It had both Chinese and English streams, attracting students from nearby primary schools in Tiong Bahru, Bukit Ho Swee and Delta Road areas.
[3] The first principal was Ngui Jim Chiang (1966-1970), a former World War II lieutenant,[4][5] who was succeeded by a former Raffles Institution head of department in chemistry, Chung Chee Sang (1971 - 1978).
On June 6, 1976, then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew planted an Angsana tree at the school during a visit as part of the "Use Your Hands" campaign.
[6] As the population in the Tiong Bahru / Bukit Ho Swee neighbourhood was aging, and the younger generation families moving out, the school's student enrollment dropped after the late 1980s.
[6] The 1971 graduated batch produced top GCE O-level students in Singapore,[8] five of whom[9] went on to the country's then only junior college, National Junior College (国家初级学院), and thereafter one student[10] won the prestigious Public Service Commission Overseas Merit Scholarship (to France).