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Penang Free School

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Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox school

Penang Free School (PFS), located at Green Lane in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, is the oldest English-medium school in Southeast Asia.<ref name="History">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Founded in 1816, its academic achievements lead to its inclusion in the Malaysian Ministry of Education's Cluster School and High Performance School systems.Template:Citation needed

This secondary school has been an all-boys school since its inception, although girls are now admitted for Form 6.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In addition, the school has produced several notable Malaysian and Singaporean personalities, including Tunku Abdul Rahman, P. Ramlee, Wu Lien-teh, Lim Chong Eu, Tuanku Syed Putra, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin and Wee Chong Jin; its alumni are known as the 'Old Frees'.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Penang Free School maintains its historical rivalry with St. Xavier's Institution, another school in George Town which also claims the honour of being Malaysia's oldest school.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

HistoryEdit

Template:Multiple issues The establishment of a 'free school' that was open to all ethnicities was first mooted by a committee led by Rev. Robert Sparke Hutchings in 1816.<ref name="History" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It was initially proposed that a boarding school would be built to provide education and daily care for orphans and the poor, and that the boarding school would consist of two blocks, one for male students and another for girls. Local Asian children would be taught in their mother tongues, while English would only be taught for those who desired it.

Penang Free School came into being on 21 October that year, with William Cox as its first principal, and was originally housed at Love Lane.<ref name="History" /><ref name=":2">Template:Cite journal</ref> This was a temporary arrangement, as the new school building at the adjoining Farquhar Street was still under construction. The building, situated next to St. George's Church, was completed in 1821.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>

File:Penang State Museum.jpg
The Penang State Museum at Farquhar Street in the city centre once housed Penang Free School.

By the 1890s, as the school building became overcrowded, a tender was called for the construction of a new wing. The new wing, funded mainly by Chinese philanthropists such as Chung Keng Quee, was completed in 1896. Another wing was also built in 1906. In addition, English was made the standard medium of instruction within the school.

By the 1920s, the building was also reaching its maximum capacity. Therefore, plans were drawn up for the relocation of Penang Free School to a suburban site further inland, while the school premises at Farquhar Street was to be turned into a primary school. In 1928, Penang Free School was officially moved to a Template:Convert site at Green Lane, where it remains to this day. The old school building was turned into Hutchings School; today, this particular building houses the Penang State Museum.

In 1958, the then Prime Minister of Malaya and an alumnus of Penang Free School, Tunku Abdul Rahman, opened the school's Form 6 block, making it the first school in northern Malaya to offer secondary education up to Form 6.<ref name="History" /> More school blocks were added over the years, enabling it to switch to a single-session school system by 1992.Template:Wide image

List of principalsEdit

Template:Multiple issues The following is a list of principals of Penang Free School.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Self-published source</ref>

Year Name
1816–1821 William Cox
1821–1823 David Churcher
1823–1825 George Porter
1825–1827 William Anchant
1827–1829 William Anchant
1830–1843 John Colson Smith
1843–1846 Bruton
1846–1853 Fitzgerald
1853–1871 John Clark
1871–1892 George Griffin
1892–1904 William Hargreaves
1904–1925 Ralph H. Pinhorn
1925–1927 William Hamilton
1927–1928 D. R. Swaine
1928–1929 L. Arnold
1929–1931 D. W. McLeod
1931–1931 E. D. l. M. Stowell
1931 M. R. Holgate
1933–1935 J. Bain
1935–1941 L. W. Arnold
1945 Koay Kye Teong
1945–1946 N. R. Miller
1946–1947 J. N. Davies
1947–1950 D. Roper
1950–1951 P. F. Howitt
1951–1957 J. E. Tod
1957–1963 J. M. B. Hughes<ref>Hughes, J.M.B. '"The White Crocodile's Tale: My Memoirs", George Town, Penang: Areca Books. (2014). Template:ISBN</ref>
1963 Brian Smith
1963–1968 Tan Boon Lin
1969–1971 Poon Poh Kong
1972–1974 K. G. Yogam
1974 Lim Boon Hor
1974–1979 Goon Fatt Chee
1979 Lim Chin Kee
1979–1982 R. Visvanathan
1983–1988 G. Krishna Iyer
1988–1993 Goh Hooi Beng
1993–2000 Hj. Ismail bin Ibramsa
2000–2002 Abdul Rahman
2002–2004 Arabi Sulaiman
2004–2006 Yusof bin Omar
2007–2012 Hj. Ramli bin Din
2012–2017 Jalil bin Saad
2017–2019 Omar bin Abdul Rashid
2019–2022 Shamsul Fairuz bin Mohd Nor
2022–2024 Syed Sultan bin Shaik Oothuman

Notable alumniEdit

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  • G. Rama Iyer
    • Secretary-General of Malaysia's Primary Industries Ministry
  • Ismail Merican
    • Former Director-General of Malaysia's Ministry of Health<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Sport HouseEdit

• P.Ramlee • Wu Lien Teh • Pinhorn • Hargreaves • Cheeseman • Sirajuddin • Tunku Putra • Hamilton

GalleryEdit

  • Cmglee Penang Free School foyer.jpg

    Foyer with trophies

  • Cmglee Penang Free School fountain.jpg

    Fountain sculpture

  • Cmglee Penang Free School form 6 block.jpg

    Form 6 block

  • Cmglee Penang Free School volleyball court.jpg

    Volleyball court

  • Cmglee Penang Free School canteen.jpg

    Canteen

  • Cmglee Penang Free School quadrangle.jpg

    East quadrangle

  • Cmglee Penang Free School library.jpg

    Library

  • Cmglee Penang Free School field.jpg

    Playing field

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

External linksEdit

Template:Schools in Penang Template:Authority control

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