History Of Dunearn Sec Tech School- My Version

Dunearn Secondary Technical School (DSTS) was established in 1963. It was located off Dunearn Road at the summit of a hill through the long and winding road of Hillcrest Road. In mid 1970 some of our seniors abbreviated our alma mater as "DunTech ". Members of the Canoeing Club, Adventure Club and NCC would remember this term with fond memories.

DSTS was probably the school with the most number of steps of staircase in Singapore. Though I had lost count, it was definitely more than 100 steps. Along a portion of the staircase, we had this bamboo plants providing shade for the pavement towards the summit. (Hence this bamboo picture appears on this site)

Some students, like myself, would challenge gravity by climbing up the slope instead of using the 100 odd step staircase. When school ended, we would slide down the slope with card boards!

During the raining season, most of us were stained with mud on the backs of our trousers. We did not lose to the force of gravity that we defied, but our shoes were not meant for climbing. Well, Mr. C. Kunalan and Mr Seet Khoon Hiong only trained us on using good track shoes and football/rugby boots and not footwear for climbing.

Subsequently, the school banned this form of "transportation". As the grassy slope became botak (bare) and some students had hurt themselves when their "brakes" could not work. They glided down the hill too fast! Probably inspired by then TV series Six-Million-Dollar-Man, starring Lee Majors. Indeed we had minor injuries and also partially destroyed the eco-system of the slope. As the saying goes: " Boys will be Boys"...

At the back of the school laboratories we had a tennis court. Beyond the court's walls, there was a mini jungle. A Rendezvous for eco-study such as spider-catching, listening to "songs" of cicada and bird watching. Also, it was a great place for monkey businesses too. Most of us would go berserk and screamed if our children were caught doing these now!

Many male students would use it as an open-air lavatory. Students in puppy love were caught kissing behind the bushes. Others were caught smoking cigarettes. Notorious ones smoked MaryJane and popped MX pills. Although the narcotic abuses were rare, students were suspended or sacked. Fortunately,the stringent rules at time were as effective as they were now.

As DSTS was at the top of this little hill, which I named it Dunearn Hill, we had a panoramic view of the surroundings. There were schools, colleges and private residential estates. We had good jogging tracks along the private housing estates such as Linden and Watten Estate and a huge play field for rugby at the foot of the hill. DSTS was an environmentally sporty school with good coaches like Mr Seet and Mr C Kunalan who were national athletes.

Our nearest neighbour was Dunearn Secondary School, located just below us. This school was converted from Dunearn Vocational School in 1969 and it was temporarily housed students from Dunearn Integrated Primary School. In 1970 it merged with Dunearn Chinese Middle High School (where the present Raffles Girls Primary School is now situated).

The site of the old Dunearn Integrated Primary School is where the Telecom Academy Building is sited. This old school was demolished in 1969 as it was deemed "unfit" to be used. My elder siblings graduated from this frequently flooded school too. There were many "Integrated" schools in the 60s and 70s. Both Malay and English streams were integrated in the same school. However, most Chinese schools during those times were in single stream.

I was one of the nomadic students in Dunearn Primary Schools, moving from this flood prone school to the newly converted secondary school from Dunearn Vocational School. It was weird that we were using the exercise books bearing Dunearn Secondary School while we were in our primary education. We were the only two batches of students housed there- P2 and P3 for 2 years.

Hence, in reality I had studied in all the various Dunearn schools, namely Dunearn Primary Integrated for my P1 and P2; Dunearn Secondary in P 3 and P4, and finally Sec 1 to 4 in DSTS. (It is seemed that I could not get away the "D" for Donkey). Next , I went to Duchess Primary School next for my P5 and P6 "D" for Dumb!

Singapore's first JC, National Junior College (NJC) was built just adjacent to the foot of the hill. We literally "looked down" on this prestigious institute. After DunTech moved out some years later, NJC was shifted to DunTech's old location. Guess what? Nanyang Girl's High School, from King's Road took over NJC's old premises. Strange isn't it, Singapore schools seemed to shift here, there and everywhere???

Chinese High School and Hwa Chong Junior College were across the roads, which could be seen from where we slid down the slopes. Before we left DunTech in '76, the school put up fences to block the access to the slope. This ended the fun mode of transport which we guys enjoyed most. Also hidden from our sights were Duchess Primary School and one Chinese school known as Lian Wah Primary School. The latter was behind Chinese High School.

Although Duntech had a huge play field, our Sports Days were held at Chinese High School and Farrer Park Sport Complex where there were proper running tracks for the athletes. The play field was only good for rugby, soccer and mud bath. -one of the earliest free mud spas in Singapore.

I remembered we became Mud People after a game of soccer or rugby, especially during rainy season. During Biology lessons, we never short of tadpoles and frogs for dissection. Thanks to the mud, many of us still have baby-soft smooth complexion as we were in our teens!

DSTS had a short life span. With a mere history of 29 years, it had won many glories, Nonetheless was not a notorious school. I had just just discovered that one of our ex-student, Dr Mohd Maliki Osman is an MP for Sembawang GRC (Admiralty).

Also, we had our famous teachers such as Mr. C. Kunalan, who made headlines as fastest man in Singapore holding the 100-metre record for more than 30 years. His record was broken only in 2001. I could recall that he had coached quite a number of national athletes from other schools. I would never forget his "Circuit Training". Maybe some of my rheumatic pains were caused by this cross training some 20 years ago!

