Selegie Integrated School - My Primary School Days (1)

How Selegie Integrated School Looks Like Today

In February this year, Sunday Times reporter Kon Xin Hua requested me for an email interview as the newspaper would be publishing an article on old buildings and Selegie Integrated School was one of them. Her questions and my answers are reproduced below:

Q1. What was the reason that saw you studying at Selegie Integrated School?

A1. Our family lived quite near to the school then. We were staying in Cheng Yan Place, a mere 15-minute leisurely stroll to the school which was less than one kilometre away. Of course, in those days, there was no such thing as priority for registration if you lived within one kilometre of the school. Even if there was, we would have no problem with it. As my family was not very financially well off, we could save on transportation costs if the school was nearby. The school was also brand new. I went to Primary One in 1963 which was year when the school was opened. (The then DPM Dr Toh Chin Chye officially opened the school on 19 Jan 1963.)

Dr Toh Chin Chye, Deputy Prime Minister and Assemblyman for Rochore Declaring the School Open on 19 Jan 1963 - Photo Courtesy of the National Archives

Q2. What were your initial thoughts on the 10-storey tall building?

A2. Having attended one or two years of kindergarten classes on the 2nd storey of a 4-storey SIT residential block in Prinsep Street, the 10-storey building certainly looked huge and imposing. (The SIT blocks are still in Prinsep Street. They have been conserved and possibly been converted into dormitories.) I had not seen such big lifts before. The only times when I took a lift was when my family visited my uncle's flat in a 9-storey SIT red-brick resident block (Blk 1) on Upper Pickering Street.

Q3. I'm sure there was more than one memorable feature of the school for you, would you be able to share with me a few features of the school that strike you the most? I read on your blog about the two canteens and lifts? :)

A3. Other than the 2 canteens, 2 lifts and the dental clinic which I mentioned in my blog, I remember part of the school ground was covered with coloured rectangular tiles of size about 1-foot by 2-foot. They were of yellow, red and green colours. I used to walk on them while trying to avoid all the lines in between the tiles. To me, it was a giant hopscotch.

Q4. What was life like as a student there? Any particularly striking events that happened in that school that come to mind?

A4. School life was quite routine. I remember one incident when due to a misunderstanding, a schoolmate punched me in the stomach. We were both brought to the principal's office. When the principal found out that I did not retaliate to the boy's attack, I was released. I didn't know what happened to the boy who punched me. There was another incident when a boy disturbed some female classmates and was punished in a unique way. The teacher put an unstrung badminton racket to rest at the neck of the boy and then pulled the racket back and forth. If this were to happen today and the boy's parents were to lodge a complaint to MOE, I am sure the teacher would be in serious trouble.

Q5. Do you recall the reason why they built a 10-storey high school?

A5. I don't recall the reason why they built a 10-storey high school. However, I believe that the land within the city area is scarce and expensive and hence the government had to fully utilise the land area by constructing a tall building.

Selegie Integrated School in 1963 - Photo Courtesy of the National Archives

Q6. What do you think of the building today, having been left abandoned for some time? (Is it a waste etc)

A6. I think it is a waste to leave it abandoned and in a derelict state. It should have been used to generate some revenue for the government's coffers, e.g renting it out to commercial schools or organisations.

Q7. What would you like to see happen to the building in the future?

A7. I would like to see the school converted to a hotel. This has been done for Pearl's Hill School which is now Hotel Re!. By the way, Pearl's Hill School was a 12-storey building and in 1971, it took over the unofficial title of the "tallest school in Singapore" from Selegie Integrated School.

Q8. Is it correct if I say you were fascinated by the big lifts in the school as you rarely took lifts unless you were visiting your uncle? Do you regularly take the lifts in your primary school? Which floor did you study on?

A8. Yes, I rarely took lifts then except when visiting my uncle. I was in the school for 6 years so I must have been on various floors before in different years. I think the classrooms I was in didn't go above 7th floor though. From the windows of the higher floors you could see quite far as there were not many tall buildings around to block the view then. I had to take the lifts several times a day - when reporting for school, going for and returning from recess breaks, going for and returning from PE classes, returning home as well as when I was "summoned" by the school dentist (which was quite often as my teeth were not very well-kept)

Q9. I would also like to ask you if you know anything about why the building was abandoned, and when it was abandoned?

