SINGAPORE: Montfort Junior School will become a coed school from 2028, it announced on Saturday (Apr 25).
The school will admit its first batch of female students from the 2027 Primary 1 registration exercise. Younger female siblings of existing students will also be eligible for Phase 1 of the exercise.
Daughters of school alumni will similarly be eligible for Phase 2A priority under the exercise, the Montfort School’s management committee said in a press release on Saturday to celebrate the school’s 110th anniversary.
The school has no plans to accept girls for its Primary 2 to Primary 6 cohorts in 2028. Parents and alumni from both Montfort Junior and Secondary were informed of the move in March.
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The decision took the changing demographics in Singapore into account, as well as the realities of society today, said Mr Lim Boon Heng, chairman of St Gabriel’s Foundation.
"The reality in society is that we have males and females mixing together. To segregate boys and girls was intentional in a generation past, that met the social values of the time," he told CNA.
For example, in the 1950s, men and women sat separately while attending Catholic mass in Singapore. When Montfort School was opened in 1916, single-sex schools reflected the social norms of that time, said Mr Lim.
"In our discussion about how to stay relevant and pertinent to the times, the school should reflect society," he added, noting that the move would allow the school to serve a wider community.
"Segregating boys and girls is actually an artificial means of conducting education. So we felt that we should be more inclusive, and therefore the school should reflect what the community really is."
In the past five years, MJS has consistently taken in five Primary 1 classes each year, he added, noting that the Hougang campus where both the primary and secondary schools are located is in a mature estate.
St Gabriel’s Foundation, which oversees six schools including the Montfort schools, and the Ministry of Education are discussing whether Montfort Secondary School will also take in girls, the press release read.
When asked about this development, Mr Lim said the secondary school will start accepting female students by the time the first batch of girls from the primary school graduate, which would allow them to benefit from the affiliation between the two schools.
"You've got to give it the parents too, those who are going to register. By the time my daughter gets to finishing P6, can she continue in Montfort?" he added.
Maris Stella High School (Primary) and Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) will also become coed schools in 2027 and 2030, respectively.
Discussions around the future of the Montfort Schools and the decision to go coed began in 2019, said Mr Lim.
Among older generations of Montfort alumni, there was a strong sentiment that the school should remain a boys' school, he added.
"There are also those who feel that the way to teach boys and the way to teach girls can be different."
But Montfort schools accepting female students is not entirely new, he noted. In the 1960s and 1970s before junior colleges were established, Montfort was one of the schools designated as a centre for pre-university students taking the A-Level examinations, said Mr Lim, who shared that he was one of these students.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Montfort School also went through discussions about merging with Hai Sing Catholic School, then known as Hai Sing Girls' High School, he added.
Some alumni were quite emotional about the decision because they believed in the "sense of brotherhood" that came with the school's status as a single-sex school for males, he said.
"But there were others who were not so hung up on that ... I myself experienced coeducation at A-Levels in the same school, so I didn't have the same feelings as some of the others who felt so strongly about it," he said, adding that many alumni members also recognise that the decision is a practical one.
When asked why the decision was not taken earlier given that discussions had started years ago, Mr Lim said the foundation did not want to "ram it down people's throats", and took the time to talk to those who felt strongly about the issue.
Young parents today prefer to send their children to coeducational primary schools to avoid going through the Primary 1 registration exercise more than once, he noted.
Having children in the same school is also logistically more convenient for parents, said Mr Lim.
As to whether the other two schools under the foundation's umbrella – St Gabriel's Primary and Secondary schools – will also start to take in girls, he confirmed that the idea has been floated but is still under discussion.
"There are no decisions yet. There are some discussions about whether they should follow Montfort or not, no decision has been taken as yet."
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The school will admit its first batch of female students from the 2027 Primary 1 registration exercise. Younger female siblings of existing students will also be eligible for Phase 1 of the exercise.
Daughters of school alumni will similarly be eligible for Phase 2A priority under the exercise, the Montfort School’s management committee said in a press release on Saturday to celebrate the school’s 110th anniversary.
The school has no plans to accept girls for its Primary 2 to Primary 6 cohorts in 2028. Parents and alumni from both Montfort Junior and Secondary were informed of the move in March.
CNA Games
Show More Show Less
The decision took the changing demographics in Singapore into account, as well as the realities of society today, said Mr Lim Boon Heng, chairman of St Gabriel’s Foundation.
"The reality in society is that we have males and females mixing together. To segregate boys and girls was intentional in a generation past, that met the social values of the time," he told CNA.
For example, in the 1950s, men and women sat separately while attending Catholic mass in Singapore. When Montfort School was opened in 1916, single-sex schools reflected the social norms of that time, said Mr Lim.
"In our discussion about how to stay relevant and pertinent to the times, the school should reflect society," he added, noting that the move would allow the school to serve a wider community.
"Segregating boys and girls is actually an artificial means of conducting education. So we felt that we should be more inclusive, and therefore the school should reflect what the community really is."
In the past five years, MJS has consistently taken in five Primary 1 classes each year, he added, noting that the Hougang campus where both the primary and secondary schools are located is in a mature estate.
St Gabriel’s Foundation, which oversees six schools including the Montfort schools, and the Ministry of Education are discussing whether Montfort Secondary School will also take in girls, the press release read.
When asked about this development, Mr Lim said the secondary school will start accepting female students by the time the first batch of girls from the primary school graduate, which would allow them to benefit from the affiliation between the two schools.
"You've got to give it the parents too, those who are going to register. By the time my daughter gets to finishing P6, can she continue in Montfort?" he added.
Maris Stella High School (Primary) and Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) will also become coed schools in 2027 and 2030, respectively.
Discussions around the future of the Montfort Schools and the decision to go coed began in 2019, said Mr Lim.
Among older generations of Montfort alumni, there was a strong sentiment that the school should remain a boys' school, he added.
"There are also those who feel that the way to teach boys and the way to teach girls can be different."
But Montfort schools accepting female students is not entirely new, he noted. In the 1960s and 1970s before junior colleges were established, Montfort was one of the schools designated as a centre for pre-university students taking the A-Level examinations, said Mr Lim, who shared that he was one of these students.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Montfort School also went through discussions about merging with Hai Sing Catholic School, then known as Hai Sing Girls' High School, he added.
Some alumni were quite emotional about the decision because they believed in the "sense of brotherhood" that came with the school's status as a single-sex school for males, he said.
"But there were others who were not so hung up on that ... I myself experienced coeducation at A-Levels in the same school, so I didn't have the same feelings as some of the others who felt so strongly about it," he said, adding that many alumni members also recognise that the decision is a practical one.
When asked why the decision was not taken earlier given that discussions had started years ago, Mr Lim said the foundation did not want to "ram it down people's throats", and took the time to talk to those who felt strongly about the issue.
Young parents today prefer to send their children to coeducational primary schools to avoid going through the Primary 1 registration exercise more than once, he noted.
Having children in the same school is also logistically more convenient for parents, said Mr Lim.
As to whether the other two schools under the foundation's umbrella – St Gabriel's Primary and Secondary schools – will also start to take in girls, he confirmed that the idea has been floated but is still under discussion.
"There are no decisions yet. There are some discussions about whether they should follow Montfort or not, no decision has been taken as yet."
Continue reading...