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LIFE&FAMILY
132
April15
The Cameron Highlands School continued to operate until 1950,
when it was eventually forced to close for security reasons.
Miss Griff sold most of the land and the school buildings to the
British Army.
Meanwhile, Tanglin School in Singapore had gone from
strength to strength and now occupied two buildings: one in
Holland Road and one in Orange Grove Road, with a combined
student roll of approximately 300.
In 1958, Miss Griff sold the private company Tanglin School Ltd
to the British European Association (now the British Association
of Singapore) for $20,000 and retired to the Cameron Highlands.
She died aged 83 at Ipoh hospital in 1973, and is buried in the
foothills of the Cameron Highlands. For her service she was
awarded an OBE and the PJK (Pingat Jasa Kebaktian) in 1962.
By 1960 the British European Association also operated the
Raeburn Park School (set up for non-service expatriate children in
1954), with an enrolment of 210 students. The Tanglin Preparatory
School was converted into a non-profit education trust, Tanglin
Trust Ltd. In 1961 Tanglin Preparatory School opened in a black-
and-white building on the corner of Tanglin and Jervois Roads,
where the Brunei High Commission is now located.
Memories from former students and teachers reflect carefree
days, staving off the tropical heat with afternoon naps on put-me-
up camp beds, and sports events that incorporated very popular
but not-so-politically-correct events such as the “bunny girls” race!
Grandmother Angela Bird, Tanglin School alumna,
1949 to 1955
“I arrived in Singapore in 1949 from a post-World War II,
ration-card-controlled England. At that time, Tanglin had 60
students across five classrooms and was located in an old
army barracks on Holland Road. As it was just after the war,
supplies were short, and for our art classes we only had
charcoal to draw with. Whenmy daughters attended Raeburn
Park in the 1970s, Sports Day was the highlight of the
year; afterwards we always went to The Satay Club on
the Esplanade to celebrate.”
Mother Tanya Bird, Raeburn Park alumna, 1971
to 1979
“In 1976, when Raeburn Park moved to Tanglin’s
current site at Portsdown Road, Weyhill Preparatory
School was opposite. Initially, the playing field was
shared, but the traditional rivalry soon resulted
in staggered playtimes. I vividly recall my family’s
disappointment when, in 1981, the schools merged.”
Daughters Olivia and Tia, Year 9 and Year 7
students, 2012 to the present
“Having heard our mum and our grandma talk about
their school days, we can now understand what it
really means and are excited to be following in their
footsteps. Resources were tight in Grandma’s time;
now we have access to iPads to create digital art.
Tanglin is such a special part of the family, we can’t
wait to make some of our own memories.”