(Former Pearl's Hill Primary School)
Wah! Finally I wrote my 100th blog post entry. Haha Ü It actually took me around 2 years 9 months to write this 100th entry since I starting blogging in April 2005. As it is the 100th blog post, so I was thinking it will be nice to write something special. That’s why after watching the report on Pearl’s Hill Primary conversion to hotel, I have the eager to write something about my Alma Mater.
Back to the topic, I actually went down to Chinatown area to take a few snapshots of the Pearl’s Hill School before I met my NTU friends yesterday evening for dinner. Along Eu Ton Sen Street, next to Pearl’s Centre & outside the former Police HQ-Criminal Investigation Department, I found this National Heritage Board's information board (shown below), showing the history of Pearl’s Hill Primary. (U can click on the photo to read the history in the enlarged version).
(National Heritage Board's information board on Pearl's Hill School)
(Overall view of Pearl's Hill Primary School from Jalan Kukoh estate)
(Covered walkway & Front entrance gate leading to the school)
Moreover, I will try to recall and record below what features are present in the school during my school days there from year 1985 to 1993.
Features:
Around the school compound
- Tallest primary school in Singapore history (12 Storeys)
- A covered walkway at the front entrance with driveway access
- A large field which seldom used for soccer, but for Sports Day event, sometimes PE lessons, with the monkey bar and simple fitness corner at the very far end of the field
- A large carpark which is used for daily morning reading session and national anthem singing purpose.
- A small basketball court at the back of the school for our usual PE lesson. (I still remember how low the basketball ring is, when I returned back once after graduation, can even do a slam dunk easily. Haha)
- A large cage at 1 corner of the basketball court where the rearing of chicks, chicken etc were encouraged for a short period of time.
- The backyard of the school (behind the tuck shop aka canteen), where there is a long stretch of water tap basin at 1 corner.
- Pearl's Hill City Park just outside the school premises, where some of our PE lessons and Art & Craft sessions are conducted there. (Still remember my art & craft teacher asked us to sketch the school from Pearl’s Hill City Park during 1 of the Art & Craft lessons)
Inside the school compound (1st storey)
- A small horticulture pond outside the tuck shop (above the large field)
- A few table tennis table near the tuck shop and beside the horticulture pond (many students can be seen challenging each other during lunch break, after lesson)
- 2 cargo-sized lift at both ends of the tuck shop for lifting students up to the classrooms for lessons.- There are even 2 male lift operators, one at each lift providing the lift service to the students during the school hours (Similar to hotel standard, haha)
- There is one very large hand drawn painting (drawn by my eldest brother, think it’s larger than A0 size paper if I did not remember wrongly) hanging at 1 corner of the lift at 1st storey near the horticulture pond side. Haha. Don’t know whether the painting is still around, since now it will be converting to hotel soon.
- A large hall cum tuck shop queuing area where all the meeting session are conducted.
- A tuck shop aka canteen with 12 stalls (don’t know correct or not, can’t remember now) with many cheap but nice food.
Inside the school compound (2nd storey & above)
- A stretch of gardening corner at the 2nd storey (above the carpark, I used to be in the gardening club as ECA in the past)
- A small bookshop at the 2nd storey, just beside the staircase at the horticulture pond side.
- A dental treatment room at the far end of 2nd storey
- Principal Office at the 3rd storey
- Corner of 3rd Storey is the library - Thanks LF for reminding me
- Teachers' Office at the 4th storey
- Music room at the corner of the building (can't remember which storey)
- Classrooms are from Storey 5th to 11th storey (if I did not remember wrongly)
- Sports facilities corner at the 12th storey where PE lessons are sometimes conducted there if it is rainy day. (many tables tennis there also if I did not remember wrongly)
In addition, I also manage to dig up some National Day & Children’s Day souvenirs (See below) that I somehow manage to keep them for more than a decade. Haha ÖÜ
(Children's Day 1983 - Photo ablum, way before i enter the school)(National Day 1990 - Finger nail cutter)
(National Day 1991 - Haversack = I like this most - great design)
Things may have changed during the later stages after I left the school. Thus, are there any features that I have missed out or any new features that I have not included? Do share your comments here. I am quite interested to know how the school progress after my graduation in year 1993 too. Thanks. Cheers. Ü
42 comments:
3rd level corner is the library.. Lift operator at that time , one is Mr Deng, another is Mr Lim. But Lim was charged for molesting in the girl's toilet in school years back. Can still remember one of the Music teacher, Mrs Tay, very fierce,Vice Principle Miss Foo ,My form teachers, a Chinese teacher, Mr Teo(passed away due to an car accident), Miss Toh Hui Leng for my Pri 5C, Miss Patricia for my Pri 6B, Mrs Ng Kheng Hiang, Mrs Tan Eng Poh etc.. during my days in PHS(1985-1989).Really miss them all..
