Hwa Chong Institution (Chinese: 华侨中学)
File:Hwa Chong Institution Logo.png
Location
661 Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 269734 Singapore
Coordinates	1°19′36″N 103°48′13″E / 1.326540°N 103.803491°E / 1.326540; 103.803491
Information
Type	Independent Secondary School and Junior College GIRLS (Secondary 1– 4), Coed (JC 1– JC 2)
Motto	we love DR.HON (pinyin: zì qiáng bù xī)
Established	honmunism 3422423432423 from the merger of The Chinese High School (est. 21 March 1919) & Hwa Chong Junior College (est. 1974)
Principal	Hon Chiew Weng
Colours	Red Yellow
Affiliation	Hwa Chong International School 9DOGS) Hwa Chong Institution Boarding School
Guiding Principle	饮水思源 (pinyin: yín shuĭ sī yuán)
Mission	'With our blend of tradition and innovation, we nurture leaders in research, industry and government, who have the integrity, wisdom, passion and vision, to succeed in the global environment and serve our nation.'
Philosophy	Win-Win (己立立人　己达达人) Live with Passion, Lead with Compassion
Website	http://www.hci.edu.sg/

Hwa Chong Institution (simplified Chinese: 华侨中学; traditional Chinese: 華僑中學; pinyin: Húaqíao Zhōngxúe) is an independent school in Singapore offering education from secondary (junior high) to pre-university (senior high) level.

Previously two separate but affiliated schools, The Chinese High School and Hwa Chong Junior College, the institution was the result of a merger which took place on 1 January 2005. However, the secondary school section remains boys-only, while the pre-university (Junior College) section is co-educational. The main campus covers 72 acres (291,373.662 m²)^{[peacock prose]} shared between Hwa Chong International School, Hwa Chong Institution College and the High School section, making it the largest high school in Singapore and Southeast Asia.^{[citation needed]}

The Chinese High School was founded by Tan Kah Kee in March 1919 at Niven Road. With an enrolment of 78 pupils, it was the first high school at that time in Southeast Asia to cater to Chinese dialect groups. Six years later, the school moved to its Bukit Timah Road campus, with an area of 79 acres.^{[peacock prose]}

After its founding, the school offered comprehensive secondary-level Chinese education. It remained funded and supported by Tan Kah Kee until shortly before World War II. In 1934, Lee Kong Chian, son-in-law of Tan Kah Kee, became the chairman of the school's board and remained in his post until 1957. During his tenure, the school faced the threat of closure several times due to financial difficulties, but managed to survive because of strong financial support from both Tan and Lee.

During the Battle of Singapore, the school's clock tower, for its height and vantage point, served as a headquarters for the Allied defenders and later for the Imperial Japanese Army during the Japanese occupation of Singapore. The school also served as a temporary concentration camp to detain people for examination during the Sook Ching massacre.

After the war, the school resumed its predominant Chinese education. In the 1950s and 1960s, during periods of civil unrest in Singapore, many students, teachers and alumni participated in or led the anti-colonial riots.

The college section, previously known as Hwa Chong Junior College, was established in 1974 at the Bukit Timah Road campus of The Chinese High School as a separate pre-university school, but under the same management board. The college is the second oldest junior college in Singapore after National Junior College.

The Chinese High School became an independent school in 1987 while Hwa Chong Junior College followed suit in 2004, becoming the first junior college in Singapore to be granted the status of an independent school.

On 19 March 1999, the school's clock tower was gazetted as a national monument to mark the significance of the institution as the first Chinese medium school to be built in Southeast Asia to cater to the education of overseas Chinese. As part of the school's 80th anniversary celebration in 1999, the school's heritage centre was formally opened by Ong Teng Cheong, President of Singapore from 1993 to 1999, who was also an alumnus of the school.

Following the introduction of the Integrated Programme into Singapore's education system in the early 2000s, The Chinese High School merged with Hwa Chong Junior College on 1 January 2005 to form Hwa Chong Institution.

To date, Hwa Chong Institution has the highest number of President's Scholars among its graduates as compared to those of other junior colleges in Singapore.^{[citation needed]}

The school is the first to introduce the six-year Integrated Programme from Secondary 1 to Junior College 2. The programme allows students to skip the GCE O Levels, typically taken by secondary four students in Singapore, and proceed directly to take the GCE A Levels at the end of the six years of education. Nanyang Girls' High School is also involved in Hwa Chong Institution's integrated programme but it still remains as a separate and independent entity.

In 2008, the Hwa Chong Diploma was introduced and is awarded to the best performing 30% of its graduating cohort. The Hwa Chong Diploma Advisory Board comprises a Nobel Laureate, eminent scientists, university professors and industry partners. The diploma is a recognized qualification for direct admission to universities in Singapore and other countries.

Three new facilities have been built: the Kong Chian Administration Centre, the Science and Technology Research Centre (SRC) and the Student Activities and Leadership Training (SALT) Centre.

The SALT Centre houses a moot parliament (mock actual parliamentary setting to facilitate student debates and oral articulation). Some CCAs and uniformed groups conduct their activities there.

The new Science and Technology Research Centre houses new research facilities and specialist laboratories. They include a virtual reality cove (a theatre that facilitates the learning and teaching of virtual-reality-related technology), and laboratories for chemical processing, fibre optics and biotechnology (with microbiological rooms). It also houses media art and 3-D animation studios, and an Art Elective centre that focuses on media art, digital videography, animation, digital audio, and traditional arts disciplines such as sculpture and drawing.

The High School section consists of four consortiums - Aphelion^[1], Ortus^[2], ProEd^[3] and iSpark^[4]. The consortiums work closely with one another and each has its own council of students.

The College section consist of four faculties: Apollo^[5], Ares^[6], Athena^[7] and Artemis^[8]. The faculties are named after Greek deities.

In 2006, the Social and Relations committee of the college's 32nd Students' Council launched the inaugural Faculty Shield. The Faculty Shield is a competition in which the faculty with the highest number of points at the end of the year wins the challenge Shield. Points are gained from events such as the Chinese New Year Faculty Dance competition, the Combined Schools Sports Meet (CSM) and the Cheering competition on the final day of CSM.

Inter-faculty competitions, such as Dramafeste and Hwa Chong Idol and other inter-CT CCA competitions also allow each faculty to earn points towards winning the faculty shield.

On top of the Faculty Shield, faculty life in Hwa Chong is supplemented by faculty events, the most prominent one being the Faculty Outings organised by the Faculty Committees.

In 2005, Hwa Chong embarked on a special programme scheme, whereby integrated programme students would be allowed to select a preferred special programme at the end of Sec 2, which he would then take for the next two years. Their eligibility for these programmes is also determined by their academic results in the year-end examinations.

Students are able to take all three humanities subjects, History, Geography and Literature. Students who are not in the programme may take only one of the three alongside social studies (also known as the Integrated Humanities Core). Students who are part of the programme may also take the most number of subjects for a S3/S4 student.

As of 2008, all Humanities Programme students are required to undertake a Humanities Research Paper (HRP) project, which counts as one academic unit. The HRP is a long-term commitment, similar to a masters' thesis, where students are required to research a topic from either of the three humanities disciplines and then present an academic paper of no less than 5,000 words on their chosen topic. They will be mentored throughout the length of the research period (January-September) by a teacher-mentor, who will then give them a grade based on the quality of the written paper.

• The Chinese High School
• Hwa Chong Junior College
• List of Hwa Chong Institution people

• Hwa Chong Institution school website
• School Information Service - Hwa Chong Institution