RI brings back football CCA for juniors, announces more admission pathways on 200th anniversary bash

SINGAPORE — For more than two decades, Year 1 to Year 4 students at Raffles Institution (RI) have not been able to take up football as a co-curricular activity (CCA).

That will change from next year, RI principal Frederick Yeo announced to cheers and applause on Sunday (May 28) at an event celebrating the school’s 200 years of founding.

“For a start, we will offer football as a twinning sport with Guangyang Secondary School so that our students can train with Guangyang students together,” said Mr Yeo, referring to a neighbourhood school located nearby in Bishan.

Currently, only Year 5 and 6 students at RI can take up football as a CCA.

The institution stopped offering it at the secondary school level in 1999 due to a variety of reasons, including declining student enrolment, as well as to optimise the existing facilities which were used for other sports, according to the school's spokesperson.

The return of the CCA was among the latest steps taken by the school to enhance its focus on diversity, inclusivity and community engagement.

Besides running sports programmes with a neighbouring school, Mr Yeo also announced an expansion of RI’s direct school admission (DSA) programme.

The programme is offered by secondary and post-secondary schools to bring in students based on non-academic results.

Mr Yeo’s announcements were in line with a call by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for the institution to continue exemplifying Singapore’s “inclusive spirit and egalitarian ethos”.

“RI needs to uphold its long egalitarian tradition of gathering able and promising students from diverse backgrounds to join the school, and give them all the opportunity to excel and inspire them to serve,” according to a speech written by Mr Lee.

The prime minister was scheduled to attend the event as a guest-of-honour, but was unable to do so as he was advised by his doctors to avoid mass gatherings for the time being after his Covid-19 infection earlier this week.

Education Minister Chan Chun Sing delivered the speech on his behalf on Sunday.

Later on Sunday, Mr Lee said in a Facebook post that he is now Covid-19 negative and will be back to work on Monday.

MORE NON-ACADEMIC TRACKS INTO RI

Speaking on Sunday during the celebrations held at the Singapore Expo, Mr Yeo announced that from this year, RI has expanded its DSA domains for Year 5 admissions to include leadership and character.

This means that Secondary 4 students from other schools can apply to enter RI based on those criteria.

Basketball is also added as a new DSA domain for Year 1 entry this year, meaning that primary school students can apply to enter RI through their excellence in the sport.

Basketball teams of both Guangyang and RI will also train together play friendlies on a regular basis, Mr Yeo said.

RI offers a six-year school programme, with Year 1 being equivalent to Secondary 1 and Year 5 being equivalent to the first year of junior college.

“Coupled with the school’s active outreach to both primary and secondary schools, our 2023 intake of Year 1 students from 128 primary schools and JC 1 students from 74 secondary schools has been RI’s most diverse intake to date,” said Mr Yeo.

“In fact, across Years 1 to 6, we have students from almost every primary school who are now studying in RI.”

In response to TODAY’s queries, a spokesperson from RI said that approximately 30 to 35 per cent of its Year 1 cohort comprises students coming in through the DSA.

About 15 to 20 per cent of its Year 5 students that enter through the joint admissions exercise enter via the DSA, the spokesperson added.

The return of football as a CCA was well received by current and former students, who anticipate a substantial number of their peers and juniors to try to sign up.

A Year 6 student, Tan Yu Jay, said he had always been interested in the sport since primary school but was unable to take part in it when he entered RI as it was not offered as a CCA. He took up fencing instead.

Yu Jay said that his friends from other schools have told him that many have the impression that RI students are not well connected with the masses.

“Through this sports twinning initiative, I hope people can see that RI students are no different from other teenagers and students from other schools,” he said, adding that RI students will also benefit from the opportunity to interact with their peers from other schools.

President of the Old Rafflesians' Association Dennis Foo welcomed the announcements by Mr Yeo.

“If you look for leadership, for people who can contribute to society later, it is more than just academic achievements,” said the 69-year-old who is also known as Singapore's nightlife king, having headed some of the country's biggest nightclubs.

And having represented RI in table tennis, volleyball and swimming in the 1970s, Mr Foo said team sports such as football have a lot to offer that the classroom is unable to in terms of character building.

MAINTAIN SPIRIT OF EGALITARIANISM

Mr Lee’s speech on Sunday pointed to how pre-existing and potential new fault lines like socio-economic status or place of birth can threaten to divide society.

“This is why in Singapore we insist that every child, regardless of their background, should have access to opportunities that allow them to develop to his fullest potential,” he said. 

In this vein, Mr Lee urged RI to maintain its ethos of welcoming diverse talents regardless of which primary school they come from or their family circumstances. 

"This year RI’s Year 1 intake come from over 120 primary schools, a wider trawl than any other secondary school in Singapore," he said.

Mr Lee noted how over 3,700 students from disadvantaged backgrounds have received the Raffles Scholarships, which are funded by donors and alumni.

The scholarship is awarded by the school to students from low-income families, in addition to the bursary scheme by the Ministry of Education for independent school students.

Mr Lee’s speech also called upon Rafflesians to “define excellence not just by personal achievements but by your contributions to society”, citing examples of alumni members of the school who have impacted society throughout its long history.

“To continue the legacy of these earlier generations, RI must fulfil its mission of bringing up the next generation of leaders and pioneers who embody the spirit of egalitarianism for diverse talents, excellence in every field and service in diverse domains,” Mr Lee said.

“This way, RI can continue to play a pivotal role to help Singapore develop into a more vibrant land of opportunities for our children, for many more years to come.”