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Yusof Ishak Secondary School to relocate to Punggol in 2021 to boost student numbers

SINGAPORE — Yusof Ishak Secondary School will be permanently relocated to Punggol in 2021 to meet demand for secondary school places in the newer housing estate.

The current location of Yusof Ishak Secondary School in Bukit Batok. The Ministry of Education said the 53-year-old school is facing declining demand at its existing Bukit Batok site.

The current location of Yusof Ishak Secondary School in Bukit Batok. The Ministry of Education said the 53-year-old school is facing declining demand at its existing Bukit Batok site.

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SINGAPORE — Yusof Ishak Secondary School will be permanently relocated to Punggol in 2021 to meet demand for secondary school places in the newer housing estate.

Announcing the 53-year-old school's move to Punggol Central on Thursday (Sept 13), the Ministry of Education (MOE) said it was facing declining demand at its existing Bukit Batok site.

The relocation will allow the MOE to "preserve the established history and rich culture of the school" and its "contribution to the teaching fraternity" through the Centre for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE), which it currently hosts.

To minimise disruption to students, the MOE will stop admitting new Secondary 1 cohorts to the current Bukit Batok campus in 2019 and 2020.

Existing Secondary 1 students will be able to complete their studies up to Secondary 4 at the Bukit Batok campus in 2021, even as it starts operations admitting Secondary 1 students in the new Punggol Central campus in the same year.

A "small number" of Secondary 5 Normal (Academic) students in 2022 will be transferred to other secondary schools within the Bukit Batok area to avoid existing students having to move to the new campus, the ministry added.

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The MOE said the new campus will include an interactive learning centre with video streaming capabilities, a learning lab with an attached observation room, an enlarged classroom with additional space for observers, and a covered breakout space for outdoor learning activities.

On Thursday, the MOE separately announced that it is opening two new primary schools in Punggol.

Valour Primary School at Punggol Way and Northshore Primary School at Northshore Link will admit their first Primary One cohort from 2020, to meet the high demand for primary school places in the new housing estate.

With the two new primary schools and relocation of Yusof Ishak Secondary School, MOE said there will be 11 primary schools and four secondary schools in Punggol by 2021.

IMPACT ON EXISTING YUSOF ISHAK SECONDARY STUDENTS

• No impact to current Secondary 2, 3, 4 or 5 students.

• Existing Secondary 1 will be able to complete their education up to Secondary 4 at the school's Bukit Batok premises until 2021.

• A "small number" of Secondary 5 students in 2022 will be transferred to other secondary schools within the Bukit Batok area, said the MOE.

• No existing students from the Bukit Batok campus would have to move to the new Punggol campus under these transition arrangements, the MOE said.

LONG HISTORY OF YUSOF ISHAK SECONDARY SCHOOL

• First established in 1965 as Jubilee Integrated Secondary School.

• It was renamed Yusof Ishak Secondary School in 1966 after the first President of Singapore, and opened by the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

• The school moved from its original location along Jubilee Road to its current Bukit Batok premises in 1998. 

• The Centre for Teaching and Learning Excellence was set up at the school in September 2015 for pre- and in-service teachers to learn by observing innovative pedagogies in a real classroom setting. The centre is a partnership between Yusof Ishak Secondary School, the Academy of Singapore Teachers (AST), and the National Institute of Education (NIE).

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