Victoria Junior College

1°18′24″N 103°55′14″E / 1.30656°N 103.92061°E / 1.30656; 103.92061

Victoria Junior College 維多利亞初級學院 Maktab Rendah Victoria
Nil Sine Labore (Nothing Without Labour)
Location
Marine Parade,
Coordinates	1°18′24″N 103°55′14″E / 1.30656°N 103.92061°E / 1.30656; 103.92061Coordinates: 1°18′24″N 103°55′14″E / 1.30656°N 103.92061°E / 1.30656; 103.92061
Information
Type	Government
Session	Single-session
Established	1984
Principal	Chan Poh Meng
Enrolment	Approx. 1700
Colour(s)	Yellow, red
Website	www.vjc.moe.edu.sg

Victoria Junior College (abbreviation: VJC) is a pre-university co-educational institution established by Singapore's Ministry of Education in 1984 to be the affiliated Junior College of Victoria School. It stands on Marine Vista, close to the beach. The Principal is Mr Chan Poh Meng (2006-Present).

Contents 1 History 2 Description 3 College symbols 3.1 Crest and heraldry 3.2 Colours 3.3 Motto 4 College anthem 5 Principals 6 Facilities 7 Academics 7.1 Class choice 7.2 Student body 7.3 Humanities and the arts 7.4 Curriculum hours 7.5 Faculty system 7.6 Class naming conventions 7.7 Special Programmes 8 Co-curricular activities 9 List of CCAs 9.1 Student leadership 9.2 Sports groups 9.3 Performing arts 9.4 Clubs and societies 10 Houses 11 Affiliations 12 6-year Integrated Programme 13 Notable alumni 14 References 15 External links

History

Victoria School (VS) generally has a good proportion of the students qualified to enter a two-year Junior College course instead of a 3-year Pre-University course since the Junior College (JC) system started in the late 1960s. While VS started being a Pre-University Centre in 1979, by around 1980 it became clear that Victoria School students with better 'O'-level results were choosing to enter other Junior Colleges instead of attending the Pre-U centre of VS after Secondary 4. Victoria School old boys from this period who attended other Junior Colleges after Secondary School included Lieutenant-General Ng Yat Chung - Singapore's Chief of Defence Forces (2003-2007); Major-General Neo Kian Hong - Singapore's incumbent Chief of Army and Major-General Ng Chee Khern -Singapore's outgoing Chief of Air Force.

Old Victorians like Dr Ong Chit Chung and the OVA (Old Victorian Association) therefore proposed to Singapore's Ministry of Education (MOE) the idea of a Junior College named after and affiliated to Victoria School. MOE accepted the proposal, and Victoria Junior College was established in 1984 to give graduates of Victoria School an option to join a 2-year Junior College course. VS boys who choose to enter VJC after Secondary 4 can have 2 bonus points on their 'O'-level aggregate score.

Besides Victoria School, VJC students also come from others schools. Unlike VS, VJC accepts female as well as male students.

VJC received its first batch of 776 students at the the new Marine Vista campus, with 51 tutors.

The school enrolment as of October 2006 was 1,933 students (including 234 IP students) and 151 staff members.^[1]

In 2009 VJC celebrated its 25th anniversary. The theme of the anniversary was "XXV: Viva La Victoria".

Description

Victoria Junior College was one of the top three junior colleges in Singapore until the ranking of junior colleges was discontinued and is still regarded as one of the top three junior colleges in Singapore. It was the only junior college to offer the Humanities Scholar Programme (HEP) and the Theatre Studies and Drama (TSD) Programme before other colleges followed suit in 2006. It also offered a university-level French curriculum as part of the Language Elective Programme (LEP) until it was discontinued in 2006. Since 2005, VJC has offered a four-year integrated programme, starting from Secondary Three level.

Victoria Junior College stands on the east coast of Singapore, about one kilometre from its affiliated school, Victoria School.^[2]

College symbols

VJC shares the motto, school colours and almost identical Crest with Victoria School since the former was established to be the latter's affiliate. The meaning, significance and history of these symbols are all inherited from Victoria School.

Crest and heraldry

The school crest and heraldry were based on the Anglican tradition, and modeled after Oxford University's crest.

