Since the 1950s, the site where Mountbatten Centre now stands has gone through many changes. While users of the building today know it as a modern educational hub, older Singaporeans may remember it as a site that was once home to various primary schools.
Multiple Mergers
Founded in the 1950s, the former Kallang Primary School witnessed several mergers and name changes over the decades. In 1984, Kallang Primary School and Kallang Government Chinese Primary School merged to form Kallang Primary School. In 1987, Kallang Primary School merged into Guillemard West Primary School, and the latter’s name was retained.
Haig Boys’ School then moved into the school campus in 1988. The school stayed at the old campus building all the way to 2001, when it merged with two other schools, Fowlie Primary School and Mountbatten Primary School, to form Tanjong Katong Primary School.
Practical Campus Architecture
The campus was designed with Singapore’s tropical climate in mind. The buildings feature large openings to encourage cross-ventilation, as well as double-pitched roofs with extended roof eaves to provide extra shelter from the tropical sun and rain.
The former school campus comprises four blocks of three-storey reinforced concrete buildings, and two blocks of single-storey modern reinforced concrete buildings. Interestingly, the blocks were all built around different periods of time. The earliest blocks were built around late 1950s to 1960s, while the newest U-shaped block, which houses Mountbatten Centre at the time of writing, was only added after 2007.
After Haig Boy’s School moved out of the premises in the mid-2000s, the former school campus was refurnished for adaptive reuse as commercial offices and children centres.
From Primary School to Educational Hub
At the time of writing, Mountbatten Centre occupies the space at the former school campus. As of 2018, the Mountbatten Centre houses several childcare centres and playschools, and commercial office spaces.
Through name changes, mergers, and building modifications, one thing remains the same: since its beginning, this site has been a learning space for students from all walks of life
Buildings and sites featured on Roots.SG are part of our efforts to raise awareness of our heritage; a listing on Roots.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 September 2020 and is not intended to be an exhaustive history of the site/building.
