Learning

Discover the rich learning legacy of Serangoon Junior College, from its pioneer teachers and overseas programmes to the many students and CCAs who have excelled over the years.

Last updated 11 June 2026

Pioneer Teachers
Back in 1988, SRJC only had a pioneering staff strength of 45 teachers and yet, there was quite a number who continued to teach. Some of whom include Mrs Katherine Pah, Mdm Saadiah, and Mr Foo Toon Lock who taught in the institution when it first opened its doors to the first batch of JC1 students. One of the prominent pioneer teachers was the late Ms Rosalind Gurupatham Jeyamoney, who taught Literature, and was the inspiration behind Literature Week. Despite battling cancer, she still showed up in class to conduct lessons in a wheelchair. She was truly an inspiration to her students, many of whom credited the Shakespeare-loving teacher with nurturing their passion for the subject.

Black and white group photo of about 40 people posed in rows, some seated, some standing.

Mdm Saadiah Bte Abdullah (third row, first from the right), Mrs Katherine Pah (third row, second from the right), Mr Foo Toon Lock (second row, first from the left), Ms Rosalind Gurupatham Jeyamoney (fourth row, fourth from the left)

Back in 1988, SRJC only had a pioneering staff strength of 45 teachers and yet, there was quite a number who continued to teach. Some of whom include Mrs Katherine Pah, Mdm Saadiah, and Mr Foo Toon Lock who taught in the institution when it first opened its doors to the first batch of JC1 students. One of the prominent pioneer teachers was the late Ms Rosalind Gurupatham Jeyamoney, who taught Literature, and was the inspiration behind Literature Week. Despite battling cancer, she still showed up in class to conduct lessons in a wheelchair. She was truly an inspiration to her students, many of whom credited the Shakespeare-loving teacher with nurturing their passion for the subject.

Smiling woman with black hair wearing a black sleeveless top, arms crossed, against a gray background.

Mrs Katherine Pah, English Department (General Paper)

Middle-aged Asian man wearing glasses and a red plaid short-sleeve shirt, smiling, standing against a gray background.

Mr Foo Toon Lock, Mathematics Department

Smiling elderly woman wearing glasses, a pink hijab with a brooch, and a black outfit, posed against a gray background.

Mdm Saadiah Bte Abdullah, Humanities Department (Economics)

Woman in red sweater and blue scarf sits in a car holding a small teddy bear with a pink scarf.

Ms Rosalind Gurupatham Jeyamoney, English Department (Literature)

Arts@SR

In the realm of the arts, students were offered a myriad of opportunities to express themselves creatively. Those from Performing Arts CCAs would hold concerts such as the Performing Arts Special and Shiokissimo, where they would present solo performances and collaborative highlights between the different CCAs. Those who were musically inclined would participate in RockFest where they would take the stage in front of a live audience. There were also literary performances such as Not So Macbeth (1990), King Lear (1991), Pai An (1996), and King Hamlet (1998). Finally what started out as a small affair in the early 2000s soon evolved to a week long affair celebrating English Literature, which would then culminate in the much anticipated Literature Night.

Young woman with long black hair wearing a silver masquerade mask over one eye, dressed in a red top.

Shiokissimo (2006)

A group of students playing guitars on a stage in a school auditorium, viewed from behind a seated audience.

Literature Night Performance (2008)

Large group of performers on stage in black, red, and white outfits with arms raised, in front of a backdrop.

20th Anniversary Performance (2009)

A crowd of young students in white and green uniforms cheering and clapping enthusiastically behind colorful barriers.

Rock Fest (2014)

Learning Beyond Singapore

Group of people posing together in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, with the gate and portrait visible behind them.

Trip to China by the History and Geography Departments in 1996

Five people standing and leaning against a stone wall on a grassy hillside outdoors.

Literature Trip to UK in 1996

In Serangoon Junior College, learning experiences took place both within and outside the classroom. A number of trips to Nepal, Indonesia and Malaysia were made in the early 1990s as part of Outdoor Activities Club’s (ODAC) overseas trips.

The first subject-based overseas trip took place in 2001 when 50 students travelled to England to study the roots of English Literature and observe its current developments. The College also organised a trip to France and China to immerse the History students in authentic environments where their lessons can come alive. Seizing on its potential for meaningful and experiential learning, the College continued to organise overseas trips for the students. This evolved into one of SRJC’s proudest signature programmes, the Serangoon Junior College Global Classroom Experience (SRGCE), which commenced in 2008. Besides outdoor learning and adventure elements, the Service-Learning component was also strongly emphasised in several of the trips to Cambodia, Vietnam and China.

