Fairfield Methodist Secondary School
Encyclopedia
Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) is an autonomous co-education
al Methodist secondary school
in Dover, Singapore
. It covers Secondary 1 to Secondary 5 inclusive (normally ages 12 to 17).
. It began as a one-room school for girls in Cross Street, Singapore, with eight Peranakan
students. The school was known as Telok Ayer Girls' School.
In 1912, a donation of $5,000 from an American named Mr Fairfield allowed the school to construct a new school building on a site provided by the government at Neil Road. The relocated school was renamed Fairfield Girls' School. It was then renamed Fairfield Methodist Girls' School in 1958.
In 1983, the school moved into a new campus at Dover Road. At that point, the school began to admit male students, becoming the first co-educational Methodist school in Singapore. The primary
and secondary sections of the school were also separated to become Fairfield Methodist Primary School
and Fairfield Methodist Secondary School, though both schools remain housed in the same campus and shared some facilities.
Fairfield Methodist Secondary School became an autonomous school in 1996, recognised by the Ministry of Education for its academic and co-curricular achievements.
The school's stated aim is that every pupil shall become an Active Lifelong Learner and an Influential Leader.
The school offers Chinese Language B for both Express and Normal Academic at upper secondary (Sec 3-5) level.
Special programmes include the Outdoor Education Programme, the Create And Construct Using Information Technology Programme, and the Research And Development Programme.
Service learning trips are offered to students in their final year. Destinations for these trips have been China, Nepal, India, Cambodia and Laos.
In 2007 the school introduced a course called Introduction to Enterprise Development.
Academic targets are set for each pupil for each subject, providing students with a goal they can work towards. Pupils record these targets in their diaries. Progress reports are issued each term, so that parents can compare their children's achievement with the target. Remedial lessons are provided for pupils who have not performed up to expectations.
On promotion from lower secondary to upper, pupils in Sec 2 N(A) may be laterally transferred to Sec 3 Express if they perform very well, and those in Sec 2 N(T) likewise to Sec 2 Normal(Academic).
The school's Symphonic Band won a Gold award in the 2008 National Band Competition. Also in 2008, the school won Gold with Honours in the National Chinese Short Play competition, and 2nd prize in the Drama of History competition. The school's Boys Brigade won Gold in the JM Fraser Award for Excellence. The school's choir won Gold in the SYF 2007.
In 2008 FMSS received a special School Distinction Award from the Ministry of Education. It has also been awarded the Best Practice Award (Teaching and Learning), the Outstanding Development Award (Character Development), and the Sustained Achievement Awards for Academic Value-Addedness, Uniformed Groups and Sports.
The school says that its approach towards discipline is for every pupil to take ownership in ensuring good behaviour. Pupils' behaviour is monitored using a class management file. Parents are kept informed of any offences committed and the action taken. Minor offences may be dealt with by afternoon detention, during which the student undertakes manual work, e.g. cleaning up the school compound.
Male students receive corporal punishment (caning) in cases of misconduct. The strokes are delivered to the seat of the boy's trousers. Those who commit a fourth minor offence in succession are awarded three demerit points and one stroke of the cane; girls must undergo five days of "isolation after school" instead of the caning. Further demerit points accumulate for further offences, with a caning of two strokes, or ten days of isolation for girls, at the 8th offence. At the 9th offence, both sexes get one week of in-school suspension, and the pupil must sign a behaviour contract. A caning is also automatic whenever a boy has collected 10 demerit points.
A student's first caning per term takes place privately in the principal's office, his second in front of his class, and his third in front of the whole student body at morning assembly. For more serious offences there is a detailed list of consequences. A boy will receive five demerit points plus one stroke of the cane for cheating in tests or truancy. For vandalism, bullying, gambling or smoking, the penalty is 10 demerit points plus three strokes of the cane.
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...
al Methodist secondary school
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
in Dover, 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 covers Secondary 1 to Secondary 5 inclusive (normally ages 12 to 17).
History
The school is one of the oldest in Singapore, having been founded in 1888 by Sofia Blackmore, a missionary from AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It began as a one-room school for girls in Cross Street, Singapore, with eight Peranakan
Peranakan
Peranakan Chinese and Baba-Nyonya are terms used for the descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants to the Indonesian archipelago of Nusantara during the Colonial era....
students. The school was known as Telok Ayer Girls' School.
In 1912, a donation of $5,000 from an American named Mr Fairfield allowed the school to construct a new school building on a site provided by the government at Neil Road. The relocated school was renamed Fairfield Girls' School. It was then renamed Fairfield Methodist Girls' School in 1958.