Colours

Yellow, signifying dignity and excellence from a colonial legacy. Red, signifying universal brotherhood and equality.

Motto

"Nil Sine Labore", or "Nothing without Labour" This motto was inherited from Victoria School, and was created in March 1940. It emphasizes the need for Victorians to persevere in order to fulfil their dreams and desires.

College anthem

The college anthem was inherited from Victoria School's original pre-1987 school song, after modifications were made to the lyrics so that VS and VJC can share a common Victorian Anthem. "School" was dropped after "Victoria" in the first two paragraphs shown below in 1987 by Victoria School.

Lyrics by J A Frazer (pre-1987 version)
Music by W E Meyer

Victoria in Singapore
There are other schools we know
Victoria is something more
The school that watch'd us grow

For here we've learnt and striven too
And played the sportsman's game
Victoria we give to you
The honour that you claim

Victoria, thy sons are we
And we will not forget
Victoria, thy triumphs see
And victories we share yet

For others came before and went
And carried to the world
Victoria's fame and our intent
To keep her flag unfurled.

Principals

• 1984 - 2001: Mrs Lee Phui Mun
• 2001 - 2006: Mrs Chan Khah Gek
• 2006 - present: Mr Chan Poh Meng

Facilities

VJC has remained at Marine Vista since its inauguration in 1984, with major changes and renovations made to the campus over the years.

The site comprises six Lecture Theaters along with air-conditioned tutorial rooms and computer laboratories. Other facilities include the Performance Theatre and the Victoria Archive, both completed in 2001.

Recent additions to the school campus include the renovation of the "Concourse" and the General Office, the completion of Treehouses, the Students' Lounge, also known as "The Igloo", and a synthetic field which hosts inter-school football and softball matches. Facilities in The Igloo include a pool table, a PlayStation 2 video game console, as well as a dart board and Foosball table.

Academics

Victoria offers a traditional UK-style A-level curriculum, with Ivy League-style liberal arts offerings. Lessons are conducted in the Oxbridge lecture-tutorial style.

Class choice

New students pick 4 H2 level subjects or 3 H2 level subjects and 1 contrasting H1 subject to study for and to be examined for the next 2 years. The choice of subject combination is made on the first day of school, during the orientation programme, in which subject talks are given, and the students make their choices. The allocation of classes is based on the subject combination, and is carried out in such a way as to ensure an equal ratio of boys and girls in each class and the widest spread of diversity, though in some classes there can be a disproportionately large number of international students.

Student body

Humanities and the arts

Most students obtain distinctions in Cambridge A-level General Paper. Victoria has a strong Debating Team, with a tradition in Oratory and Rhetoric. The Victoria Debating Team has won national and international competitions including the United Nations Debates, the Rotary Championships and the Phillip Jessup Debates.

Theatre Studies is also its forte. Each year, students perform politically and socially controversial plays in a mini-festival, and these are open to members of the public. Visiting guest lecturers have included Broadway legend Lea Salonga. Under the guidance of Reynold Buono, Victorian alumni in the Arts include Geraldine Kok, MFA Yale, has performed in New York and Broadway. Ava Lyn Koh has starred in feature film Crime Of Passion. Alex Liang, an actor and model in London, has appeared in numerous UK TV programmes, ads, feature films and music videos including Madonna's Hung Up music video. Arts alums moonlight as daytime corporate attorneys but perform in the night. Theatre stalwarts, director Natalie Hennedige and playwright-actress Eleanor Tan continue to stir the Asian arts scene. Also, Janice Koh, Kaylene Tan, Noor Effendy Ibrahim Rohaizad Suaidi, and Tang Fu Kuen have been important, not only as performers, but as critics and arts administrators.

Victorians are also the first Singaporeans to break into Hollywood - Lydia Look in Rush Hour and Lucy Liu (who was on exchange from Stuyvesant High in New York). Regional and local television artistes include Michelle Chong and Joanne Peh.

Film makers include Jasmine Ng, Tan Pin Pin, Kelvin Tong, and Lynn Lee. Yang Guichuan and Ho Yi Ping have made careers in the international media industry in Tokyo, Shanghai, and New York.

20 nationally ranked students are named Humanities Scholars each year in the Humanities Programme.

