Principal: Ms Ng Ngoing Keng

Metamorphosis is a process where an entity is transformed completely into a better form. At Tanglin Secondary School, we believe in change as well. We seek to transform our students from hopeful “caterpillars” into beautiful “butterflies”.    

Our students need to see their own potential. They need to discover for themselves the joy of learning and develop entrepreneurial dare. In Tanglin we try to meet these needs by providing a wide range of different opportunities through uniquely Tanglin programmes.

Some programmes we are especially proud of are Tanglin PLUS, YES!, and the mentorship programme with National University of Singapore. Tanglin PLUS, our Applied Learning Programme, leverages on Humanities subjects to provide new learning opportunities. YES! stands for Young Engineers Space, which is a collaboration with the Singapore Institute of Technology to promote our students’ interest in STEM education. Under the mentorship programme with NUS, crafted together with the College of Alice and Peter Tan, undergraduate volunteers mentor our sports students to help build character and resilience. These volunteers and our students then travel to Yunnan, China to impart sporting skills and health education to students there. These three programmes and others that we offer have similar aims –– to help our students grow, thrive and succeed.

 

And we are seeing results! Many students have done us proud by doing well in competitions at national and cluster level. Our Normal Academic team got first place in the All Singapore Secondary Mathematics Competition. Our CCAs have also flown the Tanglin flag high; one of our cadets, Elizabeth Tan, won the coveted SPF-NPCC Badge, the highest honour a cadet can receive. On the soccer field, we fought our way to second place in the West Zone. But what made me even more proud was the fact that both staff and students turned up in force and stayed till the end to cheer our boys even though the match was delayed.

Our dedicated and passionate staff are the ones to thank for many of these results. They are willing to go the extra mile to create a conducive environment for students. At Tanglin, we help our teachers develop new skills and stay abreast of the latest developments in educational theory and practice. This, in turn, ensures our students receive the best instruction they need to navigate and excel in the fluid, ever-changing world they now face. Our teachers understand that to be the best that they can be, they must continue to learn and innovate. Only then can they continue to be effective in addressing our students’ needs. I am grateful to lead such a group of caring and dedicated staff in Tanglin Secondary.  

Our partners are also of utmost importance. Their generosity with their time and expertise has made it possible for our students to dream big. Famed actress and humanitarian, Audrey Hepburn, said, “to plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” We believe the same in Tanglin Secondary. We believe we contribute to tomorrow through our work today. We believe we can change our students and turn them into beautiful butterflies. We believe in metamorphosis.