Chung Cheng High School

Chung Cheng High School is a Special Assistance Plan (SAP) secondary school in Singapore. It was opened in 1939 at Kim Yam Road by Aw Boon Haw and other businessmen. It started as an all boys school but became a co-ed school after World War II.

The school is named after Chiang Kai-shek, President of the Republic of China from 1948 to 1975, who is also known as Chiang Chung-cheng.

Chung Cheng High School has a sister school, now known as Chung Cheng High School (Yishun) located at Yishun St. 61. The main school is now located at 40–56 Goodman Road. Both schools are affiliated to Nanyang Junior College. Chung Cheng High School (Main) is renowned for its lake, known as the Zhongzheng Lake (中正湖); its size has been reduced by about two-thirds by several school-expansion programmes since the 1950s. The recent phase of upgrading cost Chung Cheng High School (Main) around $70 million, and saw the renovation of several buildings, such as the Administration Building. The new extension is built on a portion of the lake, with part of the building extending into the lake. The main building has the auditorium which was the largest in the whole Southeast Asia region when it was opened.

Chung Cheng High school (Main) was accorded SAP status in 1979, and achieved autonomous status in 1996 for consistently good O-level results. The school was placed in Band 1 for the recent school ranking exercise 2007. The founding principal, Zhuang Zhulin, was also Principal of Nanyang University.

1939-1944
Construction started at 60 Kim Yam Road in 1939. The school's name in English was Shiang Kai Sek Secondary School. The founding principal of the school was Zhuang Zhulin and the school's first school supervisor was war hero Lim Bo Seng. The school's founding Chairman of the School Management Board was Aw Boon Haw. In 1940 Xie Rongxi took over the appointment of chairman of the management board from Aw. Students came from as far as Thailand and the Philippines. Following the Japanese occupation of Singapore in 1942, the school was forced to stop classes.

1945-1960
After the war, classes resumed and the school started enrolling female students. The school started accepting students whose ages were older than the average. Xie Rongxi was re-appointed as chairman of the management committee and Zhuang Zhulin was re-appointed principal.

The school achieved top honours among Singapore schools in the first national examination after the war. The student population increased so much that Lin Shi wan, Chairman of the Management Board, bought a piece of land at Goodman Road, naming it Chung Cheng High School (Main) while calling the one at Kim Yam road Chung Cheng High School (Branch).

In 1953, Chen Wenque took over as Chairman of the Management Board and improved upon the school facilities.

July 1957 to Dec 1957 Shen Weilin (Appointed as chairman of the school Executive committee, covering the duties of Zhuang Zhulin in his absence.) 1985-1959 Wang Changji 1960 Jan - Sept Lin Yuji 1960 Sept - Dec Lin Qiyuan

1960 - 1989
During this period, three principals served the school for more than 6 years each:

Huang Faggui 1961 to May 1967 Yao Fusen 1967 - August 1967 (acting Principal) Qiu Xinmin August 1967-March74 Chia Thiam Soon April 1974- April 1981

In 1965, Goh Tjioe Kok was appointed Chairman of the School Management Committee. This period saw the independence of Singapore. The period saw the completion of the auditorium in 1968 and the Science and Technology Block in 1975. In 1979 the school became a SAP school. Under the scheme, the school offers both the English and Chinese languages as first languages to Special Stream students. In April 1981 Goh Seow Chew was appointed the Principal of the school succeeding Chia Thiam Soon.

1982 saw the first batch of the Special Stream students taking their 'O' Levels.

1990 - 1993
Work on the building of the Craft-cum-Technical Complex began in 1990, and was completed by 1992. That same year, Chung Cheng High (Main) achieved very good results in the GCE 'O' Level Examination and was one of the 'valued-added' SAP schools. It continued to achieve outstanding GCE 'O' Level results in 1993 and was ranked among the top 10 'value-added' schools.

1994 - 2000
With the demise of Goh Tjioe Kok in 1994, Wee Cho Yaw was elected Chairman of the School Management Committee. Under his leadership, the school embarked on an ambitious upgrading programme.

In 1995, Yang Che Kay was appointed Principal of the school, taking over from Goh Seow Chow who retired that same year.

Due to its consistent good performance in the GCE 'O' Level Examinations, the school achieved autonomous status in 1996.

The third phase of the school development ended in 1999. To complement the 32 classroom block which had been completed in 1995, a 320-seater lecture theatre was added together with other facilities such as computer laboratories, a Media Resource Library, Science Laboratories, a music room, complete with learning hardware and software, with other special rooms. Facilities such as tennis courts, a street soccer court and a lake amidst a lawn added character and style to the sprawling campus. The Grand Hall was also refurbished with new seats and parquet flooring, increasing its seating capacity to 2000.

After the end of 2000, Yang Che Kay left to assume the position of Cluster Superintendent of West 5 Cluster. The school's SMC supervisor, Lee Chin Chuan, having served in the post for more than two decades also stepped down that year, and was succeeded in June 2000 by Jimmy Koh, a supportive old boy of the school.

2001 - 2005
In Dec 2000, Yue Lip Sin became principal of Chung Cheng High School (Main). His plans to meet the demands of the 21st Century were encapsulated by the acronym "DEBEST", which stood for Developing Character, Energising Curriculum, Building Capacity, Empowering Staff and Strengthening Partnership.

