St. Xavier’s Institution, Penang will be celebrating its 160th anniversary come April, 2012. It was the first school founded by the La Salle Brothers when they set foot on Penang island in 1852. It can therefore lay claim as the Mother of all Lasallian schools in the country.
From a simple 2-storey building on Farquhar Street, it grew into an impressive landmark in the island through the efforts of Brother Aloysius Pin in the 1890’s, equally matching in high academic standards make it one of the best schools in the country, then known as Malaya. The photo shows SXI as it appeared in the 1890’s after extensions being made during the Directorship of Brother James Byrne. During the Japanese occupation of Penang (1941 – 1945) the school was used as a Japanese Naval Command Centre. As a result, it became the target for Allied air attacks which rendered the building unsafe that it had to be pulled down. After the war, classes were conducted in the Old Primary buildings and in rooms lent by the Convent. As enrolment expanded, the Brothers put up attap sheds on the school field fronting the sea to cope with the expanding student population. Those were trying times. But the Brothers, teachers and administrative staff stuck to their guns. There were 20 classes. For 7 years, (1946 – 1953) the boys and teachers had to work in primitive conditions. When it rained, the boys had to put up umbrellas or cover their heads with newspapers. The old school bell was salvaged from the ruins and hung from the branches of s rain tree to summon boys to their assembly each day.
A New Dawn began in April, 1954 when the entire school moved into the modern building opposite the field, a landmark all Penangites and Xaverians know too well. The rest is history. The new building was officially declared open by the Honourable Mr. J.S.H Cunyingham-Brow, President of Municipal Council of Penang a year later on 5th August, 1955 The school did well right from the beginning and excelled in studies, sports and extra-curricular activities. Queen’s Scholarships - 14 Xaverians were recipients Established in 1885, the Queen's Scholarship was originally known as the Higher Scholarship in honour of Queen Victoria. The main objective was to allow promising boys an opportunity to complete their education in the United Kingdom. From 1885-1890, the Higher Scholarship was awarded only to the top boys in the Straits Settlement. Thereafter (1891-1910), the Scholarship was renamed the Queen's Scholarship and was opened up to all British subjects of either sex. Recipients of the Queen's Scholarships would proceed to study at either Cambridge or Oxford universities.
Presenting with pride, SXI’s Queen Scholars
Dunstan A. Aeria (Year:1888 - Engineering
J.C.J. Da Silva (Year: 1895 - Medicine)
R.E. Smith (Year: 1899 - Arts)
M. Foley (Year: 1900 - Law)
Tan Seng Suan (Year: 1902 - Medicine)
J.R. Aeria (Year: 1906 - Medicine)
Khaw Oo Kek (Year: 1907 - Medicine
Leong Yew Koh (Year: 1908 - Law Ooi Khye Tuan (Year: 1925 - Law) Tan Ah Bok @ Tan Keow Bok (Year: 1926 - Law) Cheah Soon Hock (Year: 1928 - Law)
Keong Siew Tong (Year: 1933 - Medicine) Lau Fook Khean (Year: 1934 - Medicine)
Oliver Phipps (Year: 1939 - Law) Despite its excellent performance in most fields, the School remains modest and continues to strive to provide quality, holistic education with corresponding development of social and spiritual competencies. This is reflected in a poem written by one of her alumni: SXI … a very special school indeed We don’t promise … a school full of brilliant pacesetters in the academic field, a school full of vastly talented sportsmen, a school always full of smiles and sunshine. But … we do have a school full of people, people with mistakes, flaws and weaknesses, people who want to grow to be all they can be, just ordinary people like you and me And … we promise to let each other grow in his or her special way St. Xavier’s … isn’t it nice to know that there are still places in this world where people are important?
Acknowledgement with thanks: St. Xavier's Institution, Penang |