Curriculum hours

Curriculum hours vary across each level and class. Morning Assembly (and the time after which the student is considered late for school) is at 0740, and the first lesson starts at 0800. Each period is 35 minutes, and the dismissal times range from as early as 1210 to as late as 1725 for all days. On Wednesday, the day allocated for CCAs however, the latest dismissal time is 1430. There are no fixed periods allocated for break time or recess, to prevent overcrowding of the canteen. It is usual for students to have two or more consecutive periods of breaks, and this is especially common for students in the Arts Faculty.

Students are allowed to leave school from 1245 onwards.

Faculty system

• The Arts 1 (A1) is the Arts faculty of VJC. It is compulsory for all Arts students to take Mathematics as one of their A-level subjects. This is because all students have to take a contrasting subject and Mathematics is a contrasting subject to Arts.

• The S3 faculty has Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry as their three basic subjects, and a choice of Arts or Humanities subjects (English Literature, History, Geography, Economics, Art, Chinese/Tamil/Malay Language and Literature, Theater Studies and Drama or General Studies in Chinese) as their H1/H2 content subject.

• The S4 faculty elects Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry as their three basic subjects, with a contrasting arts or humanities subject (stated above).

• The S5 faculty elects Mathematics, Physics, Economics as their three basic subjects, combined with any Arts or Humanities subject, or Chemistry.

• The S6 faculty elects Mathematics, Chemistry, Economics as their three basic subjects, and a choice any Arts or Humanities subject, or Physics.

The PCME combination may be grouped in the S5 and S6 faculties due to the popularity of the course and the subject similarities to avoid an imbalance of faculty size, as it is a flexible combination which allows entrance into most courses in local universities.^[3][4]

Class naming conventions

Each class follows the naming system of year of formation, followed by the stream (S for science, A for Arts and V for the Integrated Programme), then the faculty number and then the class number. For example, 08S37 denotes that the class was formed (or the students entered the school) in 2008, S for the Science stream (A for the arts stream, V for the Integrated Programme), the first 3 for the faculty (Science S3) and the second 7 denotes that S37 is the 7th class in that faculty.

For the Science Faculty, the last digit of the class name usually represents the subject combination that some students of that class may be taking. SX1 students would be taking Geography as their 4th subject. SX2 students would be taking History as their 4th subject. SX3 students would be taking English Literature as their 4th subject. As an example, some students in S51 would be taking Geography in place of Chemistry, since the S5 faculty takes Physics, Maths, Economics as their 3 basic subjects.

Special Programmes

• FastTrack@VJC Teaching and learning with Broadband Programme
• Grassroots and Governance Programme
• Hospital Attachment Programme
• HP Email Mentoring Scheme
• Humanities and Social Science Research Programme
• Humanities Scholarship Programmes
• Mathematics Enrichment Programme
• NUS Education Programme for Gifted Youths (NUS-EPGY)
• Scholarships Programme
• Science Enrichment Programme
• Science Research Programme
• Science and Mathematics Olympiads
• Science Focus
• Taiwan Immersion Programme
• Technology and Engineering Programme
• Theatre Studies and Drama Programme
• Victoria Integrated Programme

Co-curricular activities

The Students' Council and the Civics Tutorial Council works in organising school-wide activities, also organising college events and proposing initiatives to benefit the student body.

The Civics Tutorial Council, also known as the CT Council, is a student leadership body comprising of a CT Representative from each Civics Tutorial Group (Class). The CT Councillors serve as the bridge between the college and the class, promoting the welfare of each student. The CT Councillors also work with the Student Councillors and the House Committee members in organising, maintaining and planning college events and functions.

The House Committee comprises the key figures for each of the six Houses, coming together as a united body, organising inter-house activities and assisting the CT Council and Students' Council for events.

Every year, new activities are proposed by students. 2004 saw the founding of Fencing Club and Golf Club and in 2005, Rock Climbing was established as a CCA. Cheerleading began in late 2007 to quick success as they emerged champions in the SKM Cheerfest Stunt category in the following year.

Clubs with a small number of members are merged with other clubs. In 2004, the IT Council merged with iComp, and Bridge and Chess Club merged with Defence Science Club to become the Strategic Games Club.