Two climbers scaling a steep rocky cliff face with ropes, surrounded by trees and mountains in the background.

Rock Climbing at Yangshuo in 2013

Large group of students and adults posing outside a Vietnamese Red Cross building in Da Nang with a banner.

SRGCE Danang 2017

A large student group poses on a hilltop holding a Serangoon Junior College Hong Kong banner, with islands and city below.

SRGCE Hong Kong 2017

Learning Beyond the Classroom
Across the years, different departments put on learning festivals and workshops that offered supplementary information from human geography to global trends. Since the early 1990s, the Humanities and Commerce Department organised its first Humanities and Commerce Week. It was aimed at promoting awareness and interest in the subjects in a variety of ways. The first GP week was organised to stimulate further interest in the subject by complementing and reinforcing the enrichment activities with publications, public cultural performances, projects and overseas field trips. Other subjects also held similar platforms, with the Mathematics, Science and Humanities departments holding Symposiums for fellow SRJCians and even students from neighbouring secondary schools. The Mother Tongue department also regularly conducted a fortnight of events to celebrate and appreciate the languages and unique customary practices.

A crowd of people gathered around a table, leaning in to look at documents or materials at an indoor event.

Mother Tongue Cultural Fortnight 2013

Two students in white lab coats and safety goggles conduct an outdoor experiment with clear tubes over a blue tray.

Science Week 2015

An older man and a woman exchange a pink wrapped gift indoors near a whiteboard.

Professor Edwin Thumboo’s visit to SRJC during the 2003 Literature Week

Colorful bulletin board reading Humanities Week 20-24 Jan with a painted tree and surrounding posters.

Humanities Week in 2003

A speaker stands before a seated audience facing a projected screen reading "humanities symposium art."

Humanities Symposium in 2003

Dedicated Teachers
SRJCians have achieved outstanding ‘A’ Level results as evidenced by the consecutive Value-Added Awards for commendable performance from 2010-2013. While these accomplishments are a reflection of the students’ relentless effort and drive to persevere in their pursuit of excellence, such successes would not have been possible had it not been for the teachers’ care and guidance. Among many of these dedicated teachers are:

Four people having a cheerful outdoor meeting at a stone table surrounded by green tropical plants.

Mr Muhamad Salahuddin B Ibrahim (centre in photo) is a Lead Teacher who has served in education for 18 years. He was acknowledged as one of the most caring teachers in the college, having won the Caring Teacher Commendation Award from Exxon Mobil in 2008 and SRJC’s annual Caring Teacher Award in 2011 and 2012, and the President’s Award for Teachers in 2015.

Woman in a floral dress smiling beside a banner reading Inspiring Teacher of English Award.

Ms Melissa Chew has taught English Literature in Serangoon Junior College since June 2006 and in 2014 she received the Inspiring Teacher of English Award.

A diverse group of ten people, mostly women, posing together indoors on a light marble floor.

Ms Dionne Chow (right in photo), who has taught in SRJC since January 2011, was lauded with the title of Inspiring Teacher of English Award 2015.

Six students in navy polo shirts and khaki bottoms pose together outdoors, most giving thumbs up.

Mdm Wong Teck Jee has been with the College since 1996 when she was awarded the Inspiring Chinese Language Teachers Awards in 2015.

Seven people pose together, three seated in front and four students in white uniforms standing behind, against a red curtain.

Awarded as Tamil Murasu's Most Inspiring Tamil Teachers Awards 2013, Mdm Kamalavani d/o Palaiyan has taught in SRJC from 2004.

Distinguished Speaker Series (DSS)
Since 2007, under the purview of the Education and Career Guidance (ECG) committee, SRJC established ‘The Distinguished Speaker Series’, which offered opportunities to learn from the experiences and insights of some of Singapore’s most influential individuals from different fields. Some of the individuals who shared their stories include Dr Tan Lai Yong, the ‘Barefoot Doctor’ who used his talents to help the less fortunate in China, Ms Cassandra Chiu, whose visual impairment did not impede her path to success, the late Mr Subhas Anandan, the eminent criminal lawyer whose conduct of several landmark cases have shaped the face of criminal law in Singapore, Ms Indranee Rajah, the Senior Minister of State for Law and Education and Minister Khaw Boon Wan, the Minister for Transport.

Man in floral shirt holding a microphone and speaking at a podium with a red lanyard around his neck.

Dr Tan Lai Yong speaking to SRJCians (2013)

Two men sit in brown armchairs on a stage, separated by a small round table with a white cloth.