In 1983, the school moved into a new campus at Dover Road. At that point, the school began to admit male students, becoming the first co-educational Methodist school in Singapore. The primary
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
and secondary sections of the school were also separated to become Fairfield Methodist Primary School
Fairfield Methodist Primary School
Fairfield Methodist School is a government-aided primary school in Dover Road, western Singapore.It is affiliated with Fairfield Methodist School .- Early years :...
and Fairfield Methodist Secondary School, though both schools remain housed in the same campus and shared some facilities.
Fairfield Methodist Secondary School became an autonomous school in 1996, recognised by the Ministry of Education for its academic and co-curricular achievements.
The school's stated aim is that every pupil shall become an Active Lifelong Learner and an Influential Leader.
Academics
FMSS offers the standard Normal Academic, Normal Technical and Express courses leading to GCE 'N' level, GCE 'O' level.The school offers Chinese Language B for both Express and Normal Academic at upper secondary (Sec 3-5) level.
Special programmes include the Outdoor Education Programme, the Create And Construct Using Information Technology Programme, and the Research And Development Programme.
Service learning trips are offered to students in their final year. Destinations for these trips have been China, Nepal, India, Cambodia and Laos.
In 2007 the school introduced a course called Introduction to Enterprise Development.
Academic targets are set for each pupil for each subject, providing students with a goal they can work towards. Pupils record these targets in their diaries. Progress reports are issued each term, so that parents can compare their children's achievement with the target. Remedial lessons are provided for pupils who have not performed up to expectations.
On promotion from lower secondary to upper, pupils in Sec 2 N(A) may be laterally transferred to Sec 3 Express if they perform very well, and those in Sec 2 N(T) likewise to Sec 2 Normal(Academic).
Achievements
87% of Sec 4 Express leavers were eligible for Junior College in 2007. The school achieved 76% distinctions in English Literature, compared with a national average of 37%, and 73% in Maths, compared with a national average of 55%.The school's Symphonic Band won a Gold award in the 2008 National Band Competition. Also in 2008, the school won Gold with Honours in the National Chinese Short Play competition, and 2nd prize in the Drama of History competition. The school's Boys Brigade won Gold in the JM Fraser Award for Excellence. The school's choir won Gold in the SYF 2007.
In 2008 FMSS received a special School Distinction Award from the Ministry of Education. It has also been awarded the Best Practice Award (Teaching and Learning), the Outstanding Development Award (Character Development), and the Sustained Achievement Awards for Academic Value-Addedness, Uniformed Groups and Sports.
Ethos and Discipline
The school states that it has a rich Christian heritage and tradition. Its students are known as Fairsians. School uniform is closely enforced. Girls are not allowed to wear coloured bras.The school says that its approach towards discipline is for every pupil to take ownership in ensuring good behaviour. Pupils' behaviour is monitored using a class management file. Parents are kept informed of any offences committed and the action taken. Minor offences may be dealt with by afternoon detention, during which the student undertakes manual work, e.g. cleaning up the school compound.
Male students receive corporal punishment (caning) in cases of misconduct. The strokes are delivered to the seat of the boy's trousers. Those who commit a fourth minor offence in succession are awarded three demerit points and one stroke of the cane; girls must undergo five days of "isolation after school" instead of the caning. Further demerit points accumulate for further offences, with a caning of two strokes, or ten days of isolation for girls, at the 8th offence. At the 9th offence, both sexes get one week of in-school suspension, and the pupil must sign a behaviour contract. A caning is also automatic whenever a boy has collected 10 demerit points.
A student's first caning per term takes place privately in the principal's office, his second in front of his class, and his third in front of the whole student body at morning assembly. For more serious offences there is a detailed list of consequences. A boy will receive five demerit points plus one stroke of the cane for cheating in tests or truancy. For vandalism, bullying, gambling or smoking, the penalty is 10 demerit points plus three strokes of the cane.
See also
- Fairfield Methodist School (Primary)
- Methodist Girls School
- Miss Sophia BlackmoreMiss Sophia BlackmoreMiss Sofia Blackmore founded Fairfield Methodist School , Fairfield Methodist School and Methodist Girls' School in Singapore. Originally, the Fairfield Schools were once known as Telok Ayer Girls' School, which changed name for a few times and after a while, the school split into two....
External links
- Official website
- Diana Chee-Chung, "Treats from the Fairfield Story".
- Methodist Schools' Foundation
- Speech by Ms Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of National Development & Ministry of Education, at the FMSS 120th Founder's Day Service, 1 August 2008.