Old Boys’ Pride: Teaching at Their Alma Mater

Gan Eng Seng School has come a long way since Mr Ang Ghim Chee and Mr Chan Hoong Leong were students there. Then, it was an all-boys school located at Raeburn Park. Today the school is situated at Henderson Road and it is a co-ed school with three academic streams.

As for Mr Ang and Mr Chan, they are now teachers at their alma mater, having taught there for 12 and seven years respectively. Although they have witnessed many of the school’s recent changes, they’ll tell you that the heart of the school remains essentially the same.

Serving the school, in more ways than one

The culture of giving back and serving their alma mater is well established at Gan Eng Seng School. One of the school traditions is that recent graduates return to the school on Saturdays on a voluntary basis, to mentor their juniors for the final examinations. This has been structured into a Peer Tutoring Programme.

It was this culture of giving back that Mr Chan has embodied, coming back throughout his tertiary education years as a senior Scout to guide the younger students. He later decided to become a teacher. After training at NIE, his former physics teacher at Gan Eng Seng School coincidentally retired and the following year, Mr Chan took her place.

He is now the Subject Head for Physics & Lower Secondary Science, and also continues to lead the Scouts, which is the oldest uniformed group in the school. “It was a timely match for me, and a good one,” he says.

He recalls an experience he had during his first year of teaching, which affirmed his decision to be a teacher. “I was put in charge of a class that was not expected to perform well. It was difficult motivating them, and I often had to take a tough stance with them,” he explains. “But the class had a chairperson [equivalent of class monitor] and she helped me to motivate the class. When she returned to help the school the following year, she said to me, ‘You wait for me [sic]. I will be sitting next to you in the staff room one day.’ That was really encouraging to me, realising that all my effort came to some good.”

Strong role models, then and now

Similarly, Gan Eng Seng School was Mr Ang’s first teaching post. His 12-year career has been peppered with achievements and proud moments. As the head of department for Mathematics, he has led the school in achieving good value-added results across all streams. In the sports field, he guided and oversaw the school team to win the Lee Hsien Loong Challenge Trophy for the National Street Soccer League Championships in 2007. This year he is helming the school’s 125th anniversary celebrations, which encompasses several events spread throughout the year.

“It’s very satisfying to see tangible results when I serve my alma mater,” Mr Ang reflects. When asked what inspired him to take up teaching, he recalls, “Mr Teo Soon Hee, my Mathematics teacher in Sec 3 and 4, had a deep impact on my decision to become a teacher. It was the effort he put into coaching his students outside of school hours that left an impression, as he often came to school at 6-something a.m. before school started to tutor his students.”

Mr Teo is still a teacher in the school today. Of his former student, the soft-spoken teacher says, “Mr Ang was a very hardworking student. I’m very happy that he has come back to serve in the school.”

Though the paths and duties of Mr Chan and Mr Ang differ, they echo each other’s sentiments about teaching in their old school. “It’s a joy to see the students progress, and the culture of serving your alma mater builds a sense of belonging in everyone,” Mr Chan says.