Gan Eng Seng School

Gan Eng Seng School(Abbreviation: GESS) is one of the oldest schools in Singapore. GESS was the first school to be set up by a local Chinese and the first to form a parent-teachers' association in 1950. It was an all-boys school for 102 years until it became co-educational in 1987. By 1996, GESS was ranked 21st by the MOE among the top 50 schools in Singapore and continued to stay within the top 50 rankings to this day. The school's founding site at Telok Ayer Street was designated as a national historical site by the National Heritage Board in 1997. The school is currently located at Henderson Road in Bukit Merah on the western district of Singapore.


The choice of red and green for the school crest had been influenced by the colours of Gan Eng Seng Scout Troup. The Scout Troup's scarves were red and green. The Chinese Dragon on the Crest is a traditional Chinese emblem of good luck, courage and determination. Red is the colour of fire and suggests the fire of courage and leadership as written in the school song. The Chinese junk is a symbol of the slow but irrevocable progress which the school has achieved over the last 100 years. Green in colour to suggest the peaceful but relentless educational spirit which has guided the progress of the school. The school's motto — "Onward" — with its sense of determination reminds one of the slow, painful but relentless advances which have been made over the last century.