Bukit Mertajam High School

Infobox Secondary school
name = Bukit Mertajam High School

motto = "Aut Coepisse Noli Aut Confice"
"Accomplish or Do Not Begin"
established = 18th January 1927
type = Government
High School
affiliations = Malaysia Ministry Of Education
founder = Edgar De La Mothe Stowell
grades = Form 1 - Form 6
colours = Red, White and Black
campus = Large School campus, at the city center
address = 77, Jalan Sri Bukit, 14000 Bukit Mertajam
city = Penang
country = Malaysia
website = [http://www.hsbm.net www.hsbm.net]

Bukit Mertajam High School (sometimes referred to as High School Bukit Mertajam, or HSBM for short) is a secondary school located in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, Malaysia.

Name

The name of the school had changed several times, from the Government English School Bukit Mertajam in early years, to Bukit Mertajam High School, and finally to High School Bukit Mertajam. The School, however is most commonly called "high School" by local people.

In Malay, BM High School is named "Sekolah Tinggi Bukit Mertajam", and in 1997 was referred to as S.M.K.T.B.M. (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tinggi Bukit Mertajam).

In Mandarin, High School Bukit Mertajam is called "DanShanJiao YingWen ZhongXue", which literally means "Bukit Mertajam English Secondary School".

History

The early years

Bukit Mertajam High School was the first government school in Province Wellesley, and was to cater for the growing number of schoolboys of the Province. During the 1920s, students crossed the channel twice daily in order to attend school at Penang island to study beyond Std. V. Among the schools in the island were the famous and well-known Penang Free School and St. Xavier's Institution.

Mr. Harold Ambrose Robinson Cheeseman—then Inspector of Schools Penang, later Director of Education in Malaya— was responsible for the school's planning. The first head of the school was Mr. Edgar De La Mothe Stowell. From the very outset, Mr. Stowell sought to create a replica of the famous Sedbergh English Public School, which he had attended and which is known for its stringent discipline.

Mr. H. A. R. Cheeseman wrote the following on the occasion of the school's 21st anniversary:

I was almost heart-broken. The High School is an exact replica of the elementary school building of Rangoon Road in Singapore. I protested in vain...

The school was officially opened in January 18, 1927 with an enrollment of 385 students and a total of staff including the headmaster himself.

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right|thumb|200px">
Local teaching staff in 1927. Left to right: (top row) Kam Kee Hock, Tan Hock Siang, Chin Yoon Ngean, S.Subbiah, Cheong Hong Oon, Khor Kok Seng; (bottom row) Chan Ewe Pin, Gan Hock Hai, Ng Chong Wing, Tan Kok Kee, S.M. Rose

The pioneer staff comprised the following people:

External links

* [http://www.hsbmalumni.org.my Alumni homepage]
* [http://www.hsbm.net Official homepage]