Campus Transformation 4: Union of Legacies

A Union of Legacies

The school's fourth and most recent transformation was catalyzed by its 2018 merger with Chong Boon Secondary School. This was not a simple relocation but a complex and thoughtful process of integrating two histories, two cultures, and an expanding student body into a single, reimagined institution.

The union was first declared at the front gate. A new school sign was erected, displaying the name in English alongside Chong Boon’s respected Chinese name, 崇文中学, a clear signal that both legacies would be honoured. In perhaps the most meaningful gesture, 49 solar panels—the proud legacy of Chong Boon's strong environmental education programme—were carefully relocated and installed on the Yio Chu Kang campus, physically transferring a piece of one school's soul to the heart of the other.

This new identity required a campus that could adapt. A fortunately timed General Renovation and Repair (GR&R) exercise in late 2017 allowed the entire school to be repainted with a fresh colour scheme. To accommodate the larger, merged staff, a new staff room was created. To serve more students, specialized spaces like the Needlework room were converted into flexible classrooms, and open areas were transformed into modern study hubs for collaboration and consultation.

Parallel to the merger was the school’s ongoing expansion to meet growing needs. The successful Pathlight satellite programme, which began in 2014, continued to grow. To provide space for all its students, a new classroom block was constructed in 2017, opening its doors to the senior cohorts on January 2, 2020.

From its humble, zinc-roofed origins in a rural village to the dynamic, integrated campus of today, Yio Chu Kang Secondary School has continually transformed itself, forever embodying a spirit of relentless improvement in service of its community and its students.