Hi Li Fang,
You are my senior indeed. When your last year in PHS is in 1989, I was only in Primary 4. haha Ü
Wah. U really have a good memory. Ü
Still can remember all the teachers' full name.
Thanks for reminding the library corner. almost forget. haha
I was trying hard to remember all these. Yah. Mr Teo was my Chinese Teacher. I remembered he met an car accident when he was surposed to cross the overhead bridge, but choose to cross the road instead... :( I think I still have the chinese newspaper article on that.
Ya, my last year was 1989..almost 2o years liao..Time really flies..Actually i only know it become a hotel last wednesday when driving near chin swee..and came home searching for it and found your blog..haha :) Was surprised that you are also Mr Teo's student..I cant remember the details of the accident but u do..u also have great memories..haha..Well i read and knew that the Re hotel will be charging S$270 above for per room stay, sound X..have the tot of going for a visit or a nite stay, but still remember the "school Ghost stories" ..haha..
Yah. Times really flies. I graduated in year 1993 from PHS. So it's almost 14 years.
I also get to know that PHS was converting to hotel from the TV news few months back. I only know that it became a student hostel after the sch closed many years ago.
Maybe it will be good to stay in that Re hotel. haha
Yah. Mr Teo is a great chinese teacher. But how sad it is when I read the news. If you want to read the article on Mr Teo's death, I can email to you. Just send me an email to my email address here: okjiejie@singnet.com.sg
Thank you very much .....
Very good effort made on Pearl's Hill School
Hi, I'm Christine. Graduated from PHPS in 1990. Thanks for the efforts in writing about PHPS. Our Primary School has a rich history that we could all discover and perhaps write a book on it one day. I didn't know about what had happened to Mr Teo until I saw your blog. Was taught by him too. Mr Chua, a PE teacher who also taught Arts & Craft, also passed away...
Hi Myke Mike & Christine.
You are welcome. Ü
I graduated from PHS in 1993.
Yah. Our primary school has a rich history. really hope someone can published a book on our alma mater one day.
Yah. I still have Mr Teo's article. (can post it in blog). I think I remembered Mr Chua too. The PE teacher who like to drink warm soya bean after his PE lesson. When Mr Chua passed away??
Hi Kiatsan
Pardon me. I don't know exactly when Mr Chua passed away. My cousins attended his funeral. I only learn about this after the funeral ended. My cousins and sibling also from PHPS. Mr Chua carried a cane around cos we were naughty.
Christine
Hi Christine,
oic. so maybe your cousins can still remember when was that if you ask them personally.
Yah. I think so. I also cannot remembered whether Mr Chua carries a cane around.
But I do remember he like drinking warm soya bean drink after PR lesson.
Hi, thanks for the photos and info on your blog...my time, hm... from 1971 to 1976, then I went to RI...Mr Toh was a very nice teacher, and taught me in Pri 4 in 1974. My form teacher in Pri 6A was Mr Monterio and principal then was Mr Ng. My Pri 1 was spent in the old PHS, then from Pri 2, we moved to Chin Swee Road...cheerio!!
is Mr Lim the handicapped guy who sat on the barstool in the lift ?
Hi YC Leong,
Nice to hear from you. Oh you are my senior. hehe
Oh. The old PHS is it at the former Pearl's Park Primary School site before it moved to Chin Swee Road?
Yah. If I did not remember wrongly Mr Lim is 1 of the handicapped guys who is operating the cargo lift in PHS.
Mr teo used to teach me too, back in 1985 when I was in pri 4. RIP, MT TEP.
I used to have a lot of fun in PHS and I would say my happiest time IS spent there. it's a pity most of the classmates living there have moved away, those living in outram park and jalan kukoh.
oh kiatsan, thanks for keeping the news report, i appreciate that. It's such a pity the school is now a hotel, I hope for it to remain a a school, but its better than demolishing it away i guess just like my old home in outram park.
kiatsan,
I am henry, I forgot to answer ur questions on mr chua, mr chua passed away in 1997 of stomach cancer, i know his son who was in 6AA while i was in 6A, different session, also attended his funeral which was hosted in outram park.
did u people know madam wong, the teacher who was spotted with a bao4 zha4 tou2, she was dead too, she died in 1992 supposingly of cancer too, i know mr chua and madam wong personally as they all lived in blk 28, outram park, where i used to live.
It is part and parcel of life to move out from old house.
Yah. We should be glad that PHS building is not demolished but converted into a hotel. At least the building is still there, remaining as the same old form but better changes to the building. :)
Hi Henry,
Thanks for your information. Hai...
Sad to hear about that too...