The school embarked on a project to develop a heritage gallery, that would not just be for people associated with Chung Cheng High School but for anyone interested in Singapore's history. In July 2003, the school's heritage gallery was opened by Chan Soo Sen, Minister of State of Education. It has historical artefacts, photographs and IT presentations.

In 2003 the school's programmes and processes were acknowledged when it was presented with the Singapore Quality Circle Award for its great contribution to education. The school received the MOE Thinking Culture (Best Schools) awards for three consecutive years (2002–2004).

In May 2004, the school was the first to put on a full performance at the theatre in the Esplanade. In December 2004, Yue was promoted to spearhead the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning (CPCLL) as the Deputy Director for Languages and Literature, Curriculum Planning and Development Division at MOE HQ. After Yue's departure for the new post, Lo Chee Lin was appointed Principal of the school (no stranger to the school as he was the Vice-Principal from 1995 to 1996).

The school launched a 4-year Chinese Studies Programme (CSP) in January 2005 to provide pupils opportunities to increase their exposure and have a deeper appreciation of Chinese culture.

In April 2005, Chung Cheng was selected to serve as the Centre of Excellence for Chinese in the East Zone (COE). The renovation of our CCA block began in July to make way for the centre.

2005 also saw Chung Cheng gaining a place in the record books by settling a new Guinness World Record for the longest can-chain (previously held by South Africa's Aurora School). This project was undertaken in a bid to inculcate environmental awareness and to raise funds for the needy.

The school was awarded the coveted 'School Distinction Award' in recognition of the processes that the school has put in place that lead to sustained achievements in students outcome.

2006–present
In 2006, Innosphere, the name coined for the new Centre of Excellence(COE), was opened with its facilities such as a library for Chinese language resources, teahouse and auditorium. It serves as a venue for seminars, workshops, exhibitions and performances. The Centre houses all the aesthetics CCAs under one roof, in conjunction with the plan to develop our niche areas in the aesthetics programmes. To promoting a deeper understanding of Chinese culture, the school is involved in a twinning programme with schools in China.

Under the PRIME programme during 2010 and 2011, a new Indoor Sports Hall was built, together with a campus-wide link way system, renovated teaching blocks and a common staff room for all teaching staff.

School song
校歌 曰吾中正，至大至刚； 矗立星洲，巍巍昂昂； 华夏声教，广披炎荒； 欧印文明，他山之长； 好学力行，知耻是倡； 日新月异，不息自强； 止于至善，万国同光； 大哉中正，悠久无疆.

English translation of the school song
Overlooking the eastern shore of Singapore, Gallantly stands the magnificent Chung Cheng of ours.

Spreading far and wide our cultural heritage and traditions, Enriching it with the best of all great civilizations, By this we fulfil our mission.

With enthusiasm and perseverance we strive To achieve moral virtues and excellence. With new knowledge and wisdom we seek To constantly reinforce our confidence.

To be the best we can be, Our success and glory we share With people of all countries. To eternity we perpetuate The aspirations of our magnificent Chung Cheng, Far beyond all boundaries.

Principals
Chung Cheng High School (Main) 
 * 1939-1957: Zhuang Zhulin
 * 1957-1957: Shen Weilin
 * 1958-1959: Wang Ong Kian
 * 1960-1960: Lin Qiyuan
 * 1961-1967: Huang Faggui
 * 1967-1967: Yao Fusen
 * 1967-1974: Qiu Xinmin
 * 1974-1981: Chia Thiam Soon
 * 1982-1994: Goh Seow Chew
 * 1995-2000: Yang Che Kay
 * 2001-2004: Yue Lip Sin
 * 2005 to present: Lo Chee Lin

Chung Cheng High School (Yishun)
 * 1939-1957: Zhuang Zhulin
 * 1957-1960: Ko Pei Teck
 * 1960-1970: Kok Chong Peng
 * 1970-1978: Chuang Wei Lang
 * 1979-1994: Chua Hun Cheong
 * 1994-1999: Ong Kian Choon
 * 1999-2006: Yap Juye Long
 * 2007 to present: Ong Kock Hua

Uniform
Both schools' uniforms are quite similar, the main difference is that Chung Cheng (Main)'s uniform has an red name tag and red tie while those of Chung Cheng (Yishun) are blue. Both have white blouses and eight-pleated skirts for girls, white shirts and shorts for boys in Secondary 1 and 2 and long pants for boys in Secondary 3 and 4. The blouse has two breast pockets and seven metal buttons in total, two the shoulders, two on each pocket and three down the front. There are also differences in the school badges.

Alumni

 * Evelyn Tan - Actress
 * Jasmine Tye - Singer, Singapore Idol
 * Kang Cheng Xi - Actor
 * Low Thia Khiang - Member of Parliament, Aljunied; Secretary-General, Workers' Party
 * Wee Cho Yaw - Chairman, United Overseas Bank

Relationship with other schools
It is affiliated to Nanyang Junior College.It also holds an annual sports meet with Dunman High School, Temasek Secondary School and Ngee Ann Secondary School called the Four-School Combined Athletes Meet, in which students aged 13 to 16 from the four schools compete in sports events. The meet began in the 1980s, but the original configuration of the four schools where Dunman High School, Chung Cheng High (Main), Chung Cheng High (Branch) and Yock Eng School (now defunct). In the early days, these schools were situated near one another, and the meet was held at the National Stadium in Kallang (now demolished).