List of CCAs

Student leadership

• 26th Students' Council
• 17th Civics Tutorial Council
• 5th House Committee

Sports groups

• Air rifle
• Badminton
• Basketball
• Bowling
• Canoeing
• Cheerleading
• Cricket
• Cross country
• Fencing
• Floorball
• Frisbee (still an unofficial CCA)
• Golf
• Hockey
• Judo
• Kayaking
• Netball
• Rock climbing
• Sailing
• Soccer
• Softball
• Squash
• Swimming
• Table-tennis
• Taekwondo
• Tennis
• Track and Field
• Volleyball
• Wushu

Performing arts

• Chinese Orchestra (Gold - SYF 2007, Gold - SYF 2009)
• Choir (Gold With Honours - SYF 2007, Gold With Honours - SYF 2009)
• Dance Club (Gold With Honours - SYF 2007, Gold - SYF 2009)
• The Dramatic Society for the Dramatic People (Drama Club)
• Guitar Ensemble (Gold - SYF 2007, Silver - SYF 2009)
• Harmonica Band (Gold - SYF 2007, Silver - SYF 2009)
• Piano Ensemble
• String Ensemble (Gold With Honours - SYF 2007, Silver - SYF 2009)
• Symphonic Band (Gold With Honours - SYF 2007, Gold - SYF 2009)

Clubs and societies

• Animal Welfare Society
• Art Club
• Artery (Arts Society)
• Astronomy Club
• Bizclub
• Career Development Council
• Chinese Society
• College Magazine
• Community Involvement Council
• Culinary Club
• Debating and Oratorical Society
• Earthwatch
• FIREfly@VJC
• First Aid Club
• French Club
• Global Affairs Society
• Health and Fitness Club
• Horticulture Society
• Infocomm
• Interact Club
• Japanese Club
• Library Council
• Lighthink (General Paper Society)
• Lion Dance Troupe
• Malay Cultural Society
• Mathematics Society
• Outdoor Activities Club
• PA Crew
• Philosophical Society
• Photography Society
• Robotics Club
• Science Council which consists of:
  • Chemistry Society
  • Medical Society
  • Physics Society
• Science Research Society
• Strategic Games Club
• Subjectif
• VJC Archive
• Writers' Circle
• Singapore Youth Flying Club (external)

A list of the CCAs available in VJC along with links to their websites can be found on the college website.^[5]

The choir has participated in international competitions. On 19 July 2004 the choir represented Singapore in the Choir Olympics held in Bremen, Germany and participated in three categories: Musica Sacra, Contemporary Music and Open Mixed. The choir emerged as the category champion in Open Mixed, and as second in the Musica Sacra and Contemporary Music categories. Gold medals were also awarded for each of these categories.

The choir participated in the 9th Concorso Corale Internazionale (International Choir Competition) from 9 April to 12 April 2006, held in Riva Del Garda, Italy.

Other performing groups from the school took part in the biennial Singapore Youth Festival.

In 2007, the Choir, Dance, String Ensemble and Symphonic Band achieved the Gold with Honours award at the Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging, while the Chinese Orchestra, Guitar Ensemble and Harmonica Band were awarded the Gold award.

One of its niche areas in the sporting arena is in the sport of Soccer. The boys' team, has made it to nine of the ten finals of the National A Division Inter-School Soccer Championships for the past ten years, and winning five of the finals. The girls' team has been champions three times and runner-up once in the past four years since the Girls' competition was started in 2005. See Victoria Junior College Football.

The college is also strong in sports such as cross-country, softball, sailing and wushu.

Houses

For competitive intra-school events, the school population is divided into six houses:

• Aquila (blue)
• Draco (red)
• Lynx (green)
• Pegasus (purple)
• Phoenix (orange)
• Ursa (yellow)

The House Committee is in charge of each house, with each house having at least four House Committee members: The House Captain, The Vice-Captain, The Treasurer and The Secretary. Integrated Programme students into the House Comm are called "Caplets". House points are earned through inter-house activities.

