Presbyterian High School (PHS) began humbly as a rural Chinese school with no campus to call her own during the post-war years when Chinese-medium secondary schools were in shortage. At the Annual General Meeting of the Presbyterian Synod in 1961, Bethel Presbyterian Church stepped up to loan the premises of its subsidiary school, Ming Sin Primary School, to the new secondary school, Li Sun High School, which the Synod was setting up. Rev Lee Huai Kwang, a pastor with a deep conviction for mission schools, became one of the pioneers who played a formative role in the birth and growth of Li Sun High School.
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| Ming Sin Primary School |
Reverend Lee Huai Kwang (1st row, 5th from left) and the pioneer batches of Li Sun High School |
Located at Jalan Lateh off Upper Serangoon Road, Li Sun High School received its first batch of students on 4 January 1965. “Li Sun” was derived from the translation of Rev Alan S. Moore Anderson’s name in Mandarin, An Li Sun (安礼逊). Rev Anderson was a missionary and champion of education who dedicated his life to building churches and schools in China and Malaya.
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| Li Sun High’s outdoor performance |
Li Sun High’s Uniformed Group Parade |
In July 1980, the Ministry of Education (MOE) proposed two options for the school: either to create plans for establishing an independent secondary school with its own campus, or to close down. The Board was resolved to preserve the school. When MOE met with the school in August 1980, it offered a plot of land in Ang Mo Kio for campus building. On top of that, MOE was also prepared to bear half of the development costs. In 1981, the Presbyterian Synod officially endorsed the new site of the school at Ang Mo Kio and renamed it “Presbyterian High School”. This is because they hoped that the change of name would convey the school’s Christian mission and her intent to align with the national initiative of using English as the medium of instruction.
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| PHS officially occupied the new school building in Ang Mo Kio |
Then-Acting Minister of Education, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, officiated the opening of the school campus |
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| Carnival sale at PHS |
Enjoying sports on our field |
Today, the campus, which was re-developed in the 1990s, features beautifully designed blocks, a prominent clock tower, and above all, a declaration on its main building, “To God Be The Glory”. It stands as a striking landmark in Ang Mo Kio. As a mission school supported by two anchor churches, Ang Mo Kio and True Grace Presbyterian Churches, PHS places emphasis on nurturing and developing good character in her students, inculcating in them a sense of gratitude and responsibility to the community and nation.
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| PHS welcomes its 57th batch of students |
PHS today, with a clear ethos and a rich heritage |
