History of YMCA School

Education service has always been an integral part of the YMCA movement worldwide. In each of the 1,700 YMCAs around the world, there are assorted education courses, enrichment programmes and professional workshops.

YMCA School began in 1913 as the YMCA Technical Education unit. Courses in Building Construction, Architecture, Mathematics, Theoretical Mechanics, Surveying, Electrical Engineering, Machine Construction and Drawing were arranged to train recruits for the Government’s Engineering Department and Posts and Telegraphs.

Six years later in 1919, the YMCA Commercial Education unit started with courses in Shorthand, Typewriting, Book-keeping and Accountancy. In 1931, both units were merged to form the YMCA Classes. Standard V to School Leaving Certificate classes and London Chamber of Commerce Examinations preparatory courses were also introduced as part of new education initiatives. By the time war broke out in 1941, YMCA Classes enrolment was well over 800.

With the end of war, demand for office administration skills rose and pushed annual intake to 1500 students in 1950. With technical classes no longer organised, the school was renamed as the YMCA Commercial Classes. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the school was at the forefront of education innovation. It expanded its education offerings with professional and management seminars and talks, foreign language courses, and self-improvement courses, such as Starting a Business, Public Speaking, and Import and Export Procedures.

In 1985, YMCA Commercial Classes changed in its name to YMCA Education Centre and was officially registered with the Ministry of Education of Singapore. An IT education unit, Computer Training Centre, was added to the school in 1988 to provide Singaporeans a good foundation programme for IT learning. The school started Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education (GCE) ‘A’ Level classes with an enrolment of 155 students in 1989, followed by GCE ‘O’ Level classes in 1990, and GCE ‘N’ Level classes in 1993. A Master of Arts in International Relations degree programme was introduced in 2000. A year later, early childhood care and education certificate and diploma programmes jointly accredited by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports commenced. Student enrolment in GCE courses exceeded 495 in 2002.

YMCA worked out plans in late 2003 to integrate the student care services and child development services with the Education Centre. In end 2004, the YMCA Education Centre, Student Care Centres and Child Development Centres amalgamated under the umbrella of YMCA Education, which aims to offer every child that passes through programmes and activities at YMCA a holistic education experience from early-years to post-graduation. With a view to further expansion, the YMCA Education Centre changed its name to YMCA School in 2005. At the same time, YMCA School is also in-principle approved to conduct Edexcel (London) GCE courses and International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Year Programme (IBMYP) and Diploma Programme (IBDP) (on trial implementation basis).