First Toa Payoh Secondary School

First Toa Payoh Secondary School (abbreviation:FTPSS) was a co-educational secondary school in Toa Payoh, Singapore. Founded in 1968, the school was the first secondary school to cater to the population of Singapore's satellite town, Toa Payoh. First Toa Payoh Secondary School was merged into Bartley Secondary School in January 2016.

First Toa Payoh Secondary School
Campus of First Toa Payoh Secondary School.
Address
580 Toa Payoh East 319133 Toa Payoh Singapore
Information
Type	Public Government
Motto	To The Years Ahead
Established	1 January 1968
Status	Merged into Bartley Secondary School in 2016.
Closed	2016
Website	Heritage Website

History

School campus at Toa Payoh Lorong 1 (1969–2003)

The pre-university course lasted only a decade and was phased-out in 1991 to accommodate the transformation of the school into one of the pioneer single-session secondary schools.

The school operated at two campuses up to 2003. In 2004, First Toa Payoh Secondary School merged with Upper Serangoon Secondary School, and moved from its original site, Lorong 1 Toa Payoh, to new facilities at Toa Payoh East. It was officially opened on 1 April 2005 by Dr. Ng Eng Hen, Member of Parliament for Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC, also the Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Education.

First Toa Payoh Secondary School was merged with Bartley Secondary School in January 2016.

Principals

Name of Principal	Years served
Mr Yang Chien Hua	1964–1969
Mr Fong Fook Chak	1969–1970
Mr Loh Yee Chong	1970–1971
Mr Chiu Yew Yean	1971–1972
Mr Loh Yee Chong	1973–1983
Mr Loo Pui Wah	1984–1986
Mrs J. Narayanaswamy	1987–1992
Miss Winne Tan	1992–1994
Mrs Sia Heng Yee	1993–1996
Mr Ng Hok Siang	1997–2000
Mr Loh Ai	2000–2003
Mdm Aini Maarof	2004–2009
Mr Lim Kok Hwa	2009–2015

Identity & heritage

Crest and motto

The school crest and emblem consist of a torch set within a wheel. The torch signifies enlightenment and knowledge, while the wheel represents progress. This symbolizes effort in striving for progress and achievement through education.

The school motto, "To the Years Ahead", reflects aspirations to ensure students are ready for the future while grounded in strong values.

Community

Although most of the students come from the Toa Payoh neighborhood, it is a diverse neighbourhood with students from countries such as Indonesia, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Philippines, Myanmar, South Korea and Nepal.

To forge stronger bonds with community partners, the school spearheaded the Love Toa Payoh East movement in 2004, which later became the basis for the Toa Payoh Trail in 2009. As a testament to its commitment in instilling into students a responsibility towards community service and pride, and loyalty towards the country, the school was accorded the Development Award for National Education in 2011.[1]

To leverage on its strength in experiential learning, FTPSS was also awarded the niche status (Secondary) for Outdoor Experiential Learning (OEL) in 2013.[2] The school successfully re-positioned the niche as the Learning for Life Programme (LLP) in 2014.

Notable alumni

• Mr Hri Kumar Nair; lawyer and former Member of Parliament (2006–2015) for Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC.
• Wong Shoon Keat; 1983 Southeast Asian Games Badminton men's singles gold medallist.
• Dr Maliki Osman; Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Education and Foreign Affairs, and Member of Parliament for East Coach GRC (Siglap).
• MWO Chen Yuen Cheong Albert; Parade Regimental Sergeant Major (PRSM) for National Day Parade 2010 @Padang.
• 3WO Shirley Ng; first female Red Lion parachutist to jump at the National Day Parade in 2014.
• Apple Chan Zhi You; Actress and singer.

References

1. First Toa Payoh Secondary School S.P.I.C.E Magazine 2011.
2. "Outdoor Experiential Learning Niche Area" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 April 2016.