By Santokh Singh

THE Victoria School-Victoria Junior College problem may have a simple win-win solution.

My proposal: Let VS remain the all-boys secondary school it has been for more than a century. And let VJC start an all-girls secondary school that would complement VS.

Both the boys and girls schools can then merge into VJC as part of a six-year Integrated Programme (IP).

The proposal will allow VS to continue its more than 133-year-old tradition of providing a quality all-round education for boys in a government school, as requested by its alumni and parents.

VJC, which has also said publicly that it is ready to start a secondary school to boost the quality of its students, should have no problems running an all-girls school - call it Victoria Girls School.

The model will be no different from the proven models of the Raffles and Hwa Chong families - with a slight twist.

In these models, the boys schools are part of the junior college with the girls coming from sister schools, namely Raffles Girls and Nanyang Girls.

In the proposed Victorian model, the boys would come from a kilometre down the road to join the family for the A levels in the IP.

Just like the Raffles and Hwa Chong families, the educational programmes can be centrally planned with the involvement of all parties.

It is a win-win proposal for all, including Singapore's education system.

The Victorians will get a shot at the IP, which is accepted by most parents to provide their children a better chance at success - especially the brighter ones - and it will provide yet another model.

It will free two more good schools of the O-level trappings and give students exposure to a holistic all-round education, with equal emphasis on co-curricular activities, service learning and character and leadership development.

These are students that deserve such opportunities, VS boys included.

Boost

The proposal will boost the academic quality of pupils applying to VJC (girls) and VS (boys) - what the college has been longing for.

And there will be plenty of good will should VJC help boost the quality of the boys applying to the school by including VS in its IP programme.

Having taught there for eight years, I feel that VS deserves it.

It has been one of the best all-boys schools in Singapore, providing quality all-round education for Singaporeans who may not be able to afford the high fees charged by independent schools.

For less than $30 a month, compared to the more than $300 charged elsewhere, it is still beating some of these independent schools in the O levels.

It is the only all-boys school, consistently maintaining its Band 1 status in the MOE's annual banding and ranking exercise for academic performance.

And looking at its CCA achievements, especially in the sports field, it can actually teach other schools in the independent category how to run their programmes.

It is one of probably three all-boys schools still flying the soccer flag, making the final of the nationals in at least one division in the last two years. This year, both its teams are in the Zone finals, having qualified for the nationals.

It finished second in the nationals for cricket, floorball and tennis, as well as clinched the C division title for cross-country, as well the runner-up spot for the B boys.

It finished third in B boys hockey. And for the first time in more than two decades, the school made the national semi-finals for volleyball, in not one but both divisions.

I dare say that not many all-boys schools in Singapore, independent or mission, can boast such an illustrious sports record.

Similarly, the school's uniformed groups and cultural organisations, especially its choir, Chinese orchestra and English concert band, have been traditionally among the best in Singapore - all achievements it can exploit to boost its status as a premier JC.

There is no doubt that the school has done extremely well to be one of the best in Singapore in just 25 years.

The question is: Does it have the confidence to start an all-girls school that will attract some of the best and the brightest? And in the process, further boost the performance of VS via the competition?

I have no doubt.

More importantly, it will be hailed for its role in keeping the Victorian family - and its honour - intact.

This article was first published in The New Paper.