Our story
Founded on 1 July 1899 by three Peranakan pioneers who believed girls should be educated.
1 July 1899
Singapore Chinese Girls School (SCGS) was founded as an all-girls Peranakan school on the 1 July 1899 with seven Straits Chinese girls. This was made possible through the perseverance, courageous spirit and visionary leadership of our pioneers.
In 1895, China suffered a defeat by Japan and that set off a debate amongst some young Peranakans — who believed that the lack of female education was one of the reasons for China’s defeat. Chief amongst them were Sir Song Ong Siang, Dr Lim Boon Keng and Mr Khoo Seok Wan who later became the founders of SCGS.
The school provided education in English and Chinese to Chinese girls, at a time when female education in Singapore was neglected.
Emerald Hill
SCGS opened on Hill Street — the site later became the Central Fire Station — and later moved to Emerald Hill, complete with a two-storey block with 12 classrooms, an assembly hall, a staff room and principal’s office.
It was at Emerald Hill that the SCGS identity started to take shape. A new school crest. A new uniform of white samfoo top and first black, then blue trousers. A new team system, with the school carved out into Red, Blue, Yellow and Green Houses, each with a house captain. A new Games Afternoon. A new addition of Cookery to the syllabus. A new formation of a Guide Company.
After 70 long and eventful years at Emerald Hill, SCGS made the move to Dunearn Road on 4 July 1994.
2018 – 2019 · 37 Emerald Hill
In September 2018, a group of SCGS old girls began a campaign to save 37 Emerald Hill — the school’s home for almost seventy years — from redevelopment. They set up social media pages and a petition that gathered around 11,500 supporters.
In May 2019 the group submitted a 143-page proposal, which among other things suggested the site be repurposed to house a museum, a Peranakan-themed cooking school and a boutique hotel in a spice garden.
That August, the Urban Redevelopment Authority announced that three buildings on the site would be conserved: the Main Block of 1925, the Principal’s House of 1930 and the Song Ong Siang Block of 1956. URA assessed all three to be of high historical and architectural significance, each representative of its time and a link to the school’s history. The Main Block, in neo-classical and Art Deco style, was meant to be one of the most up-to-date school buildings of its day.
Among the Kim Geks behind the campaign were Daphne Yuan, Lim Swee Keng, Sarah Lin, Melisa Chan, Natalie Kwee, Jackie Lin and Joan Leong.
2024
In 2024, the SCGS Alumni Committee embarked on the “Oral History Archives Project”, interviewing past principals and teachers to share their memories of the school and our history. The first three videos were launched at the 125th Anniversary Dinner, charting the early days of Emerald Hill, the move to Dunearn Road, and reflecting on what it means to be a Kim Gek.
The videos can be viewed on our Vimeo channel and will continuously be updated with more stories from our beloved teachers. Keep a look out for Miss Heng’s anecdote about how Mahfudz’s Tree helped shape her philosophy during her 28 years as principal.
Part 1: Emerald Hill Days
Watch on Vimeo →Today
Till today, SCGS continue to provide a rich, balanced and holistic education so every student is developed to her fullest potential and continue to live out the school values of Sincerity, Courage, Generosity and Service.
Introducing our culture
The term Peranakan generally refers to people of mixed Chinese and Malay/Indonesian heritage. In both Malay and Indonesian, the word Peranakan is derived from anak, “child”, and means “descendant”, with no connotation of the ethnicity of descent unless followed by a subsequent qualifying noun — such as Peranakan Tionghoa/Cina (Chinese descendants), Jawi Peranakan (Arab descendants), or Peranakan Belanda (Dutch descendants).
