Penang Free School


Penang Free School, located at Green Lane in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, is the oldest English-medium school in Southeast Asia. Founded in 1816, its academic achievements lead to its inclusion in the Malaysian Ministry of Education's Cluster School and High Performance School systems.
This secondary school has been an all-boys school since its inception, although girls are now admitted for Form 6. 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'.
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.

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. 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. 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.
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 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. More school blocks were added over the years, enabling it to switch to a single-session school system by 1992.

List of principals

The following is a list of principals of Penang Free School.
YearName
1816–1821William Cox
1821–1822David Churcher
1822–1826George Porter
1826–1827William Anchant
1827–1828William Anchant
1828–1843John Colson Smith
1843–1846Bruton
1846–1853Fitzgerald
1853–1871John Clark
1871–1891George Griffin
1891–1904William Hargreaves
1904–1925Ralph H. Pinhorn
1925–1926William Hamilton
1927–1928D. R. Swaine
1929L. Arnold
1929–1931D. W. McLeod
1931E. D. l. M. Stowell
1931–1933M. R. Holgate
1933–1934J. Bain
1934–1941L. W. Arnold
1945Koay Kye Teong
1945–1946N. R. Miller
1946–1947J. N. Davies
1947–1950D. Roper
1950–1951P. F. Howitt
1951–1957J. E. Tod
1957–1963J. M. B. Hughes
1963Mr. Brian Smith
1963–1968Tan Boon Lin
1969–1971Poon Poh Kong
1972–1974K. G. Yogam
1975Lim Boon Hor
1974–1979Goon Fatt Chee
1979Lim Chin Kee
1979–1983R. Visvanathan
1983–1988G. Krishna Iyer
1988–1993Goh Hooi Beng
1993–2000Hj. Mohd. Ismail bin Ibramsa
2000Hj. Abdul Rahman bin Salim
2001–2004Arabi bin Sulaiman
2005–2006Hj. Muhammad Yusof bin Omar
2006–2012Hj. Ramli bin Din
2012–2016Jalil bin Saad
2016Omar bin Abdul Rashid

Notable alumni