1965 at Upper Serangoon Road. LSH shared premises with Ming Sin Primary School and was home to 150 students. It was a Chinese-language school but switched to English in 1981 to bring it into line with Ministry of Education policies. In 1978 it came under the management of Bethel Presbyterian Church. In 1981 the Synod approved the name change to Presbyterian High School and the school moved to Ang Mo Kio in 1983.

Before 2002, PHS occupied a small plot of land located across the road from the Yio Chu Kang MRT Station

Yio Chu Kang MRT Station

Yio Chu Kang MRT Station ' is an above-ground Mass Rapid Transit station on the North South Line in Singapore.The station's architecture design theme is similar to Ang Mo Kio station, with brown granite walls and floors, except for the middle platform in Ang Mo Kio station, which this station does...

, and shared a field with the neighbouring Li Hua Primary School and Ang Mo Kio North Primary School, even though PHS shared no affiliations with either of these. Today, the school stands on 3 hectares of land and is home to over 1,400 students and staff. The new school includes a hall that can accommodate the entire school population, well-equipped computer laboratories and IT-enabled classrooms, as well as the National Education Stairwell and the Olive Garden.

In 2007, PHS was chosen as one of the seven schools to participate in the Sino Singapore Cultural Exchange Programme 2007. In the same year, the school accepted the invitation by the ASEAN-Japan Friendship Association for the 21st Century (SAJAFA-21) to participate in the Miyazaki-Singapore Friendship Exchange Programme.

Redevelopment

In 1997, a proposal to rebuild the school was accepted by the Management Board and the Presbyterian Synod, and in 1999 the school was granted MOE's approval for total rebuilding.
In 2002 the school's redevelopment was complete, and students moved into the new buildings. A Homecoming March ceremony was held involving past and present students. The new school campus has an air-conditioned hall and a clock tower, paid for by the alumni and money raised over the years. It has a school field made from an empty plot of land nearby.

Then acting Minister of Education Tharman Shanmugaratnam

Tharman Shanmugaratnam

Tharman Shanmugaratnam is a politician from Singapore. A member of the governing People's Action Party , he is currently the country's Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Finance and Minister for Manpower. He previously served as the Minister for Education from 2003 to 2008...

 graced the official opening ceremony of the newly redeveloped PHS campus in May 2004. He spoke on "Developing strength of character and discipline" and commended PHS on its achievements in this area, emphasising the Singapore government's support for schools' use of corporal punishment to keep discipline problems in check.

School ethos, discipline and customs

PHS is designed to appeal to parents wishing their sons and daughters to benefit from a tightly-structured and very strict school setting in the service of God. The rules for discipline and the code of conduct lay down rigorous behavioural standards, noting that truancy, vandalism, smoking and other serious offences are severely punished.

In 2002, the Student Council was formed, replacing the Prefectorial Board. The Council is a bridge between the student body and the school administrative staff.

School crest

The crest is topped by two waves signifying the continuous growth and development of the School from its founding as Li Sun High School to the present Presbyterian High School.

The dove with a stalk of olive leaves depicts the development of the spiritual and moral life in the School and guides us in our education which is represented by the Book.

The cross represents faith in God.

The burning bush with its motto "Aflame for Truth" signifies that the school is part of the community of Christians in Presbyterian Churches all over the world.

The white and blue background represents the school colours: white symbolises a quest for truth while blue stands for a pursuit of excellence.

School song

Behold the burning bush,

Presbyterian glorious sign.

From Bethel we have built Li Sun High,

and our school by God's design.

Firm in hope with fortitude,

we will strengthen our resolve.

Harmony respect for all,

help us every problem solve.

We flourish in eastern values.

We make western advance as our own.

Follow Jesus in every way,

let us all as pioneers be known!

Follow Jesus in every way,

let us all as pioneers be known!

看 荆 棘 焚 而 不 毁

吾 长 老 会 的 异 象

在 伯 特 利 创 礼 逊

达 宏 茂 桥 建 长 中

立 定 信 心 加 毅 力

刚 强 奋 志 向 前 进

敬 业 精 神 又 乐 群

切 磋 琢 磨 谦 与 冲

发 扬 东 方 文 化 道 统

探 求 西 欧 科 技 知 识

效 法 基 督 完 全 样 式

立 己 立 人 为 民 前 锋

效 法 基 督 完 全 样 式

立 己 立 人 为 民 前 锋

School Faculty

32.9% of PHS teaching staff are below 30 years old and 67.1% above 30. Their average age is 36.87. 64.6% are female. 91.1% have a university degree and above. Over 16.4% of teachers have taught in the school for more than 10 years and 31.6% of the teachers have been with the school for more than 5 years.

Students

PHS is home to a rich mix of pupils in terms of ethnicity, nationality and socio-economic standing. About 8.4% of the pupils are non-Chinese. Less than 11% of the population is non-Singaporeans. Over 44% of their parents have a polytechnic diploma or a university degree.

The school has a total of 36 classes with an average of 8 Express, 2 Normal (Academic) classes and 1 Normal (Technical) class at each of the 4 levels (Secondary 1‑4) and 3 Secondary 5 classes.

The school has integrated its curriculum into three engines of growth - the Academic Excellence Programme, the Learning to Learn Programme and the Character Development Programme.

School CCA

PHS has been awarded the Sustained Achievement Award for Uniformed Group for 8 years. In 2005, she was ascribed the Direct Schools Admissions (DSA) for Uniformed Group.

In 2007, PHS received its first Sustained Achievement Award for Sports. It was the only school in Singapore with a second DSA through Volleyball. In 2008, PHS achieved its second SAA (Sports).

Games and sports

Volleyball(niche)

Basketball

Soccer

Badminton

Netball

Table Tennis

Taekwando

Gymnastics

Floorball

Clubs and societies

Media Resource Library

Audio Engineering

Video Club

LEO Club

Science Club

Zion Zone 52.9