The Story of ACJC
Discover the rich history of ACJC, from its founding roots in 1886 to its growth into an award-winning junior college committed to all-round education.
Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) is one of the seven educational institutions of the ACS Family of Schools. The Anglo-Chinese School was founded by the Methodist missionary, William Fitzjames Oldham. William Oldham arrived in Singapore on 7 February 1885 with other Methodist missionaries. Through a Chinese gentleman who had joined the Methodist Church, Reverend Oldham was invited to the Celestial Reasoning Association. The Association was founded by businessman Mr Tan Keong Saik and was dedicated to developing proficiency in English. Reverend Oldham offered to give a lecture on astronomy. Reverend Oldham so impressed the businessmen present that he eventually received invitations to be their language tutor. After consulting with his wife Marie, Reverend Oldham offered to educate their sons instead.
With funding secured from the Association members, Reverend Oldham started the Anglo-Chinese School on 1 March 1886 at 70 Amoy Street. The first batch of students consisted of 13 Chinese boys, all sons of the businessmen who had attended Reverend Oldham’s lecture.
Within eight months, the school moved to bigger premises in Coleman Street in November 1886. The upper standards of the school moved from Coleman Street to Cairnhill Road in 1928 and remained there till 1950. In 1950, the ACS Secondary School moved to Barker Road and ACS admitted girls for the first time in the new Post-School Certificate Classes.
ACJC became operational on 3 Jan 1977 with 968 students at the Dover Close East campus. The initial idea for a post-secondary unit was mooted in 1913 when Bishop Oldham sent Reverend J S Nagle to raise funds and set up the Anglo-Chinese College. The project was eventually dropped because the colonial government decided against it. In the 1970s, the Singapore government encouraged aided schools to set up junior colleges. Mr Lee Kuan Yew, then Prime Minister of Singapore, invited the school to build a junior college in 1970 based on a dollar-for-dollar grant from the government. ACS rose to the challenge, raising funds through the support of alumni, parents and benefactors. ACJC has continued to expand its facilities over the years to support its commitment to an all-round education. The Sports Complex was completed in 1995 with the generosity of alumni and well-wishers. The upgrading of the main academic facilities was completed in 2002, and a new Centre for Performing Arts was opened in 2008.
From its inception, ACJC has been committed to an all-round education with a firm focus on the development of sound character and values. This was validated in 2011, when the College’s educational processes were validated with the School Excellence Award (SEA). In conjunction with this, the College was also awarded Best Practice Awards for Teaching and Learning, Student All-Round Development and Staff Well-Being, along with Sustained Achievement Awards in both Aesthetics and Sports, the Character Development Award and the Outstanding Development Award (National Education). The College’s outstanding processes were also recognised with the Singapore Quality Class certification.
Since then, the College has grown from strength to strength. ACJC moves into the next decade of the 21st century with the determination to nurture values-driven leaders, future-ready thinkers within a caring and collaborative community, assured that The Best is Yet to Be.
Principals:
Mr Chee Keng Lim (1977-1985)
Mr Wan Fook Weng (1986-1997)
Mrs Lim Han Soon (1997-2002)
Mrs Kelvyna Chan (2002-2013)
Ms Beatrice Chong (2013-2017)
Dr Shirleen Chee (2017-2025)
Mrs Valarie Wilson (2026 - Present)
