Established in 1879 with an enrolment of 77 students, Raffles Girls’ School (RGS) rose to prominence and gained a reputation for being one of the best institutions for girls in Singapore and Malaya at the time.
The school was founded by a committee of eight women who were determined to prevent orphans and girls born into poverty from falling into vice. The committee saw education as a means to provide the underprivileged girls with care and protection.
RGS at Anderson Road
In 1959, RGS moved to its premises on Anderson Road, marking its separation from the primary school that remained on Queen Street. The school introduced two sessions—morning and afternoon, to cope with increasing enrolment.
Set amidst lush greenery, the school was an assortment of old and new buildings. It had a distinctive entrance design and varied roof styles. Most of the buildings were sheltered under earth-coloured double-pitched roofs. There were also steep roofs reminiscent of traditional Javanese architecture.
In 1985, RGS acquired buildings from the neighbouring Anderson Secondary School and underwent a million-dollar facelift. The renovations saw the introduction of new facilities such as computer rooms, kitchens and needlework rooms, a bigger library, an administration block as well as more classrooms. The extra space from these facilities also meant that the school could accommodate more students and operate within a single session.
A new beginning in Braddell
Faced with a burgeoning enrolment and an expiring land lease, the 140-year-old school had to be relocated. A new campus for RGS was announced in 2012. This move was helmed by former RGS principal and alumna, Mrs Poh Mun See. The $90 million project took seven years to complete, and RGS finally moved to its new campus on Braddell Road on 21 October 2019. Standing at about 2.5 hectares larger than the former campus on Anderson Road, the new campus comfortably accommodates its increased enrolment.
Today, RGS is situated right opposite its brother school, Raffles Institution (RI). The two schools are linked by an overhead pedestrian bridge connecting bus stops across Braddell Road.
Buildings and sites featured on Roots.gov.sg are part of our efforts to raise awareness of our heritage; a listing on Roots.gov.sg does not imply any form of preservation or conservation status, unless it is mentioned in the article. The information in this article is valid as of March 2020 and is not intended to be an exhaustive history of the site/building.