Historically, Dunearn Tech was excellent in Rugby. Thanks to ex-DSTS Annie, who reminded me of this sport which we were proud of during that time. We remembered Mr. Seet, a former Rugby National player, who coached DunTech team to its peak, beating 'high society" schools like RI, ACS and SJI. Our Swimming , Boy Scout, Canoeing and Athletics were equally good, wining medals and awards in many inter-schools and national competitions.

I also recalled that our Vice Principal, Mr Lai would announced the score lines during assemblies after every inter-school rugby matches. Guess what was the BIGGEST SCORE LINE? It was 100 odd to zero against Toh Tuck Secondary School. Anyway, this school was gone too. The premises now houses Jurong ITE previously known as Jurong Vocational Institute in Boon Lay, Jurong. Another educational institute had shifted! Jurong school in Toh Tuck? Dunearn Secondary School in Bukit Batok they shifted schools like nobody's business!

It was only in 2000, that one of my classmates, Basarudin told me that DunTech had ceased to exist. After searching the web-site of MOE, I found out that in 1992, DSTS was renamed GreenRidge Secondary School and it had moved to Bukit Panjang.

However, the same motto is being used by this new school: "From Each His Best ", which, incidentally I can't figure out what the hell I had done best in school. See my report card! Definitely not for my participation in the Walkathon (Donation Drive) in 1973 and surely not for the lousy sales for School Charity Sticker in 1974.

At least my participation in mass drills for Youth Day Festival and National Day Parade in 1975 did make me proud...but then, it was after 25 years later. I had built this zany cyber-Alumni, which evokes a nostalgia memory lanes. For a DUMB student who had failed his examinations all the way from Sec 1 to Sec 4 (due to my undetected dyslexia?) please don't ask for too much...See http://www.dyslexia.com/

While building this web-site, here is the renamed school web-site: http://www.moe.edu.sg/schools/gridge/

However, they had removed the web-site on history of the school, after I published this Cyber-Alumni. (What's a coincidence! Maybe they had seen this web-site)

In the old web-site, both MOE and GreenRidge had named our alma mater as Dunearn Technical Secondary School (D.T.S.S) and not Dunearn Secondary Technical School (D.S.T.S)? Know why.................?

I got the answer. They had actually read the name in Chinese and translated into English as "Dunearn Technical Secondary School".

Fresh from Kampung 1972

Quite "Recently"

See KW ( Sidney) Class of 1976 (4A8)
First created on 15 Nov. 2001- Deepavali
Last Update: 19 April 2004 - (Thank to Annie Yeo for proof reading!)

I always remember the long staircase (I think there were 103 steps) that
one has to climb to reach the school and you can imagine, if one was
ever late, he/she had to run as fast as Mr C Kunalan to reach the school
in time to avoid being marked & detained by the Prefects.

As for the tennis court behind the labs, I used to play there, hitting
on the board and looking for the balls in the "mini jungle". Also, the
Girl Guides held their weekly sessions there as well. The court had
served many purposes, from assemblies to games etc.

Anyway, congratulations once again. Keep it up! (remember the
school's song ....."we promise to do our best"...)

Rgds,
Yeo Hwee Kwan (Annie)
Class of 1977

From Closest well known ex-teacher was the late lawyer Palakrishnan (former DPP), i think he passed away in end June in melbourne, australia was a former teacher at D.S.T.S. He taught literature during '64 maybe till '66 before going to law school at SU ... then University of Singapore ... Seet Khoon Hiong was the metalwork teacher and also the person that put D.S.T.S on the interschool rugby league ... i remember that we were known to be a formidable team during the annual rugby season for years ! His passion in sports and particularly grooming and keeping a top-fit rugby team is a tribute in his honor !.

I do not have past school magazines (probably first one was in 1966) however as and when I get some archive info .. i will contact you for further action ... . One part of D.S.T.S' history was that it shared its facilities in 1964 with Whitley Secondary School (WSS) students. Their school building at the junction of Whitley and Dunearn Road (the location of the present Singapore Chinese Girls School) was not ready for a year and i remember that it was a huge intake when we started our first day at school in 1964, WSS is co-ed and were preparing secondary school students for science and arts subjects so that there were a lot of girls in school compared to the D.S.T.S students who were on the technical track who were mainly guys. D.S.T.S was the newest amongst all the technical schools in singapore, the more renowned then was Queenstown Technical School and Tanjong Katong Technical School. Balestier Hill Technical School started also the same year (I stand corrected) as D.S.T.S as a new technical school.

that's about it from my fresh memory wave about D.S.T.S !

Ngui Fook Choon
Email : nguifc@singnet.com.sg

GreenRidge Secondary School, nestling cosily in a gentle depression bordered by the BKE and the Bukit Panjang Ring Road was officially declared open on 16 July 1994 by Mr.Lee Yock Seng, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Labour and MP for Sembawang GRC.

The school actually evolved from Dunearn Secondary Technical School. In June 1991, Dunearn Secondary Technical School was given a new identity and renamed GreenRidge Secondary School. In June 1992 the school re-sited to its present location on the perimeter of the Bukit Panjang New Town to serve it.

With good, dedicated teachers and up-to-date facilities, the school has continued to attract good cohorts of pupils from the Bukit Panjang New Town and other neighbouring housing estates.

GreenRidge is a single-session school with a student population of about 1200 and a teaching staff of about 60.

Our guiding light in both work and play is our motto "FROM EACH HIS BEST". With this principle guiding all our efforts, we hope to provide a sound, all-round education for all our pupils.

Please send me stories and photos of DSTS. Your contributions to this web-site is appreciated....

First Created on 22 Oct 2001 for The 25th Anniversary Reunion Gathering
(1976 - 2001)

History- The Unofficial Version