A9. Sorry, I am not sure when Selegie School last operated in the building or when NAFA took over and when it abandoned it.

Further reading:

1. 4 Nov 2005 Vanishing Scenes of Singapore - Part 5 (My Primary School Days)

2. 5 Aug 2006 Hello Again 38 Years After "Eating Fishball"

3. 13 Aug 2006 Class of 1968 (Pr 6J of Selegie Integrated School)

Old Singapore Quiz (17) - Old School - Answers

I think YG knew the answers to the last quiz but the gentleman in him didn't want to deprive others of the chance to have a go at the quiz. James gave a partially correct answer.

Q1. What was the name of this school in the 1960s - 1970s?

A1. Delta West School, Delta West Primary School or Delta West Integrated School would all have been correct answers. DB1688 attended this school from the late 1960s till the early 1970s. He is appealing for ex-students or ex-teachers of Delta West Primary School from that era to contact him.

Q2. What is/was the school's location?

A2. Delta Avenue was the official address of the school but the school is actually nearer to Indus Road.

Q3. Is the school building still around?

A3. Yes, it is now Delta Senior School of the APSN (Association for People with Special Needs.

Below are the second shots of the 3 photos. You can see how much (or little) has changed over the last 45 years. (I took the new photos in Sep 2009.)

The front gate of the school. Notice that the sign in the old photo says Delta West Integrated School.

The school building.

The school field.

As for the answers to the alternative question to name 3 makes of vehicles shown in the photos, they are a Volkswagen van (as Chun See rightly pointed out), 2 Mini Clubmans and 1 Mercedes Benz. These were quite common makes of vehicles on our roads then. (In fact, my first car was a Mini too.)

Here is another old but well-kept Volkswagen van that is probably still plying our roads today. (I took this photo almost 2 years ago.)


Photo Credits:

All old photos (circa 1965) are courtesy of the National Archives of Singapore.

Old Singapore Quiz (17) - Old School

You can say that I studied in an old school and belong to the old school. Hence today's quiz is about an old school - one that was probably built even before I was born.

What makes this quiz particularly difficult is that most schools built in the 1950s look similar. They seem to be designed by one architect and built according to one plan. Obviously it is more economical to build schools of similar designs compared to different ones.

It is likely that only 3 groups of people will get the answers right for this quiz, namely:

1. Ex-students of this school;

2. Ex-teachers of this school;

3. People who stayed in the school's vicinity.

Below are 3 different views of the same school:

The front gate of the school. (Note: To make this quiz really challenging, the school's name has been wiped off from the signboard.)

The school building.

The school field.

The quiz questions are:

1. What was the name of this school in the 1960s - 1970s?

2. What is/was the school's location?

3. Is the school building still around?

And for those who don't know the answers to the above questions, below is an easier one:

Name 3 models of vehicles shown in the above photos.

Surprise Letter From Son

Today I received a surprise letter from my younger son by post. It was addressed to Mum and Dad. In it, he described some of his experiences at the recent 3-day Sec 1 Orientation Camp:


Q: Some of the memorable and exciting things that happened during the camp were:

A: Kayaking, abseiling, flying fox and sleeping.

(What? Sleeping is memorable and exciting? Son, are you sure you got your priorities right?)


Q: During the Camp, I learnt that ...

A: We should work as a team and never give up on what we do. We should also share everything we have with compassion.

(Okay that's fair comment.)


Q: Mum and Dad, for the many years that you have spent bringing me up, I would like to thank you for:

Providing me with food and shelter, supporting me with all the things I do and buying mini-cakes for me on my birthday.

(That's funny, I don't remember buying mini-cakes for your birthday - I always bought big ones enough for a family of four. Hmm ... must have been Mum.)


Q: Finally, I would like to tell you that ...