The house system was introduced in 2004 in order to prepare students for the change in curriculum of 2006, when the S1 and S2 faculties were eliminated. Before the house system, the school population competed as faculties. The house system distributes students from different faculties evenly, eliminating the size advantage that the S1 or "triple science" faculty used to have from offering the most popular subject combination.

The house with the highest grand total of points wins the La Coupe Etoile (or The Star Cup), awarded to the Champion House at the Farewell Assembly for the Year 2s at the end of each year.

Past champion Houses

• 2004: Draco
• 2005: Ursa
• 2006: Aquila
• 2007: Pegasus
• 2008: Pegasus

Affiliations

Victoria Junior College is affiliated to Victoria School, Victoria School students choosing to enter Victoria Junior College can get two bonus points off their GCE 'O'-level L1R5 academic aggregate although Victoria Junior College also has a small portion of its total student intake enrolled through VJC's own Integrated Programme (IP) - of which non-affiliated students and VS students have equal opportunities of enrolling in.

Both institutions are under the charge of the Victoria Executive and Advisory Committee (VEC/VAC) and share a common alumni association — the Old Victorians' Association (OVA).

Both campuses co-organize concerts, overseas trips, OVA events and other events.

6-year Integrated Programme

In August 2009, it was widely reported in the press that VJC submitted a proposal to Singapore's Ministry of Education (MOE) to extend its 4-year Integrated Programme to one lasting 6 years, starting from Secondary One. The decision resulted in tensions between VJC and both past and present students of Victoria School, who cited that VJC "betrayed her origins", with a spokesman for the Old Victorians Association (OVA) asking VJC to return the college badge, anthem as well as the name 'Victoria' to Victoria School. A petition against VJC's proposal was launched. ^[6]

Notable alumni

• Chong Chieng Jen - Malaysian politician
• Michelle Chong - actress and host, Mediacorp; winner, Best Comedy Performance (Highly Commended), Asian Television Awards, 2008 ^[7]
• Joanne Peh - actress, Mediacorp; Best Actress, Star Awards 2009; Miss Elegant and Miss Personality, Miss Singapore Universe, 2002 ^[8]
• Felicia Chin - actress, Mediacorp; winner, Star Search 2003; youngest national softball player at the age of 15, 1999 ^[9]
• Lee Teng - host, Mediacorp; 1st runner-up, superhost 2005/2006 ^[10]
• Ava Lyn Koh - actress based in Britain
• Kelvin Tong Weng Kian - film director; first Singaporean to direct a Hong Kong film^[11]
• Tan Pin Pin - Singapore Oscar-winning film director ^[12]
• Ho Yeow Sun - pop singer; first and only Asian singer to top the US Billboard Dance Chart and the UK MusicWeek Chart; Only singer selected to be music ambassador for 2008 Beijing Olympics
• Keely Wee - female champion, Campus SuperStar, Season 2, 2007 ^[13]
• J C Sum - illusionist ^[14]
• Sonny Liew - comic artist/illustrator, best known for his work on Vertigo Comics' "My Faith in Frankie" ^[15]
• Dr Cheryl Marie Cordeiro - winner, Miss Singapore Universe, 1999; University lecturer
• Nuraliza Osman - winner, Miss Singapore Universe, 2002; Lawyer

References

1. ^ VJC webpage.
2. ^ Map of Victoria Junior College from Street Directory.
3. ^ NUS Course Prerequisites
4. ^ NTU Course Requirements
5. ^ Victoria Junior College - About VJC. Retrieved on 2009-05-02.
6. ^ Petition, Petition against VJC's 6-year IP
7. ^ She doesn't stint on the three Fs
8. ^ Joanne Peh: Miss Singapore 2002 contestant
9. ^ Felicia Chin Foon Ling
10. ^ TV host used to chat up girls online, The New Paper, 28 March 2009
11. ^ Defying Definition - book profile from the WritersNet books and publications directory
12. ^ "Seeing invisible worlds", The Straits Times, 30 July, 2007
13. ^ WELCOME TO Keely Club! KEELY WEE our SUPERSTAR in our HEARTS!
14. ^ Singapore Celebrity Magicians to Add Magic to Old Victorian Association Concert at the Esplanade
15. ^ Comic creator Sonny Liew

External links

• Official website
• Official website
• Old Victorians' Association
• College blog