finally.. after existing in the shadow of the more renowned tkgs for so long.. my alma mata has broken out from its shell and is beginning to flex its muscles.. i came by this article in Today:


From Katong with pride
Band 3 Tanjong Katong Secondary snags top prize
LEE U-WEN
u-wen@mediacorp.com.sg

NOT many may regard Tanjong Katong Secondary in Haig Road as a top school in Singapore.

There is no integrated programme, it does not boast stellar O-Level results and it is in the Band 3 category, for schools with an aggregate score of 12 to 12.9.

All these make its clinching of this year’s School Excellence Award (SEA) — the top prize in the Ministry of Education’s Masterplan of Awards honour roll — even sweeter.

The only other “non-brand name” school to achieve a similar feat was Xinmin Secondary in 2005. Tanjong Katong, a neighbourhood school that turned
50 last year, finds itself in exalted company this year. The other three secondary
level winners are all in Band 1 — Crescent Girls’ School, Nanyang Girls’ High and Hwa Chong Institution. Rounding off the list is Victoria Junior College.

The award not only recognizes academic achievements, but also in the arts, and sports and management.

In an article published three years ago, this newspaper had said Tanjong Katong
Secondary was one of the “schools to watch” when the ministry released the results of its first banding exercise.

Principal Lee Yan Kheng said that the award was “an affirmation” of its hard work over the years and urged others not to judge it on its banding alone.

“We may be in Band 3, but I believe that only tells half the story. The other half is about the huge amount of value-add we give to our students,” he
said.

Last year, Tanjong Katong scored an average L1B5 (English or Higher Mother Tongue, plus the best five other subjects) score of 12.1 — the best
result in its history.

“The value-add lies in our character development and cocurricular activities. Academic achievements will still be the bread and butter of any school; but to a large extent, our teachers have helped students develop their other talents and
skills, too,” Mr Lee said.

The SEA, which is carried for five years, is not the only award for Tanjong Katong this year. It has also won four Sustained Achievement Awards for academic value-add, aesthetics, uniformed groups and physical fitness.

“Collectively, these awards demonstrate and recognise the well-rounded focus we provide; but accolades aside, ultimately, the students are the best judges
of our success,” he said.



This is tkss, the place where i spent four years in my teens. was nvr a lousy schto begin with, considering the all-express enrolment and higher than average cut off for express as compared to other schools. but ppl tend to compare it with tkgs la.. not many know theres a ss.

esther lai would be happy to see this...