It was among the first batch of schools to offer the six-year Integrated Programme, which leads directly to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level examinations at the end of the sixth year.

In 1934, Lee Kong Chian, Tan Kah Kee's son-in-law, became the chairman of the school's board and remained in his post until 1955.

Together, they built a legacy which is currently commemorated by the school body through songs, plays, musical performances, and a heritage trail.

[7][9][10] During the Battle of Singapore, the school's clock tower, due to its height and vantage point, served as a headquarters for the Allied defenders.

[7][12] After Singapore gained independence in 1965, the school came under the purview of the Ministry of Education and was accorded the Special Assistance Plan (SAP) status in 1979.

[citation needed] Hwa Chong Junior College moved out of its campus at Bukit Timah Road in the late 1980s following the discovery of structural problems with the building to facilitate rebuilding.

[17] In 2008, HCI was selected by the Ministry of Education to implement the FutureSchools@Singapore programme,[18] one of five initial schools to do so and amongst the eventual fifteen planned.

[20] After Hon Chiew Weng succeeded Ang Wee Hiong as Principal of HCI in 2009, the role of chief executive officer was abolished.

The musical featured 537 participants, and was attended by alumna Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Communications and Information.

The boarding complex was designed by architect Kenzo Tange,[31] consisting of seven six-storey halls providing accommodation for up to 1,000 boarders or guests.

[39][40] Other facilities in Hwa Chong Institution include a table tennis room, street soccer courts, a judo dojo, three-storey library, a makerspace,[41] a gymnasium, a 400-metre track, a multi-purpose hall, a multi-storey carpark, lecture theatres, general laboratories and classrooms.

Students partaking in the Winter Campus programme would spend four weeks there attending lessons that are conducted in Chinese and focused on humanities subjects including history, geography, literature, socio-Economic as well as political aspects of China.

[54] In the College Section, the student population is divided into four faculties – Apollo, Ares, Athena and Artemis – named after Greek deities.

All in all, the programme aspires to produce cultural leaders and entrepreneurs who will contribute to Singapore's cultural capital in the areas of fine art, design, and new media In 2013, the Special Science and Maths Talent programme (SSMT) was introduced to the SMTP curriculum to train talented students in areas such as physics and biology.

[26] The programme is unique in allowing the majority of the school populace to put aside formal curricular lessons for a week in pursuit of their passions or interests, though some students are required to attend certain courses by their teachers' discretion.

Sabbaticals offered are of a wide variety, in categories as defined by the school: Arts & Aesthetics, Chinese Studies, Humanities, English & Literature, Leadership, Technology, Science and Math, Camps and Student Exchange; they are essentially courses for students to opt for, such as beginner guitar and songwriting lessons, professional music production, Model United Nations training camps, football friendlies with other schools, etc.

Also, the school requires students to use the specifically designed Online Bidding System – the i-ComP – to organise their sabbatical plans.

There are a number of sports CCAs offered in HCI, ranging from soccer to ten-pin bowling, and from wushu to touch rugby.

The fencing, canoeing, gymnastics, judo, shooting, table tennis, and track and field teams garner nationwide achievements almost every year.

[64][65] Other sports which have achieved significant results over the years include the basketball, canoeing, taekwondo, volleyball, water polo and wushu teams.

The National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) is currently the largest uniformed group in Singapore, and in HCI, in terms of membership.

The Scouts uniformed group hosts the Bugle Band and Lion Dance troupe, which performs at special and commemorative events.

[72] The previous year, 2009, saw the other performing arts groups being assessed; a number of awards were won, including two Golds with Honours for the Chinese Orchestra and the High School Band.

[75] The High School Band, which once performed in the Istana, travelled to Hawaii to attend the Pacific Basin Music Festival for the second time in 2010, attaining a gold award.

[80] The International Science Youth Forum (ISYF)[81] is hosted at HCI and co-organised by Nanyang Technological University, Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS), bringing students from across Asia-Pacific together to network and dialogue, with Nobel laureates coming down to share their experiences in the scientific field; a record five Nobel laureates were involved in 2010.

In 2020, an email from the school administration advising students not to discuss matters regarding the 2020 Singaporean general election sparked controversy and debate.

Following the backlash, Hwa Chong released a statement saying that the presentation was based on the individual staff's personal perspectives and not of the school or MOE.

On 2 August 2022, however, Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing revealed in a written reply to a question in Parliament that the school had suspended the counsellor from all duties, pending further investigations.

HCI's more notable alumni in business and finance include TikTok chief executive officer Shou Zi Chew, Hyflux founder Olivia Lum, Trafigura Asia chief executive officer Tan Chin Hwee, Novena Holdings founder Toh Soon Huat, and United Overseas Bank chairman Wee Cho Yaw.

In the arts and media, there are also notable HCI alumni such as The Straits Times editor Warren Fernandez, musicians Liang Wern Fook and Eric Moo, and artist Tan Swie Hian.