Gan Eng Seng School Founding Site

The Gan Eng Seng School's Founding Site (Chinese: 颜永成学校创校地点), marked by twin commemorative plaques at present, is located at the junction of Telok Ayer Street and Cecil Street in the southern part of Singapore, near the Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church. On 30 August 1997, the site was designated as a national historical site along with five other schools by the National Heritage Board (NHB), being one of the oldest educational establishments in Singapore. The others are Raffles Institution, Raffles Girls' School, St Margaret's Secondary School, Singapore Chinese Girls' School and Anglo-Chinese School.

The first building site of Gan Eng Seng School (Abbreviation: GESS) was located at No. 106 Telok Ayer Street between 1893 and 1941. A land grant was given by the British colonial government earlier to the philanthropist and founder, Mr Gan Eng Seng who paid S$5000 for the construction of the school building. Gan was credited for being the first local Chinese in Singapore to establish the free school in 1885 which emphasised bilingual education through his generous gift of property and funds until his demise. Most other schools of the time were established by missionary or communal organisations.

The school was a two-storey wooden building and housed the school hall in the second storey. It started out as a primary school for boys and could accommodate up to 300 students. Governor H.E. Sir Clementi Smith officiated the school's Opening Ceremony on 4 April 1893. Mr Tan Keong Saik, a board trustee of the school briefly gave a history of the institution to the distinguished gathering.

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