St. Andrew's School, Brunei

St. Andrew's School is a private, co-educational school in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei offering kindergarten, primary and secondary education to more than 1000 students. It accepts foreign students. The school has been considered one of the best private schools in Brunei Darussalam, mainly due to the fact that it only allows exceptional students to study there.

The school is currently located in Jalan Hj. Basir in the heart of Bandar Seri Begawan opposite Pusar Ulak Primary School.

Places at the school are in high demand, and applicants are tested in English, Malay and mathematics. Classes in Kindergarten and lower primary are taught in Malay, while from upper primary to upper secondary English is used. Lower Secondary students study for a local examination called the Penilaian Menengah Bawah (Malay for Lower Secondary Assessment Exam) whereas Upper Secondary students study for the Brunei-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level (GCE O' Level).

The school has consistently produced outstanding results for not only the public examinations like the Penilaian Menengah Bawah (PMB) and the GCE O' Level, but has also consistently produced champions in both national and international competitions. To take but one example, St. Andrew's School team won the Brunei National Mathematics Quiz for the sixth times in a row in 1999. The school prides itself in instilling strong camaraderie within its "family" of students, and this is borne out in the often unrivaled superiority of the school teams.

Although initially founded as an Anglican school, it aims to serve "all races, creeds, cultures and nationalities in the country". Halal food is served in the canteen.

The school has published official magazines before but this was discontinued in 1992. However, in 2005, the school resumed publication of the school magazine and is planning for it to continue for the next few years. The school is undergoing renovation around the end of 2006 to expand its premises and facilities.

History

The school was founded in 1956 by Canon Paul Chong En Siong, as a primary school with only 70 students and 3 teachers. It was the first Anglican school in Brunei. Until 1964 it was based in a church vicarage. That year it moved to its current locations, a site donated by Dato Ong Kim Kee. The school introduced Computer Studies classes in 1995.

St. Andrew's School motto

The school motto is "Courage and Love", and is reflected in the first stanza of the school song.

St. Andrew's School song

From mid-1990s onwards (possibly earlier), only the first two verses are sung (a possible reason is because the inclusion of the word 'Jew' in the third verse is generally frowned upon by the predominantly Muslim country the school is located in).
**
*United we stand at St. Andrew's
*For Truth, For Truth
*Determined forever to choose
*The Truth, The Truth
*In games and studies in all we do
*Nothing comes above
*Our search for truth that makes us free
*With courage and with love
**
*We ask that we live and we labour
*In Peace, In Peace
*Each man shall be our neighbour
*In Peace, In Peace
*Distrust and hatred will turn to love
*All the prisoners freed
*And our only war will be the one
*Against all human greed
*

Recent Principals / Head of Schools

*
*Canon Paul Chong En Siong (1957 - 1963)
*Mr. Daniel Alchuk (1964)
*Father Paul Samuel (1964 - 1966)
*Father William Arnold Marshall (1967 - 1970)
*Father Lance Johnston (1970 - 1973)
*Mr. Koshy (1973 - 1989)
*Mr. Solomon Soo (1990 - 2000)
*Mr. Jacob Chin (2000 - 2007)
*Ms. Jane Keasberry (2008 - present)

Deputy Principals
*
*Mr. Peter Tow (? - 1987)
*Mr. David Pang (1987 - 1994)
*Mr. Peter Khor (1994 - 2004)
*Ms. Jane Keasberry (2004 - 2008)
*Mr. Chong Ah Fook (2008 - present)

Deputy Principals (Primary Section)
*
*Mr. Wheeler Seneviratne (? - 1988)
*Mrs. Ho (1988 - 1989)
*Mr. R.L. Tiwary (1989 - 2004)
*Mrs. Kang (2004 - present)
*

School aims

The school states its aims as:
*"To instill in students loyalty to HM the Sultan of Negara Brunei Darussalam and to the nation."
*"To provide a comprehensive educational programme from Kindergarten to Secondary Five for all races, creeds, culture and nationalities in the country."
*"To develop and nurture in students qualities of leadership, responsibility, self-esteem, courage and love."
*"To develop in students a respect for teachers, fellow students, elders and authorities."
*"To foster growth in character with emphasis on honesty, integrity, respect for Truth and Active Concern for others."
*"To develop in students an enquiring mind, the positive attitude towards school and to cultivate in them a commitment for the pursuit of excellence in education."
*"To develop in students a love and appreciation of music, art, culture and sports."
*"To play an active role within the national education system of Negara Brunei Darussalam in educating and training young men and women to meet the man power needs in accordance with the aspirations of His Majesty’s Government."

Facilities

School facilities include:
* the school hall, used for both assemblies and indoor sports
* a canteen selling drinks, snacks and halal food
* an audio-visual room
* a conference hall
* two pure science laboratories (for Physics/Biology and Chemistry)
* an air-conditioned computer lab (restricted to computer studies students)
* an Islamic Religious Study Room
* a room used both as a Mandarin resource room and a counselling room
* a dental clinic
* a library

Notable alumni

* Prince Al-Billah (b. 1974), Crown Prince of Brunei, who completed his primary education at the school
* Prince DMKH [cite web|url=http://www.brunet.bn/gov/post/cwprince.htm|title=Postal Services Department Homepage Of Brunei Darussalam]

References