IT IS a case of 'better late than never' for Hwa Chong Institution, which has finally won the top honour - the School Excellence Award - three years after the award's inception.

In 2004, the first year the Ministry of Education awards were introduced, parents had complained that the school - then called The Chinese High - took home just three awards. The school had explained then that it was focusing on its six-year integrated programme.

The following year, after its merger with Hwa Chong Junior College, the school made a comeback with nine awards, including the second-highest honour for schools here, the School Distinction Award.

This year, it rounded up its achievements by bagging the top accolade - and principal Ang Wee Hiong said the school now wants to benchmark itself against global standards of excellence.

To this end, it has sent its teachers to learn from world-class organisations such as Ritz-Carlton, Harvard University and Google.

For instance, Hwa Chong's director of organisation development Isaac Koh, 41, visited Google last year and was 'inspired by the innovation culture and how the company celebrates diversity'.

'They have a '100-foot food policy' where refreshment kiosks can be found within 100 feet (30m) anywhere in the Google campus.

'In a small way, we introduced our weekly 'Fruit Day' as a tangible way of promoting staff welfare and a healthy lifestyle in Hwa Chong,' he said.

Mr Ang said one of the key factors that contributed to winning the award was the commitment of teachers.

'In Hwa Chong, we have a no-blame culture and a can-do mindset. This has created a strong innovation culture where every staff member is encouraged to think of different possibilities and excel,' he said.

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