Peirce Secondary School
Peirce Secondary School (PSS) is a co-educational government secondary school located in Bishan, Singapore. Founded in 1994, Peirce Secondary School is known for its niche in the uniformed groups CCAs.
| Peirce Secondary School 培雅中学 Sekolah Menegah Peirce | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
10 Sin Ming Walk, Singapore 575566 | |
| Information | |
| School type | Government Co-educational |
| Motto | Fax Mentis Incendium Gloriae (The Passion for Glory is a Torch to the Mind) |
| Established | 1994 |
| Session | Single |
| School code | 3061 |
| Principal | Betty Chow |
| Houses | Falcon Hawk Eagle Penguin |
| Colour(s) | Yellow Grey |
| Mission | Passion to Excel with Integrity, Respect, Care and Empathy |
| Vision | Resilient achievers, responsible citizens |
| Website | peircesec |
History
Peirce Secondary School started functioning in 1994 on the premises of Bishan Park Secondary School. Chia Choon Kiat was its first principal. It began with an intake of 356 Secondary 1 pupils. On 17 February 1995, the school moved to its current premises at 10 Sin Ming Walk.
From 2007 to 2008, the school embarked on an upgrading exercise (PRIME Phase 8) of its premises to include an Indoor Sports Hall and other facilities. The school temporary relocated to 2 Ang Mo Kio Street 23 during the upgrading. The project was completed on schedule and the school returned to its home campus in December 2008.
Today, the school have a total of 23 classes distributed among 5 levels - 13 Express and 10 Normal (Academic) classes.
20th Anniversary
Peirce Secondary celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2014, with the anniversary assembly as the flagship event. Themed "Peirce, Our Home", the event saw students, parents and teachers contributing more than 1,400 photos on Instagram with the hashtag #Peirce20anniversaryStudents and #Peirce20anniversaryParents. Photos shared by users were printed out to form a heart shape logo located at the 4th level of the school building.
A commemorative musical production was also staged on 1 August 2014. Entitled "Dreams do come True", the musical is a showcase of students’ talents through an entertaining and inspiring story of how one can fulfil his or her dreams through a spirit of adventure.
Absorption of Bishan Park Secondary School
The Ministry of Education announced on 4 March 2016 that Peirce Secondary School would be merging with Bishan Park Secondary School with effect from January 2018. About 300 students from Bishan Park Secondary School were affected by the merger. The merged school would be located at the current premises of Peirce Secondary School.[1] The merged school will have 2 Distinctive Programmes for Secondary 1 Intake from 2018 onwards, namely "Developing Community Leaders with the Heart to Serve Through Uniformed Groups", as well as "Broadcast Journalism".
Academic information
Being a government secondary school, Peirce Secondary School offers two academic streams, namely the four-year Express course, as well as the Normal Academic Course
GCE O Level Express Course
The Express Course is a nationwide four-year programme that leads up to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level examination.[2]
Academic subjects
The examinable academic subjects for Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level offered by Peirce Secondary School for upper secondary level (via. streaming in secondary 2 level), as of 2017, are listed below.[3]
Notes:
- Subjects indicated with ' * ' are mandatory subjects.
- All students in Singapore are required to undertake a Mother Tongue Language as an examinable subject, as indicated by ' ^ '.
- "SPA" in Pure Science subjects refers to the incorporation of School-based Science Practical Assessment, which 20% of the subject result in the national examination are determined by school-based practical examinations, supervised by the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board. The SPA Assessment has been replaced by one Practical Assessment in the 2018 O Levels.[4]
| Sciences | Language & Humanities | Arts & Aesthetics |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Normal Course
The Normal Course is a nationwide 4-year programme leading to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Normal Level examination, which runs either the Normal (Academic) curriculum or Normal (Technical) curriculum, abbreviated as N(A) and N(T) respectively.[5]
Normal (Academic) Course
In the Normal (Academic) course, students offer 5-8 subjects in the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Normal Level examination. Compulsory subjects include:[6]
- English Language
- Mother Tongue Language
- Mathematics
- Combined Humanities
A 5th year leading to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level examination is available to N(A) students who perform well in their Singapore-Cambridge GCE Normal Level examination. Students can move from one course to another based on their performance and the assessment of the school principal and teachers.[5]
Normal (Technical) Course
The Normal (Technical) course prepares students for a technical-vocational education at the Institute of Technical Education.[6] Students will offer 5-7 subjects in the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Normal Level examination.[6] The curriculum is tailored towards strengthening students’ proficiency in English and Mathematics.[6] Students take English Language, Mathematics, Basic Mother Tongue and Computer Applications as compulsory subjects.[6]
Peirce Secondary School do not have any Normal (Technical) Intake as of 2018.
Co-curricular activities
Peirce Secondary School has a total of 16 co-curricular activities (CCAs) for students to choose from, ranging from Club and Societies, Performing Arts, Sports and Uniformed Groups.
As a niche of Peirce Secondary School, the uniform groups have attained outstanding achievements. Our UGs like the National Cadet Corps (Land), have been achieving Best Unit Award (Gold) for many consecutive years and received Best Unit Award (Distinction) since 2019 to present and we hope to continue this outstanding performance by our NCC unit. Our NCC unit have also excelled in the Precision Drill Squad (PDS) competition with more than 7 Finalist positions and even Central district Champions in 2010. Other Uniformed Groups we have like the National Police Cadet Corps, the Saint John's Ambulance Brigade have also achieved numerous awards that made our school proud.
Other achievements from the sports and athletics include 'B' Division Rugby Boys, which came in as champions in the National Schools U-17 Rugby Championship 2015.
From the performing art CCA, Peirce Show Choir make the school proud by receiving 3 awards from B’dazzled 2018 and 2019. During B’dazzled 2018, they were dressed as beggars to create the theme “Rag to riches” and during 2019, they were dressed in full white to create the theme “technology”.
A full listing of the Co-curricular Activities offered by Peirce Secondary School is featured below:
| Club and Societies | Performing Arts | Sports | Uniformed Groups |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha Robotics Club | Wind Symphony Band | Basketball | National Cadet Corps (Land) |
| InfoComm Club | Show Choir | Track and Field | National Police Cadet Corps |
| Art | Modern Dance | Rugby | Triace Scouts |
| Drama | Table Tennis | St. John Ambulance Brigade | |
| Netball | |||
| Volleyball | |||
| Judo |
Student Leaders Executive Council
The Student Leaders Executive Council (SLEC) was established in 2013.
References
- Lim, Kenneth; Ng, Kelly (4 March 2016). "22 secondary schools to merge over next 2 years due to falling demand". ChannelNewsAsia. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
- "Express Course Curriculum". www.moe.gov.sg. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
- "School Information Service". Ministry of Education, Singapore. Ministry of Education, Singapore. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
- "GCE O-Level Syllabuses Examined in 2018". Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB). Archived from the original on 2017-04-28. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
- "Secondary School Courses". www.moe.gov.sg. Archived from the original on 2017-07-04. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
- "Normal Course Curriculum". www.moe.gov.sg. Retrieved 2017-09-14.