I always like to attend PE lessons conducted by Mr Chua.
Erm. Mdm Wong... Sounds familiar but I cannot really remember her face now... :(
Do you have her photo? Maybe I can remember if I can see the face.
Well, I am sorry I do not own any of her photos, she taught chinese and often had her hair permed really curly. she taught me chinese for 3 years I think.
yes, glad it's not demolished. would love to go back and take a look at the interior but the hotel charges seem pretty high.
Oic. Nevermind. Thanks. I think I still cannot remember her face.
Yah. The hotel charges seems a bit high.
kiatsan,
do u live in the cantonment close vicinity after Outram park was SES cos i seem to see u before.
Anyway thanks for all those pictures, if u have anything interior, can u pls post them up if u r available
regards
henry
Hi Henry,
I used to live near Chin Swee Road near to Pearl's Hill City Park
You seem me before? ha :)
You are welcomed. I don't have the interior photos of PHS. You can find some photos on that in the Facebook PHS group page.
My last visit to PHS was in 2008 when the workers are doing renovation work for the new Hotel Re, so nobosy can entered the building.
Last time no $$ to buy camera when I was young. haha :D
me too lah, where got money to buy digital cam also. somemore its not even invented at that time.
talk about chin swee road, i used to live there too and converse between chin swee road and jln kuloh, then i moved to outram park in pri 1 then was forced to move again to cantonment close.
i think a lot of my friends have since moved away, i mean those living in kukoh and chin swee. kinda miss them...did u know popular book shop is now sheng siong supermart?
Yah. True. That time only traditional film camera. My bro bought it but I seldom used that time.
Oh. you also stayed there b4. Yah. A lot of ppl moved out from that area.
Yes. I knew about it. Before that 2 storey popular bookshop was converted to Sheng Siong, it was once a furniture shop if I did not remember wrongly.
that place, chin swee road is still buzzing with old people and er...people from china i think. a lot of china people there.
jln kukoh is basically a old man's town now.
oh do u know that zhou chongqing that FM933 DJ is from PHS too? he is 2 years my senior and the chinese teachers sometimes asked him to do storytelling for us. i remember he used to live in jln kukoh 2 but basically move away like u do.
i still remember people our generation those born in 70s and early 80s used to live in flats where 6 people will just cramped together, and sleep on mattress, haha, those were the days.
If u ask me, basically I find that this island is cramped with too much people nowadays.
regards
henry
Hi Henry,
Yah. Both Chin Swee Road and Jln Kukoh are packed with many old people.
yah. Those were the days, all squeezing together in 1 small room, even living room can be treated as bedroom as well. ha :D
Oh. I don't know 周崇庆 is from PHS also. THanks for the info. No worry, since young, teachers already asked him to do storey-telling. That is why he can be DJ and popular with children. hehe
Yah. True. The island packed with too many ppl already.
Its been a pleasure talking to u. ;)
do u go up to pearl's hill and jog or play when u lived in chin swee rd?
I kinda miss that little hill too, i can still see the hill from where i live but would love to go up there sometimes.
Yes. Same to me too. Nice talking to u. Cheers. Ü
Yah. When I lived there, I used to jog at Pearl's Hill Park quite often. I need to jog there once/twice a week for my track & field ECA during my study in PHS.
After I gradutaed from PHS and before moving out from there, I still jog there once a week. I think it become 1 of my childhood playgrounds. haha :D
Yes. I also missed that hill too as I always feel quite pleasde and relax whenever I visit the hill. I also like the pond with the lily and fishes in the pond with the staggered shaped concrete bridge near it.
This hill always give me some mysterious feelings on what is hidden in the hill. :)
Oh. At least you can still see the hill from where u lived now, but not for me now. You should visit the hill again when you are free and see how PHS has transformed into the new Hotel Re. It will sure help to bring back some great memories for you too. :)
Well, no wonder I find u familiar, maybe I saw u staring at the pond longingly when I was up on the hill. haha...
talking about the mysterious building, i am still wondering what that is, u know the castle on top of the hill, no1 is allow to access the wired up building.
hey can i ask u something, most of my friends have moved, so where have u all move too, is that resale flat or some sorta SERs scheme by the gov?
You must be kidding. haha. Joking. :P
I have moved out from Chin Swee in 1997 to he west side of Spore. It 1st hand flat that time.