The late Mr Subhas Anandan with Principal Mr Tan Teck Hock (2013)

A woman takes a wide-angle selfie with a large crowd of smiling students in school uniforms indoors.

Ms Indranee Rajah with a group of JC2 students (2014)

Group of students in white uniforms with red ties posing indoors under a sign reading Discere Servire.

Minister Khaw Boon Wan with Principal Mr Manogaran and students (2016)

Outstanding Achievements
Despite their humble beginnings, SRJCians have achieved admirable academic and non-academic outcomes. These students truly embodied the recurring message in SRJC’s school song “We lead her to glory / Our best in all we do”.

Two men in dress shirts and ties stand together outdoors near tropical palm plants in a black and white photo.

Mr Tan Aik Fong with Principal Mr Thomas Tan

Mr Tan Aik Fong was the first Student of the Year from the pioneer class of 1989. He attained a stellar performance at the A Levels and was a role model in evoking the school motto ‘Discere Servire’ (To Learn, To Serve). In 2017, he was the Secretary of the SRJC Alumni Association and was its President from 1999 till 2015.

Two people stand together indoors near a doorway with trees and a building visible outside in a black and white photo.

Dr Yeo Tze Ling with Principal, Mrs Jenny Yong

Dr. Yeo Tze Ling was the top A Level student in 1996. Her performance was especially inspirational because she has been blind from glaucoma from the age of five. Now, a research scientist at A*Star, SRJC named an award after her. The award is presented to students who have excelled academically despite their personal difficulties.

Young Asian man in a grey jacket stands beside a large planter of colorful flowers in a green park.

Mr Kenneth Goh in Oxford University, England after receiving the National Youth Achievement Award

Mr Kenneth Goh was the top A Level student in 1998. He distinguished himself by earning a string of awards - a National Youth Achievement Award (Silver), a Colours Award (Distinction) for rock-climbing, and a Service Award for being the President of ODAC. Upon graduating, Kenneth received the Singapore Government Overseas Merit Scholarship to pursue an engineering course at Oxford University.

Six smiling women in red shirts hold gold medals and wave the Singapore flag outdoors.

Ms Annabelle Ng's Gold at the SEA Games 2015 (Top right in photo)

Ms Annabelle Ng was an avid canoeist since she was a student in SRJC. Her passion for the sport continued to blossom as evidenced by the multitude of awards she has earned at regional sporting events. In 2015, alongside her teammates, Ms Ng won the SEA Games gold.

CCA Achievements
In any endeavour, it was emphasised to SRJCians that the focus should be on the process rather than the outcome. Motivated to put in their best, SRJCians from Performing Arts to Sports to Clubs and Societies made a mark in national competitions and the like. Some prominent accomplishments include:

A group of young female athletes in white uniforms huddle together, cheering and holding a large gold trophy.

SR Touch Football Champions at the 2014 National Touch League

Four athletes in red jackets celebrate with a hug beside a scoreboard showing 6.50 in a taekwondo competition.

SR Taekwondo celebrating as they clinched the A Division boys' and girls' overall titles at the 2015 National Inter-Schools Taekwondo Championships

Touch Football (Girls) were the Overall Champions for four consecutive years at the National Touch Football (JC) League, ‘A’ Division between 2013 and 2016.

Taekwondo was the Overall Champions at the 2015 National Inter-Schools Taekwondo Championships.

Rock Climbing was the Overall Champions at the 2015 National Schools Sport Climbing Championship.

Canoeing attained Gold at the Singapore Canoe Marathon 2015.

Dance has been achieving the Certificate of Distinction at the Singapore Youth Festival for a consecutive number of years in 2013, 2015 and 2017

SR Chorale achieved the Certificate of Distinction at the 2015 & 2017 Singapore Youth Festival

SR Guzheng was awarded the Certificate of Distinction at the 2015 & 2017 Singapore Youth Festival

S*Star’s winning Amazing Science Challenge project, “The Secret Painting” was selected to be a permanent exhibit at the Singapore Science Centre, a testimony of our excellence in Science and Design

Performers in red costumes form a human pyramid on a gymnasium floor, with one person doing a handstand on top.

SR Dance rehearsing for the 2017 Singapore Youth Festival

Two young women paddling a canoe on water, wearing life vests, in a black and white photo.

SR Canoeists displaying courage and endurance (2001)

Black and white group photo of many young Asian people dressed formally in suits and dresses, posing together indoors.

The SR Choir, pictured with Principal Ms Jenny Yong (1998)