Penang Free School
National secondary school in George Town, Penang, Malaysia
5°24′10″N 100°18′18″E / 5.4028°N 100.3051°E / 5.4028; 100.3051(Strong and Faithful)
(Diocese of West Malaysia)
Co-educational (Form 6)
Penang Free School (PFS), located at Green Lane in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, is the oldest English-medium school in Southeast Asia.[1][3] Founded in 1816, its academic achievements lead to its inclusion in the Malaysian Ministry of Education's Cluster School and High Performance School systems.[citation needed]
This secondary school has been an all-boys school since its inception, although girls are now admitted for Form 6.[4] In addition, the school has produced several notable Malaysian and Singaporean personalities, including Tunku Abdul Rahman, P. Ramlee, Wu Lien-teh and Wee Chong Jin; its alumni are known as the 'Old Frees'.[5][6]
Penang Free School maintains its historical rivalry with St. Xavier's Institution, another school in George Town which also claims the honour of being Malaysia's oldest school.[7]
History
The establishment of a 'free school' that was open to all ethnicities was first mooted by a committee led by Rev. Robert Sparke Hutchings in 1816.[1][8] It was initially proposed that a boarding school would be built to provide education and daily care for orphans and the poor, and that the boarding school would consist of two blocks, one for male students and another for girls. Local Asian children would be taught in their mother tongues, while English would only be taught for those who desired it.
Penang Free School came into being on 21 October that year, with William Cox as its first principal, and was originally housed at Love Lane.[1][9] This was a temporary arrangement, as the new school building at the adjoining Farquhar Street was still under construction. The building, situated next to St. George's Church, was completed in 1821.[10]
By the 1890s, as the school building became overcrowded, a tender was called for the construction of a new wing. The new wing, funded mainly by Chinese philanthropists such as Chung Keng Quee, was completed in 1896. Another wing was also built in 1906. In addition, English was made the standard medium of instruction within the school.
By the 1920s, the building was also reaching its maximum capacity. Therefore, plans were drawn up for the relocation of Penang Free School to a suburban site further inland, while the school premises at Farquhar Street was to be turned into a primary school. In 1928, Penang Free School was officially moved to a 30-acre (12 ha) site at Green Lane, where it remains to this day. The old school building was turned into Hutchings School; today, this particular building houses the Penang State Museum.
In 1958, the then Prime Minister of Malaya and an alumnus of Penang Free School, Tunku Abdul Rahman, opened the school's Form 6 block, making it the first school in northern Malaya to offer secondary education up to Form 6.[1] More school blocks were added over the years, enabling it to switch to a single-session school system by 1992.
