Zhonghua Secondary School

The school has retained its Chinese heritage, despite transforming into an English-medium government school in 1990.

• Name — Zhonghua Secondary School • Native Name — 中华中学 Sekolah Menengah Zhonghua • Logo — Zhsslogo.jpg • Motto — 禮義廉恥 • Motto Translation — Courteous, Righteous, Edified, Dignified • Address — 13 Serangoon Avenue 3 • Town — Serangoon • Postal Code — 556123 • Country — Singapore • Type — Autonomous • Gender — Co-educational • Established — 1911 • Session — Single-Session • Principal — Tan Kim Koon • Enrolment — approx. 1,200 • School Code — 3240 • Website — www.zhonghuasec.moe.edu.sg Zhonghua Secondary School (ZHSS) is a co-educational government autonomous secondary school in Serangoon, Singapore. Zhonghua Secondary School was founded in 1911 as Chung Hwa Girls' High School. It became aco-educational institution in 1984. The school has retained its Chinese heritage, despite transforming into an English-medium government school in 1990.

In 1987, the school moved to Serangoon New Town along Serangoon Avenue 4 and was formally renamed as Zhonghua Secondary School to reflect its status as a government school. Zhonghua Secondary School was accorded autonomous status in 1996. In December 1999, the school commenced operation at a new school complex along Serangoon Avenue 3 costing an estimated S$23 million. In August 2005, the Centre for Excellence (COE) for Visual Arts is opened in the school. A multi-purpose sports complex was added to the campus in 2008.

The crest of Zhonghua Secondary School underwent changes after the change from a girls' school to a co-educational school in 1984, and a subsequent rename in 1987. The full name of the school originally superimposed on the crest was dropped, using instead the shortened name of the school. The English name of the school was added to the crest since 1987. The current crest features the name of the school written in Traditional Chinese characters over a begonia leaf background. The colour green signifies freshness, youth, growth, life, vitality and resilience. The colour white is the emblem of purity, virtue and brightness. Students are encouraged to represent qualities of the Begonia leaf, in particular - to be steadfast, strong, determined and decisive. Students are also encouraged to cultivate qualities such as excellence, endurance, hope and goodness. The shape of the leaf resembles the geographical features of mainland China, which reflects the heritage of the school as an institution set up by Chinese nationalists during the revolution period.

The uniform of Zhonghua Secondary School was a modified and modernised variation of its original uniform. Formerly, girls wore white shirts with below-the-knee pleated skirts while boys wore a full white uniform, with the metal school badge pinned on at the left chest level. The uniform was redesigned in 2002 following strong advocations by the student body, with major changes to the girl's uniform. Currently, girls wear white shirts with the school logo sewn at the left chest level, complemented by a green skirt. The full white uniform for boys was retained, featuring a white shirt with white shorts for lower secondary levels and white long pants for upper secondary levels.

Being a government secondary school, Zhonghua Secondary School offers three academic streams, namely the four-year Express course, as well as the Normal Course, comprising Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) academic tracks.

The Express Course is a nationwide four-year programme that leads up to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level examination.

The Normal Course is a nationwide 4-year programme leading to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Normal Level examination, which runs either the Normal (Academic) curriculum or Normal (Technical) curriculum, abbreviated as N(A) and N(T) respectively.

A 5th year leading to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level examination is available to N(A) students who perform well in their Singapore-Cambridge GCE Normal Level examination. Students can move from one course to another based on their performance and the assessment of the school principal and teachers.

The Normal (Technical) course prepares students for a technical-vocational education at the Institute of Technical Education. Students will offer 5-7 subjects in the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Normal Level examination. The curriculum is tailored towards strengthening students' proficiency in English and Mathematics. Students take English Language, Mathematics, Basic Mother Tongue and Computer Applications as compulsory subjects.

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