This article is about the junior college prior to its 2019 merger with Anderson Junior College. For the present-day merged junior college, see Anderson Serangoon Junior College.
Serangoon Junior College (SRJC) (Chinese: 实龙岗初级学院) was a junior college in Singapore, offering a 2-year course for pre-university students leading up to GCE 'A' Level examinations. Founded in March 1988, it was the fourteenth junior college to be established in Singapore.[1]
History
Serangoon Junior College was established in March 1988 as the fourteenth junior college in Singapore.[1] The college initially operated from a temporary campus in Hougang, which is now the premises of Xinmin Secondary School, with a pioneering staff strength of 45 teachers. [citation needed] Lessons for the first batch of 673 students commenced in April of the same year.[citation needed] In December 1990, the college relocated to its present campus along Upper Serangoon Road, in Hougang New Town. It was officially declared open on 29 May 1992 by Mr. Lee Yock Suan, the then Minister for Education. [citation needed]
In recent years, the academic standards of Serangoon Junior College had been improving consistently, as it gained recognition as one of the leading government colleges in the district.[2] This was complemented with the rise in admission standards of the college, from a cut-off point of 20 in the 1989 intake to 11 in the 2016 intake at the annual Joint Admission Exercise (JAE).[1]
On 20 April 2017, it was announced that Serangoon Junior College would merge with Anderson Junior College (AJC), with the merged school located at the current site of Anderson Junior College, and operating under the name of Anderson Serangoon Junior College.[3][4] This was in view of the declining enrollment into junior colleges since 2014, attributed to the fall in Singapore's birth rate.[5] As a result of the merger, Serangoon Junior College no longer admit students from 2018 to minimise the need for students to physically relocate to the new site. The merger process is to be completed by January 2019.[4]
To mark the closure of the college, a decommissioning ceremony was conducted on 7 December 2018. The college flag was lowered by its first Student of the Year from the pioneer class of 1989 - Tan Aik Fong.[6]
The vision, mission and values of SRJC was revised in 2016. [citation needed]
Vision – Leaders and Learners driven with values and imagination [citation needed] Mission – Inspiring all students to have the passion to learn, the heart to serve and the courage to lead. [citation needed] Values - Respect, Responsibility, Resilience, Integrity, Care, Humility [citation needed]
Houses in SRJC
For competitive intra-school events, the student body is divided into five houses. Each house is led by House Captain(s) nominated from the Student Council.[citation needed]
The course offered in SRJC consisted of H1 General Paper, H1 Mother Tongue, H1 Project Work, together with four content-based subjects (3H2+1H1 or four H2 subjects). Students with a flair in an area were offered subjects at H3 level after the end of JC1 promotional exams, even though students taking those subjects need to travel to other places (usually universities) to take those subjects.[citation needed]
In line with the new 'A' Level syllabus stipulated by MOE, students are also required to take a contrasting subject that is outside their area of studies. The contrasting subject may be offered at either the H1 and H2 levels.[citation needed]
Subjects that were offered by SRJC is listed below:
Compulsory Subjects (H1):
H1 Project Work
H1 General Paper
Arts/ Humanities/ Languages (H1):
H1 Literature in English
H1 Tamil Language
H1 Chinese Language
H1 Malay Language
H1 Economics
H1 Geography
H1 History
Sciences (H1):
H1 Mathematics
H1 Physics
H1 Biology
H1 Chemistry
Arts/Humanities/Languages (H2):
H2 Art
H2 Economics
H2 Geography
H2 History
H2 Literature in English
H2 Chinese Language and Literature
H2 Malay Language and Literature
H2 Tamil Language and Literature
Sciences (H2):
H2 Mathematics
H2 Further Mathematics (starting 2016)
H2 Biology
H2 Chemistry
H2 Physics
SR Global Classroom Experience
SR Global Classroom Experience (SR-GCE) takes students’ learning beyond the shores of Singapore. With a service learning component designed into the programme, students are given opportunities to apply service learning within a larger community, while gaining cultural awareness and a global perspective. Destinations include Hong Kong, Java, Taiwan, Melbourne and Lijiang and vary depending on availability and safety.[citation needed]
Serangoon Junior College encourages participation in co-curricular activities for the all-round development of the individual. Students can opt to enrol in CCAs from the different categories as listed below.[citation needed]
Clubs and Societies
AVA Club
Community Champions Council (CCC)
Red Cross Youth Chapter
Library Council
Outdoor Activities Club (ODAC)
Photography Society
Pilates
Society for the Scientific Training And Research (S*STAR) (disbanded)
SR Debates (disbanded)
SR Drama
Student Council
Performing Arts Groups
Guitar Ensemble
Guzheng Ensemble
Dance
SRJC Chorale
Symphonic Band
Glee Club (disbanded)
Sports
Basketball
Canoeing
Runners' Club
Netball
Rockclimbing (ROCMOC)
Football (Boys)
Football (Girls)
Taekwondo
Tennis
Touch Football (Girls)
Track and Field
Ultimate Frisbee
Volleyball
Skydiving (disbanded)
Community outreach
WILL Run
The WILL Run is an annual fundraising event founded in 2008 that is integral in SR's pursuit of perseverance and selflessness. The term WILL evokes the willingness of an individual to run at least 10 km to raise funds for the community and for the college building. The minimum annual total distance targeted for completion is set at 20,014 km – the distance from the North to South Pole.[citation needed]
Get REAL@SRJC
Get REAL@SRJC, the service learning framework in SRJC, stands for Reaching out to the Environment, the Aged, and the Less fortunate. The strong emphasis in service learning is aligned to the college motto “To Learn, To Serve”.[citation needed]
Annual Fundraising
The annual college fundraising event focuses on giving back to the community. Since 2008, the college has committed the first $50,000 of the donations collection to an identified beneficiary each year. The rest of the collection is channelled towards college improvements.[citation needed] The former annual event also incorporated the SR Friendship Games, which was an annual sports event participated actively by the staff and the student body. [citation needed]