On This Day In 1969, National Junior College Held Its Inaugural Assembly

On 20 Jan 1969, exactly 56 years ago, National Junior College (NJC) welcomed 572 fresh-faced students to its very first assembly. It marked the beginning of a legacy for Singapore’s first junior college (JC), which became a blueprint for the JC system we know today.

A super secondary school

The idea of NJC was born in 1965 when then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew envisioned a “super secondary boarding school” to provide the best education for Singapore’s brightest young minds. Later that year, then-Minister for Education Ong Pang Boon announced plans for special secondary schools called “junior colleges” to provide top-tier education.

By 1969, NJC opened its doors at the junction of Linden Road and Dunearn Road. In 1997, the school moved to its current Hillcrest Road campus, which features junior and senior high sections as well as a boarding school facility.

NJC introduced university-style tutorials with small 10-person study groups for personalised learning. It wasn’t just about academics, though – the school emphasised holistic development through extra-curricular activities, physical fitness, civic engagement, and talks by public figures. This well-rounded approach laid the foundation for today’s JC system.

A pioneer spirit

The inaugural batch of NJC students were selected through a rigorous process that considered not just academic brilliance but also personality, the ability to speak a second language, sporting talent, and extra-curricular involvement. The competition was fierce, with over 2,000 applicants – including some from neighbouring ASEAN countries – vying for a spot.

And it paid off. By the time NJC students graduated in 1970, they achieved stellar results in the Higher School Certificate (HSC) exams, with 81.6% earning full pass certificates. Christopher Huang, a student from the pioneer batch, topped the nation with 12 distinctions.

The NJC school badge. | IMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

A legacy of firsts

NJC continued to lead the way in education innovation:

• 1985: First JC to introduce the Art Elective Programme
• 1992: First JC to offer German as part of the Language Elective Programme
• 2004: Among the first schools to introduce the Integrated Programme (IP), allowing students to skip the GCE ‘O’ Level exams and proceed directly to ‘A’ Levels; by 2009, the IP expanded to six years, admitting students from Sec 1

Today, NJC stands as one of Singapore’s top junior colleges, producing leaders like Singapore's third Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, current Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen, and current Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan.

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