Regarding the mysterious "castle" that u are talking about on the top of the hill, it is actually the Service Reservoir built in 1898 and completed in 1904. You can read more about it in the link below (under description)
http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_116_2004-12-14.html
Another blogger (my sec teacher) has also written something on that service reservoir
http://ivyidaong4.blogspot.com/search/label/PEARL%27S%20HILL%20CITY%20PARK
You can also visit my other blog post on another mysterious bunker at Pearl's Hill City Park below
http://kiatsans.blogspot.com/2009/04/mysterious-bunker-at-pearls-hill-city.html
LOL Still got bunker report..
yes I recognize that bunker, walk a couple of steps down and presto, its the old police hostel and now its a hostel for foreigners.I went in there once too in pri 6 before it was sealed up. it's pitch dark and really scary, i am surprise u have a concept of what it looks like.
notice u also have a report on the outram prison. actually that land is really really haunted....
oh btw, do u know there are snakes in pearl's hill too, i nearly stepped on a green snake which is like one step away from me.
the the bodhi tree ur teacher talked about is beside the entrance of the castle, facing our PHS.
Oic. Ha. I just roughly remembered how the internal of the bunker looks like, so create a sketch on that.
I have actually climbed up the ladder in that bunker to reach the top opening of the bunker many many years back. ha :D
Oh. That time I was searching for information on that bunker on online but only manage to find information on Outram Prision instead. ha
Oh. I have not encountered snakes before on Pearl's Hill, but encountered 1 snake in PHS itself when I was student there.
Need to be careful and keep calm and not scare the snake if not it thinks you are attacking it.
Ha. Okay. Too bad it is not a castle but a service reservoir. :D
u remember the bunker is built right into the hill, my friends and i r always thinking, are there tunnels under the hill.
That bunker is at 1 corner of the slope. Not really sure whether there are any tunnels below.
Although I entered that bunker b4, but seems like there are no hidden passage on the slab/walls of the bunker.
This bunker seem more like "observation post" to me.
That is what I am always thinking too. Full of mysterious stuff for that hill.
There's also a science lab on the 3rd level, next to the library. It is the last room on the floor.
There's also a science lab on the 3rd level, next to the library. It is the last room on the floor.
Thanks for the memories..I'm also an ex-PHS student.graduated in 1991. Really jotted out the memories as if it was yesterday.still remembered the teachers who had taught me.Remembered the lifts which stopped at different levels, one stops at level 4,6,8,10, while another stops at level 5,7,9,11.still remembered we can only take lifts up to certain level n walked up 4 levels, depending which level was ur class.40 sandwiched kids with big bags and 1 teacher n lift attendant.. sometimes really wondered how we can squeezed in that time.
Hi, my time there fm 1978 - 1984...rip mr teo..mr lim staying in whampo area n I meet him some yrs back...remember mr yap who got a shop in telok blangah drive...
Think I am the youngest among those who reply :p
I left PHS in 2000 after completing P4. School management didn’t want to disrupt our PSLE preparation by doing P5 there and P6 elsewhere since they closed in end 2001.
Some stuff I recall of the school:
- at the bottom of the stairs down to field was hopscotch
- the field had this grass slope down to the fencing near rear gate where students always end up kicking soccer balls down there - there's a small altar near there, we always thought someone 养小鬼
- TAF club students are not allowed to take lifts, they had to climb stairs everywhere they go.
- there's pong pong tree right beside our basketball courts
-
Jane
My last year in PHS is 1986. Anyone from my batch?
I looking for my classmates. Call me at HP81757045
Hi Kiatsan thsnks for writing this blog. I came across your blog while searching material an old Chinese primary school which was located in my mum place in Club Street.
I am oldest ex student of PHPS among all of here in this blog. I studied in the old PHPS on Pearls Hill from 1961 to 1966. Many of you msy not been born yet lol!
I remember the school n the surrounding areas very well. It was an old colonial style building overlooking Pearl Bank n Park Road pri schools. I remember the hill behind our school and the "fortress" on top. The hill slope up to the reservoir were occupied by Malay houses on stilt column and there were plenty type of fruits we could plug or pilfer along the way up hill. On the immediate left of our school is an open field where soldiers from the colonial government used pitched up tents there.I was always happy to see them return because they were frienfly and they offered us chocolate candy. Next to this field is the police hostel as most of know. I remembered walking thru the building interior from left entrance to right exit of the building all the way down to Outram Secondary School at the foothill. In front of the police hostel were old solid bronze cannons and hill slope that sloped down to the old people park market. After class we used play slide down the hill slope which was covered with lallang leaves.
On the right of our school was the tuckshop and common toilet. There was a also playground within the fenced perimeter. Beyond the fence at the distance is a hilly ground.Today it is the part if Chinswee road n the hdb housing in York Hill.
Going home from school we sometime took the Havelock road exit, cutting thru a lane between Pearl Bank school compund and a Nightsoil Collection Center to Eu Tong Sen Street.
Most of our cohort lived around China town areas within 3km radius of PHPS.
Today only remain of this school is just the cement block by the slope road to the school.
Thanks for the memory.
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