I really love you.

(Aww that's really sweet, Son! Mum and Dad love you very much too. Muack.)

History Repeats Itself 40 Years Later

It all started with an SMS notification on 18 Dec 2008.


In my time exactly 40 years ago, I had to report to my primary school where a hardcopy "secondary school posting result" was handed to me personally. Oh my, how times have changed!


The school motto is "Nil Sine Labore" - "Nothing Without Labour". Why, even a human life begins with (a mother's) labour.


So we had to to report to school on 19 Dec 2008. I think it was just to find out which class my son belonged to and also to buy books and uniform.


Then we had to be in school again on 30 Dec 2008. This time, there were briefings about the school's programmes as well as the upcoming Orientation Camp for all Sec 1 pupils. The principal, Mr Low Eng Teong, gave a briefing too. If I remember correctly, he emphasised to the students 4 "do nots" (don't steal, don't cheat, don't lie and don't bully) and 2 "C's" (character and cognition). I don't know how many students really heard him but I certainly did, didn't I?


Before school starts, I have already visited it at least 3 times. Then there will be at least two parents-teachers' meetings during the school year. Now I don't remember my parents ever coming to my school at all, except when I got into trouble.


Forty years ago, it was Mr T P Naidu at the helm. At that time, I didn't live by the motto, "Nil Sine Labore" but "Do anything, just don't get caught". (Sorry, I don't know how to say that in Latin.)


There was also a showcase of the various CCAs which the school offers. The Arrow Scouts were still around, although they didn't know that they belonged to Group 1501. Their uniform was of a different colour from when I was a scout. Even the colours of their scarves were different - red with white stripes while mine was white with red stripes. It's a topsy-turvy world now.



The school was at Tyrwhitt Road from 1932-1984. From 1984-2003 it was at Geylang Bahru and in 2003 it moved to its present location in Siglap Link. The school certainly has moved house more frequently than I did.




From 2-4 Jan 2009, my son attended an Orientation Camp at MOE Changi Coast Adventure Centre.


He tried walking on fire wire.


Walking on a log.


Flying like a fox. (No, he didn't just climb out of the chimney.)


Rock climbing.


And kayaking.

How come I don't remember doing all those fun things when I was in Sec 1 in Victoria School?

A Stressful And Hectic Time

The past week has been a stressful and hectic time for 12-year-olds in Singapore and their parents alike. I am of course referring to the release of the PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination) results. The results were released at around noon on 20 November 2008 (Thursday). The pupils had to collect their result slips personally from their schools.


You could see the anticipation and nervousness on their faces just a short while before the moment of truth.


With such an attractive teacher, I am sure that if it was the "O" levels, my boy would have fared badly because of the distraction in class. Luckily this was only the PSLE and his male hormones had not fully developed yet. :p

In the end, I think he did well enough to qualify for one of the following schools:


1. Catholic High School;


2. Victoria School;


3. Anglican High School; and


4. Chung Cheng High School.

So Thursday afternoon was spent shuttling from one school to another, sort of like Chinese New Year visiting. It was tiring and time-consuming.

Among the 4 schools, Catholic High made a deep impression on me. What I saw on its school grounds reassured me that my son would be getting a well-rounded education.

Catholic High School seems to have a bit of everything.


Arts - There are many sculptures. This prominent one is aptly titled 爸爸的手 ("Father's Hands").


Nature - These are real toucans (not clay models).


Politics - No explanation needed for this poster.


Humour - Also self-explanatory.


It even has its very own Speakers' Corner.






History - A mockup of Singapore's very first landmark 1959 General Elections, complete with authentic-looking election vehicle and posters. Singapore People's Alliance and Liberal Socialist Party were two political parties that contested the 1959 elections. Both parties had long since been dissolved. Hmm... the last picture (with the cross) seemed to caution against mixing religion with politics. ;)

And so does this two pictures:



Heritage - There are many miniature models on Singapore's heritage but this one caught my eyes:


And for good reason too - it also quoted my blog article on the ice ball man.



I am so proud of my son and myself.